Fracking Could Harm Our Fisheries in MD. Help Ban It!!

[dson05]

My apologies. It was found as inappropriate. My personal feelings should not have been shared in this forum. I have just seen the ups and downs of the fishery here in the bay so thought it was fitting. No excuses are argument made. Just love fishing and the fishery here in MD.

[J.A. Veil]

I am not sure how to reply to this -- I am very passionate about natural gas production, but will try to be as diplomatic as I can. dson05 refers to an Environmental Science class, so I presume that he is a student. I appreciate his enthusiasm for protecting the environment -- I suspect that most of us feel the same way. But when you speak out on a public board and cite second or third hand heresay evidence that is not necessarily factually accurate, you open yourself up to criticism. And by encouraging others to support your cause and sign a petition, you go beyond expressing your own opinion. There are many opponents to natural gas production and to hydraulic fracturing in particular. But basing your opinions on the remarks of a guest speaker, who almost certainly has an agenda, is not an open-minded way to learn the facts about an issue.

We are not familiar with oil and gas production here as we have not had producing wells in Maryland for decades. Unlike most Marylanders, I have closely worked on and studied oil and gas production for 20 years. I have written several dozen technical reports on oil and gas water topics, and have been invited to lecture all over the world on those subjects, including talks on water issues relating to shale gas production and hydraulic fracturing (Not "fracking" - Note that the media loves to use the made-up term "frack" -- where else can they write a word that starts with "F" and ends in "CK" without incurring the wrath and censorship of their editors.) I feel comfortable in claiming expertise in this field and take offense at the partial truths or misinformation that is thrown about too casually.

Fear of the unknown is very easy to stimulate, but may not be grounded in fact. I think that any stories of widespread Potomac River pollution that could be caused by a handful of wells (none have been permitted in Maryland yet) are purely fairy tales -- science-based evaluations and risk assessment would show minimal impacts to the river. But there are aggressive and well-spoken legislators who are effective at convincing their constituents that the sky is falling in.

I am convinced that we can conduct oil and gas operations in an environmentally friendly way. I do not want to open the otherwise friendly and productive pages of this site to arguing about fracturing and request that others who post after me can reply in a civil manner. But I do suggest that dson and other readers make an effort to learn the facts before seeking public support to ban a practice with which they have no familiarity. I also hope that we can focus on kayaking and fishing topics and not on environmental activism in this site.

[Rockchaser]

ahh, uummm, Hell I got nothin I'm going fishing!!!!

[ronaultmtd]

Yep- very touchy subject- I am a big proponent of nuclear power- represent the workers in the National Labs- new technology is amazing efficient- safety systems in gravity feed passive cooling systems are key to preventing overheating, cracks, etc. in the pressure vessels- 70% of all green energy produced in the USA is from the 142 operating nuclear power plants producing the cheapest, most efficient (95%) generation of all sources- 20% of all US electricity is nuclear produced- the natural gas technology called fracking was invented by the oil and gas industries back in the 1940's and the process is being improved and researched in the DOE National Labs- and is under-going constant improvements- (Thanks John Veil for correcting my mis-information) Department of Energy is heavily invested in science and inspections of these natural gas wells and the drill sites- As a nation we will need 40% more electricity by 2030. The economy cannot bloom unless we can produce affordable, abundant energy- wind, solar, tidal, nuclear, coal, gas and oil generation will all be needed- there is no one answer to our energy generation needs- we need them all- To replace existing generation plants with new plants is economically unfeasible and unaffordable- natural gas fired plants are cleaner (not totally green but much greener than coal or oil) and more affordable to build than any other form of generation.

[dson05]

I am not sure how to reply to this -- I am very passionate about natural gas production, but will try to be as diplomatic as I can. dson05 refers to an Environmental Science class, so I presume that he is a student. I appreciate his enthusiasm for protecting the environment -- I suspect that most of us feel the same way. But when you speak out on a public board and cite second or third hand heresay evidence that is not necessarily factually accurate, you open yourself up to criticism. And by encouraging others to support your cause and sign a petition, you go beyond expressing your own opinion. There are many opponents to natural gas production and to hydraulic fracturing in particular. But basing your opinions on the remarks of a guest speaker, who almost certainly has an agenda, is not an open-minded way to learn the facts about an issue.

We are not familiar with oil and gas production here as we have not had producing wells in Maryland for decades. Unlike most Marylanders, I have closely worked on and studied oil and gas production for 20 years. I have written several dozen technical reports on oil and gas water topics, and have been invited to lecture all over the world on those subjects, including talks on water issues relating to shale gas production and hydraulic fracturing (Not "fracking" - Note that the media loves to use the made-up term "frack" -- where else can they write a word that starts with "F" and ends in "CK" without incurring the wrath and censorship of their editors.) I feel comfortable in claiming expertise in this field and take offense at the partial truths or misinformation that is thrown about too casually.

