The quote is from Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack, in reference to Steelers linebacker James Harrison's style of play. Sure, as Mr. Mack points out "You need that alot", but the question is, do people really use it? The answer of course, is "no".
1) The Sun-Gazette (our local newspaper) recently ran a front-page article on hydraulic fracturing in the natural gas industry, repeating the same old canard: fracturing pollutes the water supply, and those horrible, evil chemicals are just going to destroy humanity. Firstly, the article states that " industry assertions that no groundwater contamination has ever occurred during the fracking process refers only 'to just what happens a mile or two under the ground.'" This is an asanine claim because the individual isn't using his brain (do progressives ever use their brains?). The only time fracturing fluids would ever contaminate groundwater is through massive spillage and direct access to the water table. While there have been spills, according to the DEP, a great majority of those spills haven't leached into the water supply because those spills have either been contained or cleaned up prior to seapage into the ground. At any rate, to substantially contaminate the water supply as has been claimed (to be clear, any contamination is bad, but these people are claiming whole-scale contamination, not that which results from occasional spills that don't make it to rivers and streams).
As for infecting the water supply in the water table...there is a reason why fracturing is needed in shale formations. For one, the well itself is completely impermeable to outside fluids (be they gas or liquid) because the well is comprised of solid metal casing encased in a thick (4-6") layer of cement to support the casing. This creates a situation where any fluid is not able to enter or exit the well-bore. Thus, each frac begins with a perf stage, in which an explosive charge is detonated in a meticulously planned location to perforate the casing, the cement, and the formation. Then, the frac begins, as water and hydrochloric acid (found in your stomach) are pumped down the well-bore at extremely high pressures (avg 7000psi in the Marcellus formation, higher in other places) to extend the perfs in the formation. If the resulting fractures were left un-propped after the water leaves, the fracture would close; to prevent this, premeable substances (called proppants), like sand, bauxite, and man-made items like ceramic-coated sand, are pumped down-hole at carefully designed rates (arrived at using meticulously studied geological information) to prop the fracture open. Only after the fracturing process are the fluids that are trapped in the formation going to reach the surface. Because the fractures themselves are a good mile or so from the water table, and the formation is impermeable, those fluids are never going to reach the water table (if they did, there'd be no need to drill, because the natrual gas would be leaching into the water supply on its own, without the help of the natural gas industry). The only other way that frac fluids would enter the water supply is through a poorly constructed casing or a poor cement job. If this were the case, then the water from the water table would enter into the well-bore prior to the frac job even starting. The company overseeing the drilling and completion would recognize this problem, and take corrective action prior to fraccing, because such a problem could destroy the whole well. Thus, it is quite impossible for frac fluids to enter the water table, whatever the nay-sayers say.
Detractors hold that since the common use of hydraulic fracturing, methane in well water supplies has become more common. This is a disengenuous statement. The hydraulic fracturing process was first put into widespread use in the '50s. So what these guys are saying is that since 1950, we have seen ghastly amounts of well-water with methane, as a direct result of frac jobs. The problem is, no one really checks water supplies until after frac operations have started or have finished. Methane gas is naturally occuring in coal seams, not shale formations (again, see above concerning the permeability of shale). Coal is more permeable than shale (being softer), and thus, the methane will seap into the water supply on its own, without the help of fraccing. However, this is major problem with the claim: has the well-water been test prior to drilling operations, or has the enviromentalist hype surrounding fracturing so wound people as to blind them to objective information? I vote for the latter.
This brings up the second issue with fracturing: the "mysterious" and deadly chemicals that no one knows about because Big Oil doesn't want anyone to know they are destroying the world one well at a time. The same article says this: "The state Department of Environmental Protection recently released on its website a list of chemicals used industry-wide in the process. Range Resources became the first gas exploration company to divulge the chemicals it uses." This is a bunch of balloney, pure and simple. First, the DEP has had the list up for over a year. Second, as required by federal Right to Know legislation, each and every chemical that is used by any institution has to be listed (including cleaning agents, soaps, and the like), and a Material Safety Data Sheet must be easily accessible for the public, OSHA, and employees. Not only must it be easily accessible, but it must be BLATANTLY OBVIOUS when you walk into the offices of the facility. MSDS binders are bright yellow, and there is usually a sign above them that says "Right to Know" information. Even chemicals that are not hazardous require MSDS. All one needs to do is to contact the fracturing company and ask for a list of the chemicals they use...by law, they have to give them the list. In this regard, fracturing companies are no more mysterious than schools, factories or even government buildings are. It is just the environmentalists creating false negative hype. Of course, there is the issue of the health hazards from the chemicals. Every company is different, so the lists of chemicals in use will vary. Some will use peanut oil when possible, but others will opt for diesel fuel (which is decidedly more hazardous than peanut oil).
Of course, I don't expect people actually concerned about the environment to get the whole story. That would mean that facts and reason would trump emotion. And every one knows that George W Bush and Dick Cheney had ties to Halliburton and the rest of Big Oil. That means that everything about Big Oil is evil, because, you know, Bush and Cheney were utterly evil (at least, that is what Barack Obama and the Democrats say, as well as the New York Times, so seeing as the current President would never lie to get votes--whereas his predecessor did nothing but lie and cover up all he did--we have to trust him, right?)
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