Fracking, Early Warning Cries

I was the first private individual to write about fracking. Now that I am five years away, and the agency director is no longer there I feel a bit safer about telling more about how the fracking industry got their start in the U.S.

After leaving my position at our State Department of Environmental Protection, I wrote a blog post article on my environmental centered blog Earthenware Haven. The title was FRACK is a four letter word.

I had started blogging in 2009 when there was a failure at the Tennessee Valley Authority. They had Coal Ash containment tanks which failed and caused an extreme disaster. It was the day before Christmas morning.

No one even noticed what happened. I was unable to contain the angst, and so I blogged. When I first started with Blogspot, I spent 80 hours and more learning about ad sense and how to get monetized. I have always remained in good standing, because I do not violate T.O.S.

When I published my FRACK post, Google unlisted it, because up until then "Frack" was a substitute for the F-Bomb. I wrote back to them, explaining what fractured drilling was and how that it was a new word. The Google moderators checked it over, and re-listed my blog post.

It was not long until I was writing on HubPages, and wanted to write the warning about fracking because I have inside knowledge that is also publicly available from the Arkansas DEQ, but I was paranoid because the info would be traced back to me.

I changed up the title for and wrote an article to try to get the attention of those who were going to be lured into thinking that cracking down, and across the layers of earth below us, into our water tables, is a sound and sustainable practice. It is not. Hidden within the paragraph are bits of information that many are unaware of, that makes fracking that much worse.

Water, water, water...

The problems brought about by fracking for gas and oil removal are escalating.

When I first published this article, it was during the Solar Eclipse of 2010 .

I was wondering what would become of us.

Would we return to dust? Although this wording seems dream-like, my concerns are scientifically based, as is the prophecy sung by Ms. Mitchell.

I am listening to Joni Mitchell on YouTube. Joni is playing the song "Woodstock" from a 1969 concert in Southern California.

The lyrics in this version rocks me.

• I did not know what it meant in 1969, but today,in 2015, many of us know we are "Billion Year-Old Carbon.".
• Too Many refuse to acknowledge that,human life is golden, but we are caught in the Devil's Bargain.
• Only a handful realize, how important it is that we, get ourselves back to the Garden.

Living In the Garden, we plant living organisms. We lovingly nurture the seeds. We sweat in, and tend our beloved gardens. Our vineyards give back much more than we put in.

The garden is us, joining Earth, and having a part in bringing forth life. By tending to our beloved earth, we become a part of the system, enhancing the biosphere.

Flowering plants and trees, provide pollen for the pollinators; butterflies, bats and bees. Since the earlier version of this article written in 2010, we are experiencing major extinctions and endangered people, places, and life-forms.

.In 2010 when I first wrote this article, I could not have created the map that was done today (2015).

I will never forget the voice of the man who called into the Air Division of the agency, and warned us that frackers were coming and he told about what happened to the places they had been to, how fish died, etc.

He was sick and dying from the microscopic elements in the drilling sand that the drillers breathe everyday. The exploratory teams were never permitted in Texas, the first place it was attempted. They were run out of Texas by the DEQ, they came to Arkansas, have built a new town and spread across the nation like poison ivy.

The notion of Drilling or Fracking a Garden, is a destructive one. Many times throughout history, the Earth has been referred to as a garden. The idea of Earth as a lush garden; a perfect eco-system, is becoming an obscure one.

As a fan of NASA, and the European Space Agency, as a member of the public, photos of our solar system, and especially Mars and the Moon, make me think they were once inhabited as Earth is. Scientists are finding more out about our closer laying planets, and it is not a stretch to consider, that if Mars were inhabited, they had to go underground, or the prior tenants were as sloppy and greedy as Human Beings, and wrecked their habitat.

Earth has lost most of her jungles,and forests.

We are gaining an acidic world of Oceans, and an ever encroaching Desert

These are not good ingredients for a healthy eco-system or planet. This is not conducive to a flourishing and sustainable habitat.

Fracking breaks the Earth's crust. Drilling operations use millions of gallons of Creek and Tributary water for fracking.

The waters are polluted, unbalanced and left in whatever condition the drill crew dictates. One can hope that the drillers are nature-lovers and do the best they can not to mess things up. If their boss, or owner demands speed over ecological soundness.

The area ecology suffers.

