Councilman Doug Sheilds wants to ban drilling in the city

[sr1234]

Originally Posted by rhondee

I don't know what gives you the idea that PA is "apathetic" towards cleaning up the state.

Fracking, acid mine drainage, air pollution, coal ash waste, strip mining, etc. I don't know where I ever got the idea that PA wasn't a "green" state.

Oh, and let me not forget the advertisements for free pills giveaways for radioative disasters in Beaver County.

[rhondee]

Originally Posted by sr1234

Fracking, acid mine drainage, air pollution, coal ash waste, strip mining, etc. I don't know where I ever got the idea that PA wasn't a "green" state.

Oh, and let me not forget the advertisements for free pills giveaways for radioative disasters in Beaver County.

The use of the fracking technique is being regulated and the shale gas companies are under pressure to do the process in an environmentally safe way.I'm sure they will make every effort to do that so they can make their millions.
One company,Range Resources, contains all the water they use in the fracking process, and re use it so as not to leak contaminants into the environment.
There also has been much improvement made in the areas of acid mine reduction and thousands of acres of land used in surface mining have been reclaimed and continue to be reclaimed.
I know of a man who reclaimed an abandoned strip mine and turned 80 acres of it into a tree farm that he gave our class a tour of.
Other groups such as The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has reclaimed a large strip mine area in Clinton County where elk and other wildlife are returning.
Pittsburgh's rivers have witnessed the return of many species of fish that have been gone for decades but now currently thriving.
There is a species of insect in particular, the Mayflies, that can only survive in a clean water environment and are now present in flourishing numbers in our rivers.
We still have pollution present in Pennsylvania but we are making wonderful progress with improving our environment. Unfortunately, it's a process that takes time and the damage can't be reversed overnight.

For you to say Pennsylvanians are apathetic about the environment is simply false.

I'm not pointing fingers here but I reiterate, I suggest you worry about your city Boston and the fact that 2 out of 5 of the nation's most polluted beaches are in Mass.

[grimacista]

Banning drilling entirely in the city will have a tough time surviving a 'takings' challenge in court. However, maybe it will cause some people in Harrisburg to look at the state laws about drilling and environmental regulation and see how lax they are and do something about it.

[rhondee]

Originally Posted by grimacista

Banning drilling entirely in the city will have a tough time surviving a 'takings' challenge in court. However, maybe it will cause some people in Harrisburg to look at the state laws about drilling and environmental regulation and see how lax they are and do something about it.

I think the problem is all the unknowns about the fracking process for Marcellus shale. Fracking has been around for decades but there are alot of ? regarding explosions or contamination.
If we have been doing regular deep well drilling for decades in this state with no environmental problems then I'm sure if fracking is done in a meticulous manner it should be low risk.
My parents live in central PA and have lived close to a deep gas well now for 33 years and their well water has always tested very good quality.

Houston,Tx has been doing gas extraction inside their city limits and I've never heard about any problems(yet). I don't know anyone who lives in Houston who I could ask.
I think the EPA should have public meetings so people can have more unbiased information gathering before dropping the idea of gas drilling altogether.
Maybe the gas $ could pay for the city pension deficit!

[sr1234]

Originally Posted by rhondee

I'm not pointing fingers here but I reiterate, I suggest you worry about your city Boston and the fact that 2 out of 5 of the nation's most polluted beaches are in Mass.

Boston lands on Greenest Cities lists all the time. Maybe you should worry more about Pittsburgh and the facts instead of making personal attacks.

[rhondee]

Originally Posted by sr1234

Boston lands on Greenest Cities lists all the time. Maybe you should worry more about Pittsburgh and the facts instead of making personal attacks.

I reiterate, I think Boston is a beautiful city. If ALL the beaches there were the worst in the world, it would not deter me from wanting to visit.

You were the one who first said Pennsylvanians are apathetic about the environment and not factual.To you ,everyone else here is always in attack mode. Get over it.

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