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Archive for the Tag 'water pollution'

on Feb 19th 2009 Gas drilling,Marcellus shale,pollution

The Rolling Drills of Otsego

 

This is a parody of the Scottish ballad, The Rolling Hills of the Border. I was inspired by a version called, The Rolling Mills of New Joisey.

The Rolling Hills Of The Border         

 

Chorus

When I die, bury me low,
Where I can hear the bonny Tweed flow,
A sweeter place I never did know,
Than the rolling hills o’ the border

I
I ha’e travelled far and wide,
Seen the Hudson and seen the Clyde,
I’ve courted by Loch Lomondsside
but I dearly love the border

When I die, bury me low,
Where I can hear the bonny Tweed flow,
A sweeter place I never did know,
Than the rolling hills o’ the border

II
Often I ha’e mind o’ the day
Wi’ my lass, I strolled by the Tay,
But all its beauty fades away
Among the hills o’ the border

When I die, bury me low,
Where I can hear the bonny Tweed flow,
A sweeter place I never did know,
Than the rolling hills o’ the border

III
There’s a certain peace of mind
Bonnie lasses there you’ll find
Men so sturdy, men so kind
Among the hills o’ the border

When I die, bury me low,
Where I can hear the bonny Tweed flow,
A sweeter place I never did know,
Than the rolling hills o’ the border

 The Rolling Drills Of Otsego 
(A cautionary ballad)    

Chorus

When I die, bury me low,
Where I can hear the Susquehanna flow, 
A sweeter place I never did know, 
Than the rolling hills o’ Otsego.

I
I ha’e travelled far and wide, 
Seen the Hudson and the Delaware wide, 
I’ve courted by the Briar Creekside 
And I dearly love Otsego.

When I die, bury me low,
Where I can hear the gas pipes blow, 
A louder roar I never did know, 
From the rolling drills o’ Otsego.
 
II
Now when I view the tragedy
From Cabot, Halliburton, and Lenape,
All the beauty fades away
Because of the drills o’ Otsego.

When I die, bury me low,
Where I smell the gas pits flow, 
A nastier stench I never did know, 
From the rolling drills o’ Otsego.

III
There’s a certain kind of hell
When your heritage you sell
For a piece of a filthy gas well
Among the drills o’ Otsego

When I die, bury me low,
Where I can hear the Susquehanna flow, 
A sweeter place I never did know, 
Than the rolling hills o’ Otsego.

Brian Foley, Feb 19, 2009

Clarification: The second to last verse does not mean to imply that anyone who leases their land is going to hell, or anything silly like that. I just mean that the gas companies will turn this area into a kind of hell.

No moral judgements here. We are neighbors, and I respect everyone’s rights.

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on Feb 16th 2009 Gas drilling,Marcellus shale

Repeal exemption for gas drilling

This is a copy of a letter to the Oneonta Daily Star  that was published on February 13, 2009. It is reprinted with the permission of the author. 

I am responding to Dick Downey’s guest commentary on horizontal gas drilling published on Jan 17. This way of thinking is a huge mistake.

Watchdogs have great value to society, but they must have the law on their side.

Unfortunately, the laws protecting our water have been compromised. In 2004, the EPA stripped the protections of the Clean Water Act from all aspects of horizontal drilling. In September, H.R. 7231 was introduced by Diana DeGette, co-sponsored by John Salazar and Maurice Hinchey, and would have repealed the exemption for hydraulic fracturing to the Safe Drinking Water Act. This repeal would have given watchdogs some teeth.

Until this repeal can come up for a vote, there is not protection for our drinking water.

This is bound to come up for review again in the 111th Congress. Please let your congressmen know that we need to protect our drinking water supply. We are very fortunate to have great drinking water, and we should all work to keep it safe and clean.

Mike Mitchell

Otego

6 responses so far

on Feb 3rd 2009 Gas drilling,Marcellus shale

AUDIT FINDS EPA A FAILURE ON CHEMICALS

The Following is an excerpt from an article in The Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisc.), January 24, 2009

EPA A FAILURE ON CHEMICALS, AUDIT FINDS

By Meg Kissinger of the Journal Sentinel

Warning: Chemicals in the packaging, surfaces or contents of many products may cause long-term health effects, including cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other reproductive system defects; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism. A decade ago, the government promised to test these chemicals. It still hasn’t. The Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to assess toxic chemicals is as broken as the nation’s financial markets and needs a total overhaul, a congressional audit has found.

Read the rest of the article on the EPAs Failure to Monitor Chemicals

Can this really be news? Is there anyone who didn’t expect this?

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on Jan 18th 2009 Gas drilling,Marcellus shale,pollution

Backyard Fun with Natural Gas Drilling

This graphic is from an Idea thought up by Megan Byrnes. I think it says it as well as anything else.
 

swimming-pool

One response so far

on Nov 19th 2008 Gas drilling,pollution

Natural Gas Drilling Pollutes Water

This is from the Scientific American website from November 17, 2008:

In July a hydrologist dropped a plastic sampling pipe 300 feet down a water well in rural Sublette County, Wy. and pulled up a load of brown oily water with a foul smell. Tests showed it contained benzene, a chemical believed to cause aplastic anemia and leukemia, in a concentration 1,500 times the level safe for people.

Read the article at the Scientific American .

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