Environmentalists Come Out in Support of Fracking

It's better than dirty coal, and everyone's doing it

The Environmental Defense Fund is turning many a green head today with its announcement that it supports fracking. For the EDF's Mark Brownstein, it boils down to this: fracking is both common and widespread; it's better than coal; and regulation can deal with any negative side effects.

Business Insider reports that the chief counsel of the extremely well-known outfit detailed why his organization is giving its nod of approval to the natural gas extraction method many greenites oppose.

"Demand for natural gas is not going away, and neither is hydraulic fracturing," writes Brownstein. "We fear that those who oppose all natural gas production everywhere are, in effect, making it harder for the U.S. economy to wean itself from dirty coal."

Via Business Insider and Press Action.

Do you support fracking as a method of extracting natural gas?

[Lorth]

Fracking has caused natural gas to seep into people's water supply. When you can set fire to the water running out of your kitchen faucet - you got a problem and your property can become worthless. So much for the EDF's claim of "We believe economic prosperity and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.".

[MongoAPillager]

You enviro nuts will complain about anything: ),fire coming out your faucet,free heat and hot water.perhaps we should ban faucets as to their contribution to climate chance, F lamming Faucets,wish i had a band cause now i got a name

[David944]

The documentary Gasland has been debunked. The water they showed on fire was doing that before any fracking was used in the area. It may be helpful to take some of that gas out of the ground then you may as well use it to power a steam turbine.

[MongoAPillager]

@David944 in all seriousness,if this fracking we are doing is causing all this damage wouldn,t the constant earthquakes we,ve be getting lately result in a lot more of these issues as opposed to what miniscule damage we are doing?

[CanisCanemEdit]

@David944 - The new Anti Fracking battle cry has to do with Air Quality, now that the Fire/Water claim was debunked:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2012...

[Lorth]

@David944 - And the Duke Study?

http://www.propublica.org/article/scientific-...

[DARSB]

Flammable drinking water and earthquakes but cheaper and produces less CO2 than coal.

What a dismal tradeoff.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

In a related story, all liberals swear off of fossil fuel and disconnect their home from the electrical grid.

Oh. Never mind.

[CommonSense]

Fair enough, IF and ONLY IF they can pass good enough regulations to stop the gas from getting into people's water supplies.

[Stratton]

Methane contamination of drinking water has occurred in the drilling of any type of well, including water wells themselves, so I don't see how that's relevant. It's reasonable to insist that fracking be done in a responsible way that does not present a sizable risk of contamination, and that testing be done afterward to find any contamination and remediate it. It's not reasonable to ban an entire methodology for extracting natural gas out of a misplaced mysteria over a small number of incidents. I'm pleased that the EDF has recognized that.

[AceLuby]

I do not support fracking in any shape or form. It pollutes the little ground water we have left and it disrupts natural rock formations that have settled over millions of years which has caused sink holes and earthquakes. The only regulation that will stop this is to outlaw fracking entirely.

If we would have spent half as much time and energy into wind, solar, tidal, nuclear, and bio diesel over the last 30 years as we have drilling, fracking, and mining we would be consuming half the amount of fossil fuels as we do today and because of the demand and people getting more efficient at creating their products it would have cost half as much. The longer we refuse to bite the bullet the more difficult the change will become.

[1adam2]

so now we have to worry about frakenstein? creating another, manth-ter.

[okienomore54]

Fracking been going on since 1949. So, what so new. I say Frack

[Rivaldruid]

Anything to bring down energy cost down is acceptable.

[Wilberhum]

The trick is "regulation can deal with any negative side effects". But they haven't and they won't. The chemicals used in Fracking are poisonous on many different levels. Have you ever seen water burn? If you have, thank Fracking.

[CoIntelProMike]

Can tell this was not a decision made by the "Greenites" (think BigGov. Wrote the article)

[Decent-Dissent]

Absolutely not. Please stop raping my planet.

[MellowGuy]

Fracking is probably a net gain because it lowers the use of coal. One problem is that mining sand for fracking can harm the environment through air and ground water pollution.

[Wilberhum]

Shouldn't we work for a 'Better' solution instead of a 'Not as Bad' solution?

[InjusticeSucks]

DuH!!!!

[Chomsky0]

I've seen the documentary Gasland, and I've tasted water from water wells that are close to natural gas wells. It's obvious that poison is getting into our water tables. I don't like the idea of fracking but I don't like the idea of how we get oil. So environmentalists are just screwed. It all comes down to money, who can make the money, as usual follow the money. Who has the most to make by keeping nonrenewable resources as our main energy?

[ibcingu]

Oh-oh. The coal mine owners & miners aren't gonna be happy about this.

[Souljah]

well I guess its one way to go if you want to take care of the overpopulation problem..

[Keyjo]

Oh fruck it!

[Texian]

How much did T Boone Pickens put up to literally BUY these people off!? He has "controlled" the Sierra Club for years! Do NOT believe a single letter of it ... all YOU need to do is look at the process YOURSELF and use some "logic" along with number of "holes punched" since Pickens 1st began pioneering its use in the FIFTIES in order to formulate a more "realistic image" of the damages ALREADY inflicted upon the crust for your very own self without paid spokespeople feeding you outright LIES in the form of propagandistic pseudo-science bunk to confuse the "average Joe/Jane" who they already see as "too STUPID to know the difference".

[RSC1]

Yo Texian, do you know when Boone graduated from OSU? He did not start out as a big oil man. He was working in Amarillo for IHC. Boone did not "pioneer" pressure fracturing. My goodness it seems that you fit some of the people you describe. LOL!

[mimi57]

Do you mean those fracking Frackers have finally come to their senses?! Some of them must be sitting on oil...

[Just_Lisa]

Hahahahaha!!! Mimi, I was thinking the same thing when I read this story!
It's different when it's located on environmentalists property! MONEY!!
FRACKING MONEY I TELL YA!!
LMBO!

[justanallusion]

Isn't choosing the lesser of two evils still...evil?

There are far more environmentally beneficial and unobtrusive sources of power generation/fuel for power generation that I feel the energy brokers need pursue until a less environmentally harmful means of natural gas extraction can be developed.