~Marcellus Shale Project, Fracking & Halliburton~ The Raping of Small Town, U.S.A.

The Marcellus Shale project spells nothing but doom, disaster, certain illness, and tragedy for our good citizens and the beauty of Northwestern PA.

The minions of Halliburton have descended en masse upon our fair area with their fat contracts and bags of money to seduce our poor area residents into giving them their mineral rights... I am speechless with dread as I witness what I believe to be the coming of the destruction of one of the last unspoiled places in the USA.

This area is renowned for its unspoiled beauty, its hunting and fishing, its streams, its forests, its fresh natural spring water, the people and farms.

Dick Cheney's corps of cadets have descended upon us. All because of the Shale formation below us.

Furthermore, the introduction by John McCain and Joe Lieberman of Senate Bill S. 3081, Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010, may make it a crime to even speak out against the Marcellus Shale Project if one objects due to the legal issues, or protest it if it is passed (or any other dissenting opinion contrary to governmental views). Also, if this Act is passed, any U.S. citizen who is viewed as a threat is detained without Miranda rights indefinitely. This is flagrantly unconstitutional.

However, since September 11, 2001, the United States citizens have lost many Constitutional rights in the name of "terror". Therefore, this will be also touted as another Act that must be passed for the sake of fighting "terror". Patriot Act, anyone?


Back on topic, I urge all to watch the indie documentary just coming out entitled GasLand. The movie won the 2010 Special Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival as well as a host of other critical acclaim and awards in documentary circles. It must be watched by PA residents. It actually features Pennsylvania residents, some of which are portrayed as having flammable tap water after Halliburton has come in to drill their "safe" wells around their properties.

Trailer here:


This movie is a chilling, unvarnished look at fracking.

Let's use common sense---
A process that uses mini-earthquakes to get natural gas out of the ground?

A process that pumps 80,000 pounds of chemicals into the ground to get natural gas out?

The Halliburton Loophole in the Clean Water Act, that was specifically created in 2005 to allow for fracking, and essentially took the EPA "off the job"?

Halliburton being affiliated with former CEO Mr. Dick Cheney, who was the Vice President at the time in 2005?

70% of the fracking fluid remains in the ground and is NOT biodegradable... where does it go?

A process that destroys and degrades the landscape of the land, not to mention the animal life? In my area we already lament the declination of the deer population...

I realize that the economy is in the toilet. Do we ransom our lives for the money? Do we store up treasure here for today and not worry about tomorrow? This is an issue that affects us all. This is not something that one can say, "What I do with my land is my business."

No. It is all our business. Sorry. Cancerous chemicals that leach from your land onto my land through no fault of mine is my business.
An earthquake that results in the valley from fracking, and only could happen through fracking, is all our business.
Flammable tap water? I thought that only happened in cartoons. Wile E. Coyote is now living and breathing in Pennsylvania kitchens. Cartoon physics is now a reality.

What is confounding is why these corporations, instead of coming to rural PA and seeing its beauty and potential, are trying to destroy it.
Why don't they invest in windmill energy? Why don't they lease these people's land, not for the mineral rights, but for the rights to put up windmills and thus have wind farms? The rebates paid by the state back to the consumer and the corporation would be a windfall two-fold, and the natural resources would not be disturbed. The same with the huge discoveries in water energy made by MIT physics professor Walter Lewin.

A horizontally drilled Marcellus Shale well costs anywhere from $3-$5 million dollars per well (this does not include the health and environmental risks, the clean up, or maintenance costs).

A 195 foot tall wind turbine costs roughly $1.5-$2 million dollars and produces enough energy to power approximately 200 homes per year, and this does not include the rebates and green credits given back to the consumer/corporation yearly. It would cost a company around $40,000 yearly to maintain the structure. Add a solar cell combination onto this as well... you get the picture.

They don't care about rural PA. They don't care about the benzene, ozone, or 70- odd other chemicals left in the ground that won't biodegrade. They care about money.
When the work is done, they move on, the phone calls go straight to voicemail, and they wipe their boots on the contracts signed when the dazzle of dollars was in the air. They knew just how to seduce the kind, open hearted people who were already broken before by one corporate scandal by crooning just the right words.

