Water on Fire (© 2010 International WOW Company)

As a lifetime New Yorker it’s always been a great comfort (and a tasty treat) to have some of the world’s cleanest and most flavorful water available straight from the tap. So it is absolutely mindboggling that a precious water supply could be fouled with toxic chemicals from deep drilling for gas, despite dire signs of the potential consequences.

For years there have been media reports from Pennsylvania to Texas of drinking water so tainted by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that folks are able to light the water from their kitchen tap on fire. There have been more than 300 instances of contaminated water in Colorado since 2003, and more than 700 instances in New Mexico, according to Bruce Baizel, senior staff attorney with Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project. In West Virginia a once lushly forested area has been transformed into a dead zone.

Fracking in Gasland

Film Director Josh Fox made the Sundance award-winning documentary “Gasland” after he was asked to lease his land for gas drilling. That led him to embark on a cross-country odyssey. As the show “Now” on PBS explained, his journey led to a film that “alleges chronic illness, animal-killing toxic waste, disastrous explosions, and regulatory missteps.” It will be broadcast on HBO through 2012. The DVD went on sale in December of 2010.

“Gasland” shows tap water being set ablaze and explores fracking, a technology developed by Halliburton. Millions of gallons water, chemicals and sand are injected into the ground under high pressure, cracking shale and tight rocks to allow gas to flow more freely from the well. It is a toxic mixture and believed to be the prime culprit in the pollution of groundwater in areas surrounding drilling sites. Even drinking water hundreds of miles from a well can be contaminated.

Hundreds of Thousands of New Wells Coming?

Residents of New York State are not alone in facing a future threat to the safety of their drinking water. According to an article published by ProPublica in December of 2009:

In the next 10 years, the United States will use the fracturing technology to drill hundreds of thousands of new wells astride cities, rivers and watersheds. Cash-strapped state governments are pining for the revenue and the much-needed jobs that drilling is expected to bring to poor, rural areas.

Rejection of Fracking Goes International

France became the first nation to ban the use of fracking on June 30th when French senators voted to ban the practice and revoke the fracking permits issued to oil and gas companies. French Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said hydraulic fracturing will be illegal and parliament would have to vote for a new law to allow research using the technique.

Back in the States, the New Jersey State Senate voted to ban the practice and North Carolina’s Governor Bev Perdue vetoed a state senate bill that would have allowed fracking in the state.

Jane Preyer, North Carolina’s director of the Environmental Defense Fund said, “The veto sends a clear signal to legislators that rolling back regulations that protect the state’s environment is not a viable business plan for economic recovery or the well being of North Carolina’s families.”

Think Global, Act Local

Though it is hard to believe that risking the health of millions in order to extract natural gas would even be considered, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo may lift a ban on fracking that took a great, popular effort to establish. The new guidelines will prohibit fracking in N.Y.S. parks and in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, but allow it in other communities!

New York State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, an opponent of fracking, said, “If hydrofracking is not safe in the New York City watershed it’s not safe in any watershed…There’s a tacit admission on the part of the Department of Environmental Conservation that it is not safe and yet it is being allowed.”

Keep Drinking Water Safe

Incredibly, a loophole exempts natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Drilling companies don’t even have to disclose the almost 600 chemicals that might be used in fracking and find their way into drinking water. Thankfully, our friends at Food & Water Watch have provided a way for concerned citizens to make their voices heard by contacting elected representatives.

To send a message to your elected representative to protect drinking water, go to: Food & Water Watch: Take Action

To see a trailer for the documentary film cited above, go to: Gasland the Movie

To view the ProPublica article cited above, go to: Natural Gas Drilling: What We Don’t Know

To follow American Feast on Facebook go to: American Feast on Facebook

To follow American Feast's Founder on Twitter go to: Jeff Deasy on Twitter

For information related to the purchase of advertising space and editorial coverage on the American Feast web site call Jeff Deasy toll free at 877-332-7875 or email him at jdeasy@americanfeast.com