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Have you been doubting the myth that natural gas brings good things to communities? So have most people. Here is some hard evidence that the “Boomtown Mentality” is not all it’s cracked up to be:

Energy Boomtowns & Natural Gas: Implications for Marcellus Shale Local Governments & Rural Communities

From NERCRD Rural Development Paper No. 43 January 2009, 63 pp. Prepared by Jeffrey Jacquet
Here’s the table of contents:

Part One: The Boomtown Impact Model

• The Boomtown Narrative
• Challenges to Local Governments
• Government and Community Reaction to Boomtown Growth
• Economic Impacts
• Social Impacts
• Criticisms of the model
• The Bust

Part Two: The Case Study of Sublette County Wyoming

• Historical and Cultural Context
• Employment and Demographic
• Impacts Impacts to Economic Activity
• Impacts to Local Governments
• Social Impacts Fit to the Boomtown Model

Part Three: Implications for the Marcellus Shale:
The Recent Demand for Natural Gas Drilling
Applicability of Marcellus Shale Development to the Boomtown Model
Implications for Local Government and Communities

Download Energy Boomtowns & Natural Gas here (right click).

Thanks to Roz Shafer for pointing me to this.

Have you read this Sunday’s NY Times? Front page: Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers

Already the shills for the gas industry have mobilized with dubious critiques and half-truths to “debunk” the well-researched and devastating article in the NYT. The coalitions are showing their desperation.

Fortunately, the NYT is keeping up with reporting the truth, and has a fine rebuttal to the gas coalition’s baloney today.

Frank Lumia and friends have created a fun and “magical” YouTube video about water pollution.

Worth checking out! (Great job, guys!)

You may want to consider that the word “gift” means “poison” in at least one language.

This wonderfully written parody of “A Visit from Saint Nick”  (original by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823) was written by Yvonne M. Lucia in December of 2010. If anyone knows how t reach Yvonne, please let me know. It was circulated in an e-mail that I got, probably about fourth-hand.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the state,
the citizens were restless, awaiting their fate.
FONG* signs were placed on front lawns with care,
in hopes that gas drilling would commence there.

Leaseholders were nestled, all snug in their beds,
while visions of a gold rush danced in their heads.
With Cuomo in Albany and Pete Grannis gone,
will our leaders become industry’s pawn?

In Dimock , PA there’s been such a clatter -
the water’s gone bad, but what does it matter?
In Big Flats, NY people’s water is bubbling;
there’s no fracking yet , that’s what’s most troubling.

Gas flares on the breast of the new fallen snow
gave a luster of orange to objects below,
when what to our wondering eyes should appear,
but water trucks, rigs, and compressor stations near,

and armies of landmen, who bold-face lies speak;
we knew in a moment they’re from Chesapeake .
They descended like vultures circling their prey,
from farmers to widows, they promised to pay

fifty dollars an acre, now one hundred, now two,
up to one thousand, six thousand, it’s true!
“To the top of the heap! Don’t let the deal stall!
Now sign the lease! Sign the lease! Sign the lease, all!”

When permits were granted, along came denials
that there could be problems with drilling gone wild.
As gag rules were issued when water went bad,
people began to feel they’d been had.

So they joined forces and shared their sad tales -
in state after state, regulations had failed.
They held their heads high and spoke truth to power:
“This is the moment, this is the hour -

We demand our right to clean water and air,
to the seventh generation we pledge our care;
not in my backyard, or in anyone else’s
will we ravage the earth to fatten our purses.”

Their eyes, how they twinkled, their spirits were merry!
Onward and upward their voices did carry.
In spite of the obstacles, grass roots groups formed;
Now thousands strong, gas companies, be warned:

“You are NOT persons, despite what courts say.
We the people will have our way
as we take back our land, our water and air,
our victories won on a wing and a prayer.”

And then in that instant, up on the roof
we heard someone crying, we needed no proof.
As we drew in our heads and were turning around,
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

His eyes were all bloodshot, but not from not sleeping;
“Oh Santa, dear Santa Claus, why are you weeping?”
“High up in the sky my sleigh has been flying;
when I looked down below, I saw the earth dying.

My heart is breaking, there’ll be Christmas no more
if in place of giving, greed is the lure.”
And we heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
“Drilling isn’t safe – keep up the fight!”

