It’s telling that a group of fourth graders unanimously reached the conclusion that we shouldn’t be fracking. Ah, the innocence of youth; they’ve not yet mastered the art of defending the indefensible.

First, you need a good industry-funded PR machine to indoctrinate the public: in these parts, Energy in Depth (EID), but others are all over the fracking frontier. Assemble all sorts of cherry picked “evidence” and ignore inconvenient facts. (See below). Divide and conquer. Character assassination is essential. You’ve got a good start but a heck of a long road ahead of you. We’re not all Hollywood liberals, Park Foundation grant recipients, or deluded homeowners with nothing better to do than whine about “supposedly polluted water.” (Come on, really?). That some people actually believe this is sad. For a list of 825 other “attention seekers,” go to www.pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com/the-list/. This list would undoubtedly be a lot longer if it included those who felt they were adequately compensated for their troubles (or not, but had to sign a gag order for recompense) or are just too disgusted by their own naivety to talk about it. Whatever the real number, it’s a far cry from zero as still claimed by some.

If concrete and steel last forever why is our infrastructure crumbling? According to industry statistics, six percent of well casings fail right away, up to 50% within 30 years (www.pulitzercenter.org/reporting/pennsylvania-shale-gas-hydraulic-fracturing-fracking-environment-agriculture-local-farmers-DEP).

More problematic than what goes into the frack is what comes out. Our shale is teaming with microbial life and only the Lord knows (certainly scientists don’t), the consequences of destroying their environment or introducing them into ours. Better keep the biocides, in my opinion. The Marcellus Shale also contains particularly high levels of radioactive materials, which current wastewater treatments cannot remove. Yes, radioactive.

I look forward to the rapid dismissal of these ridiculous “taking” lawsuits. If zoning to protect public health is a taking then we’re all getting taken. Fortunately, we do have rules to protect us here unlike the poor, low population counties with lax, nonexistent, or blatant conflict of interest by landowner-dominated town boards where most extraction has occurred so far.

The idea that regulations can make fracking safe is preposterous and dependent upon complete ignorance of the scope of the process.

Would the silent majority kindly address some of these issues?

Jennifer Young

Bethel, NY