3 Billion Gallons of Fracking Wastewater 'Accidentally' Pumped Into California Aquifer

originally posted by: NthOther

originally posted by: signalfire

When do these crimes against nature and people become truly punishable for the amount of damage they cause?

Never. Not as long as you have a population that demands large amounts of cheap energy to fuel an economy dependent on the rampant consumption of useless crap.

Environmental destruction is simply depreciation on the balance sheet. As long as the machine keeps running, no one cares.

It isn't the corporation or the state (as if there's even a difference anymore) that is the problem--it's the people.

Totally agree. We are buffered (presently) from the global consequences of our decisions resulting from systems too large to manage effectively. What has happened to our aquifers, topsoil, oceans, indigenous cultures, and health condemns no group independently, but each and every one of us and exposes our psychotic desire to continue contributing to a suicidal culture that seldom offers real peace of mind. We are duly represented by corporations we elect with every dollar spent in material fetishism and true self-responsibility is delegated to the most remote places we can conjure up.

/endrant

"The sad reality is that we are in danger of perishing
from our own stupidity and lack of personal
responsibility to life. If we become extinct because of
factors beyond our control, then we can at least die
with pride in ourselves, but to create a mess in which
we perish by our own inaction makes nonsense of our
claims to consciousness and morality."

- Bill Mollison

Just thought I'd add that if anybody was looking for actual ways to start chipping away at the problem there are people really trying to attack our dependence on energy with unique and thoughtful designs/inventions that can be done by almost anybody. Most notably and on-topic...rocket mass heaters.

Here is a video with many others ideas. Cursing follows so heads-up:

www.youtube.com...

SO disgusting and irresponsible. Californians must not be tired of drinking recycled toilet water. These types of actions should be considered as terrorist. After all, they are poisoning pure water that can never be drinkable. But once again, money talks and poison walks. Way to go fracking companies.

This is an act of terrorism in my opinion. Those responsible should be heavily fined, prosecuted, and should serve life in prison at the very least. ~$heopleNation

originally posted by: DYepes
just out of curiosity, is it possible to pump this contaminated water (before being pimped into pristine healthy aquifers of course) into giant tanks where it can be boiled/distilled leaving behind the contaminants?? or will the contaminants simply boil away into the atmosphere as well? it just may be a theory I am willing to put to the test.

That's how nuclear wastewater is handled. They don't do it with fracking because it's very expensive and slow.

a reply to: elementalgrove

Destruction of the environment is a crime with a heavy punishment, of course it's paid for by nature itself those who use the land for growing crops, raising livestock and drinking water. How many farms and wells did this single act ruin? This level of negligence and/or corruption is intolerable. If people would protest things like this instead of Ferguson maybe it wouldn't happen again but I have this sinking feeling little will come it.

The EPA has proven time and again their ineptitude is only surpassed by their political flexibility and willingness to cater to corporate interests. But how do we protect ourselves and our environment from the EPA? We need divine intervention or we're running headlong into disaster.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Well, starting with a policy of not trying to make the government as small and inept as possible is a good start. Transparency and oversight are necessary in order for regulators to do their jobs but a full half of the country wants to weaken regulation as much as possible.

Maybe it`s all part of that agenda 21 thing?

"sorry but y`all have to relocate because there`s no clean water left for you to drink or grow crops with"

originally posted by: TheSilverGate
a reply to: signalfire

The EPA is a joke, and a very bad one at that.
Everytime a situation comes up they do everything but protect the environment.
They lie and look the other way, exposing people, wildlife, and the environment to who knows what.
The EPA is a regulator for who ever has the deepest pockets to add to theirs, bottom line they are a cover for sell.

And all of this is the result of who's administration?

This is MORE than a fundamental change that you could have ever hoped for!

a reply to: signalfire

Yet the average person with his cell phone, car and house hold waste is the real problem.....WE are unsustainable.

Yes, over population, over use of natural resources by the average slob, and personal freedoms are the danger here.

Lets remember this crap when agenda 21 asks for us to stop living the way we do.

We are the problem....not government like the EPA or large corporations like big oil.

Sure.

originally posted by: tadaman
a reply to: signalfire

WE are unsustainable.

Star, can't think of a more damning evaluation of a life-form. We can play in/discuss the fields of ideologies, political parties, beliefs, sports, entertainment...etc, but eventually we have to go back home and do our homework. The fossil record more than adequately tells us what happens to organisms that can't define and thereby eventually rest into their own niche of time and space.

Depopulation agenda riiiiight there. It reeks of evil.

It's time the whole population serves justice, it's clear that we can't count on officials to fix the problems caused by greed.

originally posted by: Tardacus
Maybe it`s all part of that agenda 21 thing?

"sorry but y`all have to relocate because there`s no clean water left for you to drink or grow crops with"

My thoughts exactly. We are being herded into tighter cages.