When Halliburton drills similar structures deep into the White House Lawn and around the area of Camp David, then one can believe that perhaps they truly think it is safe. After all, these shale deposits are present under both these areas as well. Drink the water, then, Washington. Right along with the fish that Halliburton is responsible for from the Gulf of Mexico. Now our freshwater fish will be worthless. Drill, baby, drill.

Rest assured, the blood money paid for the mineral rights will not pay for the treatments needed when illness strikes. The fine print on the contracts, has it been read over very carefully? When one has realized the monstrosity of what has been perpetrated; the cost in real dollars, and in health, sanity, and scenic beauty will never be recouped.

And the Fiends who have already wrought the damage will have the signatures on the dotted lines, allowing it all. The money will be gone, first to the overdue bills, then to some luxuries, then to the doctors...


...then it's on to the system, while in the backyard will be the evidence of how it all started and one will curse the day one allowed them in and wonder how it happened.

I've seen Gasland, it's a pretty scary movie.

Seeing tap water burst into flame is quite astounding, as water, from my limited knowledge, is NOT supposed to catch on fire, yet it does.

This won't stop unless we find other sources of energy. We will pollute and destroy any ecosystem we have to to get the fuel, no matter the consequences. Greed is a powerful motivator and the only thing corporations know. They won't stop unless we give them a reason to stop, and right now there is no reason.

reply to post by TheLoony


I really could not believe my eyes, seeing that.
I rewound it over and over. What's almost funny is the documentary filmmaker's reaction... an almost stoic, "It's not....supposed..... to do that, " in a flat tone. Really, what else can one say? It defies any kind of logical reaction...
Yes, tap water is not supposed to erupt into a fireball.

I really am so deeply worried and saddened at what is going to happen here in PA in the next 5 years I really am at a loss for words.

Toxic chemicals were found in every sample of water tested here by an environment engineer, WBNG reported.


The Sept. 17 story said three laboratories verified the test result that showed the water contains industrial solvents such as toluene and ethylbenzene.


In 2009, landowners sued Cabot Oil & Gas after their drinking water was contaminated with methane gas and various other pollutants.


The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said the drilling wells had defective casings, which caused the gas to leak.


On Sept. 16 the state’s top environmental regulator said all of the homes in the area will have to be reconnected to the public water supply in Montrose, PA, which will cost about $10 million.

www.watertechonline.com...


TOXIC chemicals in EVERY sample taken!

This is incredible. And infuriating. Yet, legal, due to the Halliburton loophole in the Clean Water Act.

What can we, as a people, do? Other than cry?
No, seriously, what?

NRDC Sues Federal Housing Regulators for Blocking Affordable Clean Energy Projects for Homeowners


With PACE programs, the upfront costs of property owners’ clean energy projects are financed by municipalities. Homeowners then pay off the projects as an incremental charge on their property taxes over an extended period of up to 20 years – with the savings on their energy bills often exceeding the costs of the payments from the start. The program is entirely voluntary and easily transferable to the next property owner if the current resident decides to move. It can be used to fund anything from small-scale renewable energy systems, like solar panels, to energy efficiency upgrades, like better windows, insulation, or heating and cooling systems.

The Obama Administration has supported PACE programs in the past, with the Department of Energy awarding more than $150 million in federal stimulus funds to support them last year. But federal housing regulators have since halted the programs nationwide through a backdoor administrative action.

In July, FHFA and OCC issued statements to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the national banks that effectively halted PACE efficiency programs nationwide. The result has been a freeze on nearly all existing and planned PACE programs, leaving millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds in question, and thousands of jobs implementing the projects in limbo, in addition to putting climate change goals and economic development plans across the country on hold.

NRDC is suing the agencies for halting the programs without justification, and for doing so without following the proper protocol as required by law. This includes failing to conduct a review of the environmental impacts and to provide the public an opportunity to comment before taking this action.




So, illegally, and with no warning, the government stops a program that promotes clean energy efficiency for homeowners. Interesting that it is funded with stimulus funds and the names Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are there.





www.nrdc.org...

dcbureau.org...

...Curious to learn more about the entire plan, I filed requests with the DEC under the state’s Freedom of Information Law.

