How fracking lies triumphed

Submitted by admin on Wed, 02/15/2012 - 08:14

Article at the NYDN about the bumper-sticker issue and TANSTAAFL:
 

...If fracturing were as dangerous as opponents claim it is, it stands to reason that we’d have dozens, even hundreds, of examples of groundwater contamination all over the country. Instead, we have a handful of claims.
 
From a public relations standpoint, the opponents of fracturing are winning the debate because they have a simple and effective message that sows fear of an industry that Americans are predisposed to loathe. It could easily fit on a bumper sticker: “Big Oil wants to pollute your water.” The mere notion scares people...
 

...Here’s the punch line: There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the energy business. Hydraulic fracturing is a water- and diesel fuel-intensive process. Can the drilling sector guarantee that it will never have an accident? Of course not. But it’s equally obvious that the debate over drilling in New York combines two substances about which there is infinite potential for demagoguery: water and energy...


Read the whole thing.