Gas Exploration in PA threat to Scarlet Tanagers (1 Viewer)

[ceasar]

Extensive new exploration and drilling for Natural Gas in the Marcellus Shale beds of Northern and Central Pennsylvania may be a threat to Scarlet Tanagers. More Scarlet Tanagers breed in PA than anywhere else in North America. Warbler species like Blackburnian's, which also breed here, may be at risk also.

See link here from the Wilkes Barre Times Leader newspaper.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Impact_of_gas_drilling_on_wildlife_a_concern_10-11-2010.html

Bob

 

[sarahbn]

I saw that post on the Pennsylvania list serve it's really sad! Did you read the article in the May June issue of Audubon magazine?

http://www.audubonmagazine.org/incite/incite1005.html

Ever since I heard about this about a year ago I have written my representatives.But it's like Rendell and Corbett and all the others see gold.

Did you see the movie Gasland? Really good movie I highly recomend it!

 

[ceasar]

Hi sarahbn,

Did you know that it takes 3 million gallons of water to "frack" one gas well here in the Marcellus Shale region!?

I've read the article in Audubon Magazine. Ted Williams, the author, is one of the great environmental journalists/polemicists of this age. His biggest fault it is that he leaves no prisoners which causes his targets to hunker down in their bunkers and go into their attrition mode fighting his spitting invective with smooth lies disguised as reasonableness. And he blames everything on Republicans when Democrats are equally at fault here too.

His description of the natural gas "fracking" or "fraccing" process is the best I have ever seen.

Anyone who thinks that natural gas is "clean" energy should read this article! It ruins watersheds, poisons wells and pollutes streams when the storage ponds that hold the chemically altered water used in the fraccing process inevitably break! These storage ponds hold the water after it has been used in the fraccing process until it is hauled away for treatment.

And the truck traffic involved in the exploration and fraccing of the wells destroys rural roads and the surrounding landscapes. The same thing is happening in Wyoming and Colorado. People get their drinking water there from motorized Water Buffaloes.

Transporting the gas requires huge pipelines hundreds of miles in length! Additionally real estate land values are lowered and the tax base is hurt. No one is interested in buying property in these areas after the gas wells are working. There are no royaltys for them. You can see this in the rural slums that were created in Northwestern PA after the development of the shallow gas wells there.

Most of the gas leases in PA have been purchased from the exploration companies by Royal Dutch Shell corporation which, I am told, is controlled by Queen Beatrix's family.

Bob

 

[sarahbn]

It's so depressing! I feel like we have no say in the matter! I vote the environment little good it does. Anyway I hope you saw the movie Gasland http://gaslandthemovie.com/

LCV http://www.conservationpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/VotePA-1024x603.jpg

I agree the democrats are as bad as the rebublicans, worse in someways because they portray themselves as environmentalists