The agency granted several of my requests but denied access to virtually all of a “Reservoir Suitability Report” the company had submitted as part of its permit application. The reason given: Inergy had asserted its rights to protect “trade secrets.” I appealed to the DEC’s general counsel, arguing that the public has a competing right to view the report, particularly sections labeled “Suitability of Caverns to Store LPG” and “Safety and Emergency Shutdown.” That appeal is pending.

The “trade secret” defense has been trotted out before. It is the justification behind a federal law that exempts from disclosure the chemicals now commonly used to extract natural gas from shale.

Marcellus Shale drillers rely on a technique known as horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking. Drills dig down thousands of feet to the Marcellus and then angle horizontally along the shale deposit. Then sand, chemicals and millions of gallons of water are forced under pressure into each well to break open the shale and free trapped gas.

The practice was pioneered and perfected by Halliburton within the past seven or eight years. In 2005, Vice President Dick Cheney, a former Halliburton CEO, convinced Congress to exempt hydrofracking from the federal Clean Water Act and to let drillers keep their fracking chemicals secret.

Like Cheney, the natural gas industry sees it as a challenge to set the rules of engagement so that environmental regulations and other red tape don’t slow down their timetables or jack up their costs.

With all the bad press, all the warnings, all the townships playing "catch up" to try and stop new wells from being drilled...

Why haven't they issued a halt on all this until it can be thoroughly investigated??

Is the corruption that rampant?

And Pennsylvania being called the "Saudi Arabia" of natural gas is chilling. The greed will overcome all sane efforts to stop this madness that Cheney began.

Originally posted by thegoodearth

What can we, as a people, do? Other than cry?
No, seriously, what?

Oil your guns and sort out your ammo, elect local guys, who have never run for office, for 1 term, another guy next time , surround them with friends once they're in office then set about changing the laws, an elected revolution.

Hi guys. I haven't seen the movie (no HBO) but I went to GasLand's site and signed up, left em a story (I worked in drilling for a while), and reviewed their goals and such.

gaslandthemovie.com...

Don't just watch a film like this and be all disgusted. ACT. If we don't ACT on these issues why bother watching a film about it, really? Get informed, and at the very least make you voice heard. We may not all agree on politics or religion or UFO's, but if we agree on one singular issue we can work together to stop it!


gaslandthemovie.com...

I happen to live (potentially) downstream from the Wyoming's Jonah Gas Field. I have a bit more research to do on that one, but my point is this: They are Fracking all over the country. GasLand has a great map overlaying fracking regions with watersheds. Take a peek...I bet alot more of you may be affected than you think!

gaslandthemovie.com...

reply to post by thegoodearth

Awesome thread and great research!

But my question remains the same in every thread I read about this subject.

Until we, the people, get over our insatiable appetite for money, will this ever stop?
How much money and gas do we need?
What is worth destroying our own habitat?


When is enough, enough?




Greed makes me sick.

reply to post by havok


I went to a local screening of this movie last month.
It was shown in a local school auditorium, because since Halliburton has taken over the local community
with their promises of "big money" for the land leases the local movie theater wouldn't show it.

There were about 50 of us brave souls there.

The movie is a stark reality of what happens. It was sickening to see what happened to the people who
have had these fracking people come into their communities. Sickness and death left behind.

I stood up and asked afterwards during the forum if people could charge the company with criminal charges,
as they know that the chemicals they leave in the earth are carcinogenic and also that they contaminate the groundwater, therefore that is a deliberate act of malice.

I was told "No", because of the "Halliburton" exemption. They are ACTUALLY allowed to poison us, legally, because of this exemption!

However, if one of us poisons someone in the same manner, we are charged with murder.

