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Indeed, Congressman Harris, indeed. Assuming you mean gas company advocacy v. environmental science.
From his hearing (before a panel of gas company execs) yesterday:
"Environmental groups say fracking, in which millions of gallons of chemically treated water are forced underground to shatter rock and let gas flow, is a threat to drinking-water supplies. The EPA’s draft report on groundwater contamination in Pavillion, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Salt Lake City, was the first to link the drilling technique to spoiling water. The EPA has moved to establish a peer-review panel to examine its findings.
The EPA is waiting for information from Encana Corp. (ECA), which has 123 wells in that area, on the water samples the company took at the same time as the EPA, Martin testified. Encana has criticized the EPA’s results, and said the agency didn’t take into account naturally occurring chemicals.
Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, the Republican chairman of the Energy and Environment subcommittee of the House Science Committee, criticized Martin and the EPA, saying that the study of groundwater contamination was an example of “politics trumping policy and advocacy trumping science.” "
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-01...oming.html
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yes, of course... that's JUST what it is...
OMFG!
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Unfortunately, testing water before frack well drilling was not standard practice at first. PA, for example, is dotted with thousands of "standard" oil and gas wells from the lat 150 years. Not to mention 150 years of heavy industry, the first 100 years of which were virtually unregulated, leaching all kinds of crap into the ground water in unlined landfills, buried drums and even from the surface. If it was never tested, a well could have been contaminated for a generation without the users knowledge.
This clouds the issue. Fracking is the big target today, but it's not slam dunk.
Frack well drillers in PA now test every well within a certain distance before drilling begins.
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Acer wrote:
Unfortunately, testing water before frack well drilling was not standard practice at first. PA, for example, is dotted with thousands of "standard" oil and gas wells from the lat 150 years. Not to mention 150 years of heavy industry, the first 100 years of which were virtually unregulated, leaching all kinds of crap into the ground water in unlined landfills, buried drums and even from the surface. If it was never tested, a well could have been contaminated for a generation without the users knowledge.
This clouds the issue. Fracking is the big target today, but it's not slam dunk.
Frack well drillers in PA now test every well within a certain distance before drilling begins.
The case here is Wyoming, not PA. The studies just released by the EPA, which are causing gas companies to have conniption fits and sending red-caped GOP Congressman to their rescue with "junk science" charges, found contaminants specifically related to fracking in drinking water.
http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/wy/...index.html
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I can't really understand what happened at this hearing. Do you have a link to the video?
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You know what would be great? If someone could make a documentary film about this, I bet a lot more people would pay attention and do something about it. That would be a great service to the people of Wyoming, who are inundated with media messages by the gas companies. Of course the filmmaker will have to be allowed in the room.
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Grace62 wrote:
You know what would be great? If someone could make a documentary film about this, I bet a lot more people would pay attention and do something about it. That would be a great service to the people of Wyoming, who are inundated with media messages by the gas companies. Of course the filmmaker will have to be allowed in the room.
Absolutely! In order to film these meetings, here's a great place to start...
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2) TEMPORARY MEMBERSHIP
This pass provides temporary access to the Galleries and Capitol complex for broadcast news personnel.
GUESS WHAT!! Josh Fox tried to get that before yesterday, and was told no by the GOP controlled Science Committee. Why? It's normally easy for a well-known, Oscar nominated documentary filmmaker to get access to hearings, especially hearings with no one else filming except CSPAN.
Why didn't the GOP want him to film this?
Could it be because:
"According to a blog post written by fellow documentarian AJ Schnack, Fox had hoped to release his "Gasland" sequel early this year.
Per Schnack,
It will include cameos from those at every level in the debate, including U.S. senators, small-town inspection officers, and petition-wielding parking-lot activists. “On the one side is a very powerful industry and their political and media allies,” says Fox. “But there are small groups of extremely dedicated activists fighting fracking in every state where it’s a threat. It’s incredibly inspiring to see these mini-labs in democracy in action.”
http://www.indiewire.com/article/josh-fo...and-sequel
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