I spent the last four years in Texas where fracking runs rampant and unchecked while the drought conditions continue to put ranches and farmers out of business. Absolute insanity.

Sometimes I think that our world is controlled by aliens bent on our slow destruction.

originally posted by: Tardacus
Maybe it`s all part of that agenda 21 thing?

"sorry but y`all have to relocate because there`s no clean water left for you to drink or grow crops with"

Or maybe a pretext for EPA water regulations. Since they didn't get the public to ok regulating ditch water in people's back yards, they need a bigger reason. Oops wait, the EPA water regulation IS part of Agenda 21.

I'm happy for the information this thread provided, but I am so pissed at the information at the same time.
Unfortunately it looks like the damage is done and is non-repairable.
Holy Cow this is just what the anti Fracking gang have been harping about for the past few years!

If you have the time check out the Fragile Earth Forum and look back over the fracking threads.
I'd suggest that you skip the search function unless someone knows how to get it working?
Anyways I hope this news puts a damper on the Fracking but perhaps that is wishful thinking?

Just in the past few days I have read a few articles on the water thefts in that area and they now compare it to the old wild west days.
A fire department even had their reserve tanks drained dry by some water rustler, people are locking up water tanks and installing cameras to prevent water theft. Now it looks like in those parts a lot of water is more worthless than dirt and more toxic than we might ever learn about.

S&F
From one disgusted poster
Regards, Iwinder

ETA a link to an article I just read this morning.....
www.nationaljournal.com...

I got that nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach when I read this thread title. That feeling gets a little worse every time I see another one of these headlines. I predict that within the next year or so I will achieve the coveted level of projectile vomiting when I see yet another headline concerning the environmental stupidity of American corporations.

I'm no tree hugger, I believe there should be some common sense when it comes to protecting the environment. As discussed by a previous poster, it's not logical to protect a highly-polluted non-populated region from a tiny, minimally-polluted stream of water. That is really little more than a bureaucrat justifying his job. And that is really the biggest problem with any government agency.

On the other hand, I like my drinking water to be free from radioactive toxic waste. I also think it's a good idea to keep such substances out of the food web in general.

In another thread, I made a remark that all of the money we save on cheap fossil fuel energy we'll wind up using for new false teeth and chemotherapy. By that time all of the people who made their $billions$ by buying politicians will be long gone to other areas. So that they can begin their polluting anew.

I'm absolutely no fan of the US government, especially bureaucrat-infested agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting my rights and the environment. However, for those who would like to blame the current administration or the EPA, I would suggest you familiarize yourself with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. And you might be particularly interested in the environmental protection exceptions that law provides for fracking and the petroleum industry in general. These exceptions are known in some circles as the "Halliburton Loophole." So, perhaps we should make sure we direct our ire at the proper sources of our problem.


dex

originally posted by: signalfire

When do these crimes against nature and people become truly punishable for the amount of damage they cause?

When are we going to realize just how incredibly dangerous fracking (in all its parts) truly is?

The extraction process is losing up to 9% of methane gas into the atmosphere

Over 400,000 abandoned wells in NA...in just one region in Canada (90 wells) it was found over half of their abandoned wells are leaking methane. How many of those 400,000 wells are leaking methane?

Wastewater injection causing earthquakes

Methane leaking into underground water wells contaminating water sources

New report found 8 dangerous carcinogenic chemicals in the air near fracking wells, including the flammable and highly dangerous hydrogen sulfide

Literally hundreds of pipeline explosions costing human lives during the transport of the gas

And now this.... "sigh" I'm tired.

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: CB328

That is what drives me crazy. No one wants to hold the businesses accountable for criminal activity. Blame the government, defund the government, gridlock the government. But it is the government, the taxpayer who pays the bill because the businesses file bankruptcy, darn near every time. Or go the BP way and spend millions on courts costs instead of doing the right and moral thing. I thought corporations were people too, so they should be held to the same standards and laws as individuals.

If corporations were people I think many of them would have been found dead with a bullet in the back of their heads. But alas, not realistically possible.

originally posted by: WCmutant
If corporations were people I think many of them would have been found dead with a bullet in the back of their heads. But alas, not realistically possible.

Corporations are run by board members. I'm not advocating what you just said but if oil company execs started having that happen to them, they would probably change their business practices real fast.

a reply to: Aazadan

IIRC there was a case in China a few years ago. I don't remember the specifics, but I think a company poisoned some baby formula by cutting costs and other fraud. Quite a few babies died because of it. The top executive of the company was sentenced to be executed for the crime.

I remember the look on his face when the judge handed down the sentence. It was priceless!

Something (as seemingly) as powerful as the government would be necessary to implement a punishment that would alter the business practices of the Giga Corporations like Big Oil.

Any attempt by an individual or small armed group wouldn't have a chance. Once there was a credible threat they would bring out security forces better funded that several small countries.



dex