Fear of the unknown is very easy to stimulate, but may not be grounded in fact. I think that any stories of widespread Potomac River pollution that could be caused by a handful of wells (none have been permitted in Maryland yet) are purely fairy tales -- science-based evaluations and risk assessment would show minimal impacts to the river. But there are aggressive and well-spoken legislators who are effective at convincing their constituents that the sky is falling in.

I am convinced that we can conduct oil and gas operations in an environmentally friendly way. I do not want to open the otherwise friendly and productive pages of this site to arguing about fracturing and request that others who post after me can reply in a civil manner. But I do suggest that dson and other readers make an effort to learn the facts before seeking public support to ban a practice with which they have no familiarity. I also hope that we can focus on kayaking and fishing topics and not on environmental activism in this site.

My apologies. I have removed the post the best I can.

[dson05]

Yep- very touchy subject- I am a big proponent of nuclear power- represent the workers in the National Labs- new technology is amazing efficient- safety systems in gravity feed passive cooling systems are key to preventing overheating, cracks, etc. in the pressure vessels- 70% of all green energy produced in the USA is from the 142 operating nuclear power plants producing the cheapest, most efficient (95%) generation of all sources- 20% of all US electricity is nuclear produced- the natural gas technology called fracking was invented by the oil and gas industries back in the 1940's and the process is being improved and researched in the DOE National Labs- and is under-going constant improvements- (Thanks John Veil for correcting my mis-information) Department of Energy is heavily invested in science and inspections of these natural gas wells and the drill sites- As a nation we will need 40% more electricity by 2030. The economy cannot bloom unless we can produce affordable, abundant energy- wind, solar, tidal, nuclear, coal, gas and oil generation will all be needed- there is no one answer to our energy generation needs- we need them all- To replace existing generation plants with new plants is economically unfeasible and unaffordable- natural gas fired plants are cleaner (not totally green but much greener than coal or oil) and more affordable to build than any other form of generation.

My apologies. I removed the post the best I can.

[ronaultmtd]

John and dson05 set the bar pretty high- we have a friendly, tolerant, open forum where we treat each other with respect and friendship- we are all friends and fishing buddies here- every so often we get something just a tad political or environmentally sensitive, but even those occasions are handled well- I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank all our forum buddies for being so nice, so open and such friends- it is too uncommon now a days-

[DOGFISH]

I am more concerned about drinking water. Hell the fisheries are already being killed off. I base this on my own experiences of living on the Chesapeake for 60 years.

If fracking is done in the east as it was done in the west, someone needs to take a serious look at what is going to be done. I don't need to be a scientist to know that drinking water flowing from a faucet that can be ignited with a match is not a good idea. Until there are tight regulations on what is done, such as publishing the chemicals that are being pushed into the ground and not protecting that information as being proprietary and protected rights, there should be concern by the everyday public. Also, if fracking is done, as it was in the west, there will be more than just a few wells. Things may have changed since the western experience with fracking, but the affected public does, should have an opinion after that experience. The cancer rates around the Chesapeake Bay are already alarming. I personally don't think we need more chemicals pumped into the ground. Again, cancer rates, after fracking, in western areas has increased. I am not an expert to also know that I don't want to see oil wells drilled off the eastern coast or in the bay. This is based on what I have seen from oil spills. I also don't need pink slim added to ground beef, which experts claim is safe. There is alot that goes on that the general public should should have an opinion. We all have to live in the area being affected. dson5 should not have to apoligize for his opinions, on a public forum or not. Hell, remember when DDT was considered safe and the cure to all bug problems. Some time the common sense public opinion is the canary in the coal mine. Oh, and "clean coal," well that is a subject for another time.

[J.A. Veil]

I am writing to commend dson05 for editing his original post and for writing to me privately to learn more about the subject. I sent him additional information offline.

As others mentioned, hydraulic fracturing and natural gas development are controversial and polarizing subjects. Given the hundreds of members in MKF, it is very unlikely that we will all share the same point of view on any issue, and particularly on this one. In a free country, we are fortunate to have the right to develop and express different opinions.

I do not intend to continue commenting on this subject through this thread. I will end by including a sentence from a guest column I wrote about hydraulic fracturing in the Sept 21, 2012 issue of the Annapolis Capital paper: "Whether Capital readers agree with my opinions or not, I hope that they will make the effort to evaluate hydraulic fracturing with an open and inquisitive mind and not be swayed by partially accurate information from those with a vested interest -- proponents and opponents alike."

Now let's get back to fishing.

[On the fly]

John and dson05 set the bar pretty high- we have a friendly, tolerant, open forum where we treat each other with respect and friendship- we are all friends and fishing buddies here- every so often we get something just a tad political or environmentally sensitive, but even those occasions are handled well- I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank all our forum buddies for being so nice, so open and such friends- it is too uncommon now a days-

That is what I tell people about this site, respectful & friendly even when we go Off course for a moment. (You can tell it is winter, more thinking and less fishing)