(*FONG =Friends of Natural Gas)

Hard to be civil when you’re dealing with lying thieves.

Read: Marcellus Shale: The Real Price of Compulsory Integration In New York

Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis hasn’t actually been doing a brilliant job of protecting NY State from the predatory Natural Gas Industry, but even though he is not a strong link, he was a link. But now the Governor Paterson has been convinced to even can him for the absurdly trumped-up charge of “insubordination.”

Yeah, he had the guts to say that the recent layoffs of over 200 DEC staff would seriously weaken the agency’s ability to protect New York’s environment. But who the hell cares about heath, safety, quality of life or the environment, when there are the profits of parasitic out-of-state corporations and their suck-ups to protect?

This from the Adironack Daily Enterprise:

“Many of our programs are hanging by a thread,” stated the memo, which was reported by the Albany Times Union on Tuesday. “The public would be shocked to learn how thin we are in many areas. DEC is in the weakest position that it has been since it was created 40 years ago.”

The memo warned that fewer polluted sites would be cleaned, stocking of game fish could be halted, and fewer regulators would be available to oversee the expected natural gas drilling boom in the Marcellus Shale that extends into southern New York.

So much for the the gas pusher’s claims that “You have to let the DEC do their jobs.” There go over 200 more DEC jobs that won’t be done.

It’s strange (but sadly predictable) that there will always be a portion of the population that will be fooled by people who see black as white, wrong as right (as well as  horizontal as vertical.) At every meeting where there have been pro-gas proponents, I’ve heard, “NY has the most regulations, staff, blah, blah, blah…” But we know that these are the same people who want to reduce that.

What was meager before is being reduced to woefully insufficient.

It’s no comfort to me and other anti-fracking people to know that all the pro-gas folks will regret what they are proposing some time in the future. I wish they could see that it’s not worth selling out now for a promise. But many people just don’t really think or care about the future, or the consequences of an irrational belief in “free money.”

Read the coverage at the Albany Times Union.

Take action!

This is from an e-mail from Walter Hang. It’s

Call and email Paterson to decry his efforts to cut critical environmental and health regulatory programs. Gutting DEC makes a mockery of his promise to make sure Marcellus Shale Gas Hydrofracking is done safely.  This is the last straw. Demand the draft SGEIS to be withdrawn.  Pour it on.  This is a golden opportunity.

Governor David Paterson

• 518-474-8390 (o)
• governor@chamber.state.ny.us

Please bcc: info@toxicstargeting.com so we can maintain a record of all contacts.

Tags: DEC, DEC commissioner Pete Grannis, Department of Environmental Conservation, Pete Grannis Fired

In an article today in the Charlotte Observer, Piedmont Natural Gas chief shill Thomas Skains insists on peddling the hokum of natural gas as “clean energy.”

Some of his more dubious (devious) statements from the article are mentioned below.

“Q: Given the explosion in California, how do we know our pipelines are safe?

“A: Our pipelines are safe.”

In other words, “Because I said so!” Which basically means, “This is not true.”

“This is nothing new. Hydraulic fracturing has been deployed over 60 years in more than 1 million wells, and I’m told there hasn’t been a single incident of proof that there’s been any groundwater contamination.”

OK, these are just lies. This man apparently does not know, or is lying about the difference between vertical and horizontal, which is just another part of the playbook of this predatory industry. This is ENTIRELY new.

High-density, high-pressure, horizontal hydraulic fracturing has NOT been done for over 60 years. He is comparing vertical to horizontal fracking, and that is like comparing the Wright Brothers’ plane with the SST.

It is disingenuous spin, which further proves that the representatives of this industry should not be trusted further than you can spit a rat.

As far as he’s been “told” that there hasn’t been a single incidence of proof… yeah, if you only listen to the other shills, you won’t get honest information. The truth is that we probably never will be told of the incidents, because the industry puts so much effort into covering everything up and lobbying for deregulation and tax breaks. It’s guys like him who don’t want you to know when their industry screws up, so why on earth would anybody trust him or quote him without challenging it?

Tags: natural gas industry lies

JOIN US!

DELAWARE COUNTY ANTI-GAS DRILLING MARCH & RALLY Delhi, NY

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

in front of the County Office Building, 111 Main St.

as the Delaware County Board of Supervisors arrive for their monthly meeting.

