By Jeffrey Page
The people arguing in favor of fracking offered several reasons why this form of extraction of natural gas ought to be approved immediately. Fracking, they said at a public hearing conducted by the Department of Environmental Conservation Tuesday in Loch Sheldrake, would improve the economy, especially the economy of Sullivan County, which has been in the doldrums for as long as I can remember.

It would create jobs. It would lower taxes. Yet DEC says some industries would be negatively impacted by fracking. Industries such as tourism and agriculture, which are the main generators of revenue in Sullivan?

It would help create energy security for the United States, they said. It would allow farmers to remain on their land and not be prey to ever-increasing property taxes.

Maybe.

But after all’s said and done, there are no issues except the water we drink and the air we breathe. Last time I checked, we need both. In fact, I came across an article in Scientific American noting that an infant locked in a hot car without water can be dead in an hour; so can an otherwise healthy adult just in from working out and dehydrated. We can survive longer without food than without water.

I spent an hour at the hearing at SUNY Sullivan listening to the two sides go at each other. It was interesting, though hardly surprising, that not one person speaking in favor of fracking mentioned water and air – except to say that anyone concerned about the effect of fracking on water and air is an “alarmist.” So much for reasoned debate.

The reluctance to discuss water and air as primary issues was understandable. Much easier to address taxes, jobs, and property rights, which aren’t trivial but pale when you compare them with the elements necessary to sustain existence.

Would you put your life at risk or jeopardize your drinking water to ensure the property values of the guy down the road? And now for the emotional pitch: Would you trade your granddaughter’s health for a lower tax bill? You know you wouldn’t.

We’d better be damned sure we know what we’re doing. Have we grown quite so blasé, quite so cocksure that we’d take these chances? You think maybe they were this complacent about their personal safety at Fukushima?

Several pro-frackers spoke of the successes of fracking operations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia and suggested that there is no danger. But DEC, in a one-page handout, noted several incidents of methane gas pollution, fracturing-fluid releases, and other accidents that have occurred at fracking sites in Pennsylvania. The best DEC could offer was that if we allow fracking in New York, it would be better planned and regulated.

That sounds great, but for me, it recalls the promise of atomic energy back in the 1950s. Were you around? Do you remember when proponents told us that nuclear energy would be “too cheap to meter?”

What a delicious thought. Free electricity. Ask the people of Chernobyl how they made out.

jeffrey@zestoforange.com

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