We will be on vacation through January 25th.

Keep up the conversation until we return!

Can they even see the forest for the dollar signs??

Thank you to a friend who forwarded the following article which appeared in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. It must be read to be believed. The lead in paragraph is fairly innocuous--it's what follows.

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GAS DRILLERS BID TWICE WHAT PA BUDGETED

BY Andrew Maykuth amaykuth@phillynews.com.


"Natural-gas drillers yesterday bid $128.5 million to develop 32,000 acres of Pennsylvania state forests, twice the revenue the state had budgeted, prompting fears of a headlong rush to overrun public lands to tap into the rich Marcellus Shale....[click here for the rest of the article].

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Nearly 1/3 of PA's state forests are now under lease so that they might extract the natural gas deposits. . Maybe I'm confused but weren't state parks designated as "state parks" to be PROTECTED from development and to serve as recreational and educational areas for residents and tourists?

One of the wonderful things about living where we do is the proximity to treasures like our state parks. What is this going to do to property values? Better yet, how many tourists do you think will come to vacation in the Endless Mountains if they're surrounded with drills, pipelines, and all of the lovely things that come along with this process? Who takes vacations in Superfund Sites? No one I know.

Officials agreed to this sweetheart deal because their financial arms were twisted. PA's budget presented a perfect storm of circumstances for these companies to come in and save the day by paying for the privilege to....destroy one of the major streams of revenue to the state--tourism to our parks!

So what happens when down the road we have budget issues again? Is the government even thinking clearly?!

Once these lands are polluted--there is no "do-over." Our state parks will become Superfund Sites.

Yes, I've read the whole process is supposed to be safe, yada yada yada. Tell that to the residents of Dimock, PA. This rural town has filed a class action lawsuit against drilling companies who polluted their streams and drinking water, damaged their fields--and in one case-- blew up a house.

Or to those who live in western PA where 160+ species of fish and aquatic life--an entire ecosystem--has been killed off due to fracking fluids being dumped in the water upstream.

Or to those who live along the Monongahela where fracking fluids were also dumped. This major river is now polluted and residents enjoy "chunkier than normal drinking water." Earthjustice, formerly known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, is pursuing possible legal action on a backroom deal that would allow a new water treatment plant to dump half a million gallons PER DAY of water polluted by gas drilling chemicals into this river.

Or to the owners of wells in upstate NY which are now contaminated by radium-226 (a derivative of uranium) --amounts in some cases nearly 300 times that deemed safe for human consumption.

What is it going to take for those in Harrisburg to wake up and smell the methane?! If you, too, are outraged, you can contact your representatives and tell them what's on your mind. They work for US--not the other way around. There are links on the Protect the Endless Mountains blog (along the right) where you can click to find the name and contact information for each of your legislators.

Protect our state parks. Protect our water supply.
Remember, there are no do-overs.

Public Notice: Web seminar to cover issues related to natural gas leases

A Web seminar to address ongoing implications of natural gas leases will be available January 21 @ 1pm.  While many landowners across Pennsylvania have signed lease agreements with natural gas exploration companies, new questions - which may or may not be clear in the original leases - continue to emerge. A discussion of these questions will be the focus of a free Web-based seminar titled, "Post Leasing - Considerations of What Happens Next, Lessons Learned to Date."

Sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the seminar will provide information about the scope of existing and additional lease agreements. The seminar will address some of the trends landowners have been observing as the gas extraction phase begins to ramp up in many parts of the state. Some of these trends include negotiations with landowners for siting the well pad, lease extensions, the addition of roads, pipelines, sound mitigation and the need for timbering. The seminar is available by going to PSU's Cooperative Extension events site.  Online participants will have the opportunity to ask the speaker questions during the session. 

The seminar is part of an ongoing series of workshops addressing issues related to the state's Marcellus Shale gas boom. One-hour seminars also will be held at 1 p.m. on the following dates:

Feb. 18: "Underground Injection Wells as an Option for Disposal of Shale Gas Wastewaters: Policies and Practicality." The presenter will be Karen Johnson, chief, Groundwater and Enforcement Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3

March 18: "The Impact of Marcellus Shale: What Do the Economic Impact Studies Imply?" Presenter will be Timothy Kelsey, Penn State Cooperative Extension state program leader. 

For more information, contact Joann Kowalski, extension educator in Susquehanna County, at 570-278-1158 or jmk20@psu.edu.

Gasland...the Movie!

I recently learned that our collective story is about to hit the Big Screen.  As in Sundance Film Festival.  Filmmaker Josh Fox calls our area home and when he heard about the drilling coming to town, he decided to put his skills to work.  The result is a documentary--featuring footage and interviews from Dimock, PA and other communities in 24 states--and detailing the largest natural gas drilling operation in our nation's history.  The film is scheduled to appear at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival later this month.

Find out more by checking out the film's official website.  Below is a teaser...you can find more trailers at his site, Water Under Attack.

CAN YOU DO THIS WITH YOUR TAP WATER? from JOSHFOX on Vimeo.

Please note that I have *not* seen the film but am anxious to do so!

Why ask why?

In a recent edition of the Wellsboro Gazette, there appeared a letter to the editor which gave me pause.  John Kesich of Millerton wrote of a recent presentation he attended given by Scott Blauvelt of East Resources.  During the presentation, Mr. Kesich asked questions many of us are no doubt thinking, but for whatever reason have kept to ourselves.  Some don't like public speaking; some fear asking a 'dumb' question (note: there are no dumb questions); perhaps some don't want to hear the answers.  Many of us no doubt think there's not much we can do when faced with big corporations who can throw money at an issue and make it go away.  Some of my own family and friends fall into this category.  So why should we bother worrying about or questioning the inevitable?  It's all a done deal....right?  Wrong.


Mr. Kesich asked his questions and not to my surprise, the responses left much to be desired.  But the point is that he asked.  When the drilling began just across the border in New York, one person dared to ask questions.  That person made it a little easier for the next concerned citizens to come forward.  There's now an incredibly active group of concerned residents asking a whole lot of questions; their group goes by the name of Shaleshock.  (Their website is a treasure trove of information; if you haven't seen it yet, check it out.  You can also find them on Facebook under the great name of No Fracking Way!).


And guess what?  Things are changing.  There are no done deals.  Chesapeake Energy, the only leaseholder in that region and one of the largest natural gas producers in the entire country, has said it will not drill there now because of the huge amount of opposition they have received.  (You can read all about it here.)  It started when one concerned citizen dared to ask questions. 

So thank you Mr. Kesich--and to all of the others out there like him (I know you're out there).  While the answers you received were less than satisfactory, one hopes it won't be the last time these companies and their representatives hear them.  As Albert Einstein famously said, "the important thing is not to stop questioning."  Please keep voicing your opinion as loudly as you can--at meetings, in the newspapers, and in letters to our legislators.  If enough people speak up, they won't be able to ignore us.  

Thanks for letting me wax a bit philosophical on this first post of the new year.  Over and out-