Frack Attack

Natural gas is the cleanest of the fossil fuels. Used primarily to heat homes and make electricity, it emits 23-percent less carbon dioxide than oil. Gas is the country’s second-largest domestic energy resource, after coal. It’s clean, cheap and abundant – estimates are there are half a million gas wells in 32 states already tapped into enough pockets of gas to power America at its 2008 rate of consumption for some 90 years. But there’s a catch. You can’t drink gas. The techniques used by powerful oil and gas companies to extract these fossil fuels from deep underground might be responsible for contaminating groundwater in drilling regions. The elephant in the well is the undisclosed chemical fluids used in hydro-fracturing. The industry hides behind federal protection, granted by the George W. Bush administration energy policy, and a multi-tiered structure of independent contractors designed to deflect blame. Major oil giants like Chesapeake or Shell or Chevron rely on service companies like Halliburton, BJ Services, and Schlumberger to do the actual drilling. Those companies, in turn, hire firms such as EnCana, Questar, and Devon to put the boots on the ground. By the time a roughneck pushes the wrong button and flushes gallons of benzene, a chemical believed to cause aplastic anemia and leukemia, into the aquifer, the suits at the top of the ladder are well-shielded, legally...read more