JOIN US! an ad hoc group of Delaware County residents

who rally in Delhi to ask…..

Gas Drilling?

Who REALLY Wins? Who REALLY Loses?

• JOIN US! if you are one of the majority of NEW YORKERS (53% in a recent Cornell University poll) who now see MORE RISK THAN REVENUE in the Gas Drilling Scam!
• JOIN US! if you are concerned about the wanton carelessness of a drilling industry that reneges on its promises to communities while it spills and contaminates across the country!
• JOIN US! if you think the tax payer will be left to live with TOXIC WASTE, AIR & WATER POLLUTION, ILLNESS.
• JOIN US! if you are concerned that while A VERY FEW will profit, THE REST OF US will lose our way of life and be in debt for the mess the drillers will leave us!
• JOIN US! if you are concerned that our County Board of Supervisors supports drilling – WITHOUT HEARING BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUE!
• JOIN US! to demand that time be allotted for Delaware County Citizens to be heard at all Delaware County Supervisors’ meetings!
• JOIN US! if you want your voice to be heard.

There will be a microphone & loudspeaker available.

Anyone wishing to speak may do so for 2 minutes.

PLEASE ARRIVE BY 4:30 TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK.

Sponsored by:

The Sept. 8 Rally & Protest Committee

• ANDES:  Judy Garrison;  BOVINA: Heidi Gogins,  Michael Gogins;
• COLCHESTER: Caroline Martin, Deborah Rivers; DAVENPORT: Eleanor Moriarty;
• DEPOSIT:  Kathleen Livington, Stan Salthe;
• DELHI:  Faiga Brussel,  Nancy Fales Garrett,  Jessica Vecchione;
• FRANKLIN:  Fokish Farm (Katarina Isaksson & Hank Stahler), Carole Marner, Gene Marner, Carolyn C. Pierson, Walter Putrycz, Ellen Sokolow;
• HAMDEN:  Leslie Albaugh,  Nick Albaugh, Judith Lamb, Robert Reiter,  Linda Stephan;
• HANCOCK:  Jannette Barth,  Dolores Bentham,  Beat Keerl,  Talia Lugacy,  Tom Noonan,
• HARPERSFIELD: Louise von Brockdorff
• KORTRIGHT: Carl Arnold;   MASONVILLE:  Kathleen Klopchin;
• MEREDITH:  Harry Barnes,  Amy Weiss Friedman, Muffy McDowell, John Ryan, Kate Ryan, Joan Tubridy, Marguerite Uhlmann-Bower,  Aldine Weiss;
• TOMPKINS: Linda Daly, Tom Daly, Steve Dungan;
• WALTON: Dave Baker, Naomi Fisch, Deborah Hunt, Stony Creek Farm (Dan & Kate Marsiglio)

Tags: Fracking and Economic Development

Natural Gas Fracking in Pennsylvania

From CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on Natural Gas Fracking in Pennsylvania

“You can’t live like this – it’s so stressful every single day.”

Homeowner Stephanie Hallowich is like many in western Pennsylvania who have watched theHomeowner Stephanie Hallowich is like many in western Pennsylvania who have watched their once-pristine neighborhood become an industrial site. Sprawling plants with flares that reach high into the night, noxious smells, trucks, and containment ponds with unknown chemicals are among the complaints of people who live in areas where natural gas companies have descended.

Hallowich believes three natural gas-drilling operations bordering her property turned her well-water black, forcing her to purchase a tank of fresh water every month. ir once-pristine neighborhood become an industrial site. Sprawling plants with flares that reach high into the night, noxious smells, trucks, and containment ponds with unknown chemicals are among the complaints of people who live in areas where natural gas companies have descended.

Watch the video and read the full article at Natural Gas Fracking in Pennsylvania

Here’s a great post from Herb over at http://frackmountain.wordpress.com/

There will be thousands of gas wells drilled over the next two decades using slick water horizontal hydrofracking – turning Central New York into an Industrial “Sacrifice Zone.”

Tags: reasons why horizontal hydraulic fracking is bad, reasons why horizontal hydraulic fracking is wrong, why there should be a moratorium against natural gas fracking, why you shouldn't sign a gas lease