Last week, the oil and gas lobby group the American Petroleum Institute (API) held a red carpet film screening at the Warner Theatre in Washington. Such fancy film events are held regularly in DC, but few come with as sexy a title as this one: the "hydraulic fracturing event of the summer."
Attendees, presumably there for the refreshments and connections more than to witness cinematic history, weren't forced to sit through an entire film, just a panel discussion and "film trailers from pro-energy documentaries on hydraulic fracturing including 'Truthland,' 'Empire State Divide' and 'Frack Nation.'" These were presumably created by the fracking industry in response to the riveting documentary Gasland, which exposed how the practice of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas has contaminated air and water in communities around the country. According to API's website, the creator of Empire State Divide was not Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, or Lena Dunham, but auteur Karen Moreau, "who since making her film was named executive director of the New York State Petroleum Council," an API affiliate.
According to Politico, in attendance were "several hundred of Washington's biggest influencers from Capitol Hill, K Street, federal agencies and the media." These included, of course, API President and CEO Jack Gerard, who is paid upwards of $6.4 million a year to run this tax-exempt, non-profit group, as well as Jim Brandell, chief of staff to House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp; lobbyist and former top GOP Hill staffer Ron Bonjean of The Bonjean Company; and Tita Freeman, senior VP at the Business Roundtable.
The blog FamousDC seemed to have a good time: "The evening was a fun, social event filled with helpful experts, delicious snacks and clever cocktails. Fracktini, anyone?" We hope that if there is a Fracktini, it isn't flammable.
All this merriment comes as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces a big decision as to whether to let fracking go forward in his state. He seems to be leaning toward allowing fracking in five southwestern counties. Â A group of New York state senators held a public forum to raise concerns last week. Â A strong grassroots citizens coalition is growing in those five counties and across the state, concerned that residents of economically-depressed areas will end up even worse off after fracking.
Will the influence of big money play a role in the final decision?  The New York Public Interest Research Group reports that ten corporations or trade associations spent $4.5 million over the last three years lobbying in New York state on fracking and other natural gas issues. Chesapeake Appalachia, a subsidiary of troubled Chesapeake Energy, spent more than $1.2 million in lobbying expenses in 2010 alone. And a report issued earlier this year by Common Cause / New York found:
From January 2007 to October 2011, the Natural Gas industry made 2,349 campaign contributions to state and local level New York politicians and parties. These contributions represent over $1.34 million in industry spending.
Governor Cuomo has pledged to make his decision based on "science, and not emotion." That sounds good, so long as the process isn't contaminated by expensive industry lobbying, film festivals, and Fracktinis.
The original version of this article appeared on Republic Report.
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He said: "We don't use arsenic in fracking fluids"
When I told him that those residence describe a gooey black slick substance with fine gritty sand in it coming out of their sinks, I asked him to describe the appearance of fracking fluid, he declined by answering another part of the question.
When I told him that the gas companies sub-contract ever stage of the operation to subcontractors to mitigate liability. I asked him, who is ultimately responsible when this stuff wells up 15 years later. He said "The Lease Holder".
The truths is hidden....
Fracking fluid does not contain arsenic, drilling mud does (e.g. SOLTEX).
The substance I described fits Fracking fluid, hydrocarbons, water sand and gum guar, and sodium chloride, ammonia chloride.
While they might be held responsible, they are not responsible to any damage to the water table.
Show the hole dog and pony show was one big "Colorful Metaphor" to us farmers and locals.
Youtube search "Franklin contaminated water" (townboard meeting).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8l61X7nqT0
This is a mile from "TruthLand".
There is every indication that the townboard has been corrupted, recently a person who owns land in our township andworks for the gas industry files to have a zoning variance in our agricultural valley to create a trailer park. The whole valley of residents showed up at the zoning meeting to yell it down. The result you ask? The town board says the paper work for the variance was filed in the wrong order and thus the meeting was invalid because it did not go through the planning board first. So it will happen again... and we seem to hear of secret meetings of the townboard, or this man who seems to seem to be confident his zoning variance will go though anyway. This is a total nightmare.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/07/epa-declares-pa-fracking-village-water-safe-to-drink/1#.UBHImJwu4X7
This is an incorrect statement. FrackNation was funded through Kickstarter. Visit our Kickstarter page to see all of our supporters: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1009530098/fracknation?ref=city
(For those who don't know; if you mix citrus with Bailey's cream, it curdles the cream, and of course, also makes it taste terrible.)
To frack an oil or gas well, a massive volume of water, sand, and chemicals is injected underground at high pressure to break up rock formations, allowing oil or gas to flow up the well.
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http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/12/plan-for-creationist-ark-park-dr.html
Anti-Frackers and Climate Change Deniers flip sides of the same coin.
Cracking the earth apart to release natural resources is a bad idea.
Unfortunately, Andy has the wrong gift for you:
A little Birdie just came to my ear. She said Governor Andrew Cuomo will announce TODAY that he will sacrifice 5 counties in New York State to FRACKING! :( :(
Watch FrackFreeTV tomorrow, Thursday @ 9PM for more!
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