The fracking method of taking Natural Gas(es), causes earthquakes, explosions, and poisonous gases in communities. Many Incidents occur on two outlets, or wellheads. In the Fayetteville Shale, there have been explosions and fires spanning 50 or more miles apart.

After the initial Fracking has been accomplished, and Gas Extraction is a go. At "go", Gas or Diesel engines are put at the Wellheads. The Wellhead engines are the type of Engines you see on Construction vehicles, like tractors and bulldozers. Sometimes they are bigger, other times smaller. They emit or put off a lot of pollution. Wildlife and aquatic life are affected by different degrees. In our State, this year we did not have a Turkey Season. All creeks and tributaries have been 'trenched' with 8" pipe, 2 miles each, under Temporary use Permits (404's), even in endangered Creeks.

When we have an inspiration for something like Energy development. it is past time for us to consider the beginning of the plan to the end. To drill for Natural Gas is one thing, but what about the process? How much water use does it require? What about protected wildlife habitats? The final and most important thing we must consider, is the end or by-product. The waste-by products from the drilling fluids or muds are a toxic mesh of secret ingredients that stink to high heaven, and smells like diesel.

Natural Gas drilling, with sound practices is not a bad thing.

Fracking is drilling and breaking Earth at a sideways angle. There are petroleum based fluids, and tons of clean water used to extract natural gas during the fracturing process.

Unfortunately, a quote by an unknown author give us the rule of fracking, and environmental protection in Region 6 of the Environmental Protection agency; .

"People do not do what you expect, they do what you inspect"

The gas drilling, oil drilling and fracking industries are mostly unregulated and defiantly under-regulated .(Energy). The fracking industry, nor the nuclear or coal plants, in our Region of the EPA, are not required to report "upset conditions".

This means when poisonous gases, explosions, landslide, spills or accidents occur, they do not have to be reported to the State Environmental agencies.

The Emergency Response agencies get notified, but they are not required to report to Environmental Agencies.they may do it as a courtesy, but no requirements are in place

There are better ways to do things. Just because it is "how we always done it", does not mean we cannot change.

Fracking is to Drilling, as Mountain-top Removal is to Mining. We cannot see the devastation of our groundwater and water aquifers, but it is just as bad.

There was a chance for Congress to act on the Clean Energy Act, but it has been killed (2011). It had passed in the House, but went no further (edited). For those who care about the Earth, please let your elected officials know that you want Clean Energy that is well thought out.

There is push for Nuclear energy. It is being masked as Clean Energy, and an answer to Coal Fired Plants. In the big picture it is not a sound or wise idea. Nuclear plants are expensive, and dangerous. A nuclear plant near any area will drive up prices in that area. Local businesses will over-price items to fit the handful of Nuclear Plant workers, so they don't miss big money. This sends the general population into further poverty, making rentals double and triple what the 'median population can afford. There is also waste disposal that will be our problem for at least 10,000 years.

As Earth temperature warming continues, there will not be an easy way to cool nuclear plant towers. Massive amounts of water are needed for cooling. Toxic Waste-By products in the Air, Water and Soil are not the way to power ourselves. We have the Sun and Methane.

Over the past 3 decades, Energy providers have moved from serving Customers, to running every aspect of our lives. We are not customers. We are slaves. In order for us to live in a Clean Energy world, we are going to have to stop our own consumption of non-renewable resources. We are going to have to change our Thinking. "Can we Get Ourselves Back to the Garden?"

September 11, 2014. Several notable volcanoes are moving from dormant to yellow, orange and red. Yellowstone is very hot. At this present time in 2014, Oklahoma is suffering untold earthquakes due to the fracking activity, and the underground injection wells.

We are not taking care of Earth.

Arkansas did experience clusters of earthquakes that used to occur frequently, in and around Guy, Arkansas (Faulkner County, Arkansas, North America). Man made ones, are often removed from the Shake maps, and USGS publications, are removed from the internet.

The United States Geologic Survey (USGS) makes these posts public. Who is having them removed. FOIA?

Checking for updated videos on Fracturing (fracking) explosions, I noticed the Natural Gas industry has been busy, covering their tails.

Many of the videos of the disasters being caught by individuals have been buried or lost.

Do Not buy everything the Energy Industries are selling. They could spend that much money cleaning up the way they operate, instead of covering their dirty behavior, and our environmental loses.