Swallow that Kool-Aid, America~

And this is the same company that pays Dick Cheney, former VP, healthy dividends.

reply to post by thegoodearth


I'm in PA,
Warren/Forrest/Clarion/Venango/Mercer/Crawford counties,
theyre going to be affected by this behavior,
theyve got people coming around asking and looking.
Alot of people are excited about this because of the money.
There's alot of money being tossed around, seriously there's one guy not far from me, say 40 minute ride north,
and he has quite a few wells going,
1 month royalty check, ONE MONTH, $13,000
thirteen thousand, and that's royalty not drilling rights payment.
We're talking about areas that are NOT stacked with houses, so these drillers know, if one guy says no,
there's another guy that will say yes.
It's going to be hard to stop, mark my words.

reply to post by HappilyEverAfter


Yes, I know...
Sell out the water, the beauty, the wildlife, the health of the next generations to come...
I realize it all.
I have heard it all.
I have seen it all.

Godspeed to you and your family.

With all the recent activity in these great threads about this drilling I have to ponder...

If we are in search for more gas and the such...
With the massive amounts of oil released in the Gulf this year...
and our release of natural gas in the fault line that runs through the NA continent...

What will happen with the sudden release of a pressure that I'm quite positive would take the Earth millenia to release naturally?

Will we be the cause of a massive shift in plates?


Makes one think....

reply to post by thegoodearth


there's a new well being punched about 5 miles from me now,
I'm on one side of the valley, theyre on the other,
we went for a big ride right before deer season, basically drove all day through the woods made a huge circle, probably covered every bit of 7 surrounding townships,
I lost count of the wells, and these are the old wells, going back to when atlas was putting them in.
Against my property alone there's 13 surrounding me, (none on mine)
when I told them no way back when, all they did was angle the drill and go under me from the next farm over.
killed the 2 neighbors water wells but didnt get mine,
it stirred everything up though for months, we used it for washing only, no potable for probably 3 months.
I had it tested for everything, and added a filtering system.
So far, so good.
But yeah I understand completely.

that was horrible and had a really profound affect on me... what the hell is going on!? this needs to be stopped, immediately.

Yes, I understand,
we just bought our property up here 18 months ago, our water tested perfect, was right before the wolves moved in...
now I wonder.
And I have the proof that our water was crystal clear perfect too.
Even Reverse Osmosis won't make the water 100% from all the fracking contamination.
How does one remove nuclear contamination, which is found in many samples?

Furthermore, PA is touted as the "Saudi Arabia" of natural gas, right??

We are seriously, in all honesty, probably going to sell our house in a couple of years and leave.

However, in Israel, right now, they have just discovered the (what has been described by many sites) as LARGEST natural gas reserve on the planet!!

I wonder how long it will take for us to flock there, too.

TEL AVIV - Israel can look forward to long-term energy security after the discovery of a huge offshore natural gas field, but obstacles lie in exporting its output, experts said Thursday.

Israel will find it hard to secure foreign buyers as gas consumption in Europe weakens while competition stiffens in the expanding Asian market, they said.

Texas-based Noble Energy and its Israeli exploration partners on Wednesday described the Leviathan prospect - 80 miles off the Mediterranean port of Haifa - as the world's biggest gas find in the past decade.

www.washingtonpost.com...

I realize, as a country, we need energy sources, but to knowingly contaminate the ground water, is not only a horrendous crime against humanity, it should be illegal.

I am very fortunate to have a very clean source of drinking water from a deep well. It is so good, I could bottle it. If someone, or some company knowingly did something to contaminate it, I probably would put a bullet into someones head.

reply to post by zeta55


If they frack,
it is legal, thanks to the "Halliburton Loophole"

reply to post by thegoodearth


What kind of law, or loophole can allow any company to knowingly pollute the groundwater?

If this is true, then those responsible for this loophole, should be held accountable for the damages to the environment, and ground water.

I would say what should be done to them, and it would not be very nice, so I will keep it to myself.

Hell is not hot enough, for Bas---ds like these.

Thank God people are waking up to this. halliburton is systematically poisoning the precious water tables, and forever. Imagine a turd in a punch bowl, and then another, and another-you get the idea. Now, take this punch bowl and empty it in the pool. Does that make it better?

God damn rubber lipped lieberman and his senile lap dog mccain.

I SAID GOD DAMN THEM!!!

None of you will believe me, but this fracking was the reason hollywood made 'Erin Brockavich'. The fear of hexavalent chromium was seeded for the certain future, just like all the aids™ pilots, movies, serials, and medical/cop shows were designed to seed the aidshoax.