Nearly everything has been blamed on horizontal hydraulic fracturing. Generally, these claims are isolated to economic, environmental and health concerns, but the rubicon of absurdity has officially been eclipsed, and now fracking is being blamed for increasing the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. Wait, that is a health related issue, I suppose.
With "fracking" as the euphemism of choice, it was only a matter of time before the drilling technique became a double entendre.
This from House Democrat Policy Committee Chairman Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster)
“Also, aside from building roads so their trucks can get to drill sites and doing a little stream work to mitigate damage from their road building, exactly what are all those things the drillers are doing for the local communities? Patronizing the bars at night? Driving up the cost of rental housing? Spreading sexually transmitted disease amongst the womenfolk? Causing school districts to ask local governments to ban truck traffic on local roads during school bus pick-up and drop-off times so kids don't get killed? Upgrading emergency preparedness equipment to handle a well blow out? Running compressor stations that have decibel levels equal to a jet engine?...Really community-oriented stuff...”
Desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose. Statements like this strike me as exceedingly desperate!
A couple of months ago I attended a local, purportedly neutral, fracking presentation here in central NY by two women from Bradford County (if you've ever been to any of these things, I'm sure you know who they are--they're on the "anti" speakers circuit). One of the slides in their presentation listed the social negatives associated with fracking, which they said included an increased divorce rate. At first, I was completely puzzled--were spouses splitting over whether or not to sign a lease? I guess I'm a little naive that way because these ladies claimed that that increase in divorces came about as a result of PA "womenfolk" running off with Texas drilling workers in the mistaken belief that "everything really is bigger in Texas" (a direct quote).
ReplyDeleteGood grief.
Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster)
ReplyDeleteHe has nothing to worry about because there ain't no marcellus under Lancaster