PrTopotecting Communities and Special Places
e-Newsletter  June 27, 2013
         
Responsible Drilling Alliance
 
quote  "Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, with a global
      warming potential that is far greater than that of
      carbon dioxide, particularly over the time horizon of
               the first few decades following emission.        
           
                                                                                  ~ Howarth, Santoro, and Ingraffea  
                                                                                           2011 Methane Report Abstract    
UPCOMING EVENTS
Keep it Wild!

June 29 at 1 p.m.

Afternoon at  
Band Rock


 
------------------------------- 
GASLAND Part II

July 8 on HBO 
 
 
Host a house party to watch GASLAND Part II

Click the picture for details
 
 

-------------------------------

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/16/3400928/senate-committee-backs-epa-nominee.html#story
  actionTAKE ACTION!
Delaware  
Riverkeeper 
Action Alert!

Protect the Buffers  

that Protect

Pennsylvania's Streams  

and Communities

 

Click the picture to see  

how you can help.

 

 

 --------------------------------------
Keep it Wild!

How can you help to  

keep it wild?  

Here are several ways to join in the effort:

 

Sign the petition! 

 

Send your comments to the PA DCNR at

[email protected]

 

Share your stories and photos with RDA at  

keepitwildrda

@gmail.com

 

We'd love to hear about your favorite memory or special place in the forest and see your favorite photo!

 

 


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/16/3400928/senate-committee-backs-epa-nom

newsIN THE NEWS
The Darkness Behind Fracking's Silver Lining

President Obama's climate change address supporting natural gas production has fanned the flames of debate. Read this article for a viewpoint that differs from Obama's proposal.

More on the Loyalsock

DCNR Acting Secretary Ellen Ferretti spoke up last week when she posted a response to retired DCNR employee Rick Carlson's letter about the Loyalsock State Forest. Read Ferretti's letter and see if you agree with her concept of public involvement.

Water Makes the News - Again

"I realized we're not making any money farming, so why not sell the water to the oil companies? Every little bit helps."  So says one Texas farmer without enough water to grow his crops. Read the story here, then ponder why such a precious resource as water still has no water quality standards for chloride and sulfates in Pennsylvania.

Just ask the PA DEP why not, then read about the findings of a new Duke study where higher levels of methane, ethane, and propane were found in water samples from water wells within one kilometer of shale gas wells.

But hey, don't worry, shale gas wells have to be 500 feet from a water well and a kilometer is - oh wait, a kilometer equals 3,281 feet, give or take a few inches.

Bottle of water, anyone?


   
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uglyThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

                                                                              By ANN PINCA

 

The optimistic anticipation of President Obama's climate change address this week took a different course when his talk turned to natural gas, leaving one with that bad feeling in the pit of your stomach that something has gone terribly wrong. In light of scientific reports demonstrating the real threat of methane to climate change, how can our President possibly speak about the serious threat of climate change yet at the same time support the full-scale development of natural gas?  

 

The Good

The fact that climate change is finally being addressed is a great step forward. Ignored or denied in the past, President Obama has at least formally brought the subject to the table. His plans to cut carbon pollution, protect our country from the impacts of climate change, and to "lead the world in a coordinated assault on a changing climate" are admirable and necessary. His dismissal of the "tired excuses for inaction" and his subsequent expression of faith in American ingenuity to work through the challenges ahead offer promise for the future.

    IMAGE: ANN PINCA 
PPL Montour 
coal-burning power plant, Washingtonville, PA 

 

The possible denial of the Keystone XL pipeline that supports the Alberta tar sands development is also good news. As

former NASA scientist James Hansen says, it's "game over" should tar sands development continue. But note:  Even as the debate continues on the Keystone XL, tar sands development has begun in Utah, which was not addressed by the President.

 

The Bad

Champagne glasses had to be clinking in many board rooms when natural gas operators heard Obama's embrace of "cleaner-burning natural gas" as a means to effect climate change. Despite his line that "we can't just drill our way out of the energy and climate challenge that we face," Obama proceeded to cite those all-too-familiar industry mantras of job creation and cheap heating and electricity rates for Americans as reasons to "strengthen our position as the top natural gas producer."  

 

Our President has apparently either missed the lessons on methane impacts on climate change or has decided to ignore them. Recently,

researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reconfirmed previous findings of methane leakage from natural gas fields in Utah and Colorado - at rates nearly double the loss rates estimated from industry data. NOAA's leakage rates are in line with the 2011 report by scientists Howarth, Santoro, and Ingraffea that details the significant impacts of methane from shale gas extraction, especially within a 20-year window.  

 

Just this month, the International Energy Agency released a report that calls for a world-wide reduction of expected methane emissions of the upstream oil and gas industry by almost one half by 2020.  Additionally, a military report cited the expansion of North American oil and gas production as the means to energy independence "misguided," saying that the real answer to energy security, which includes curbing climate change, is through renewable fuels and energy efficiency.

 

In view of current sentiment in Congress, it seems unlikely that the strict regulation and enforcement Obama proposes to enact during the production and distribution of natural gas are possible. If they are miraculously put in place and adhered to, the sure-to-be-increased production costs will cause higher prices for that cheap and abundant clean-burning natural gas. If increased LNG exports are allowed, which seems very likely when speaking of strengthening our position as a top producer of natural gas, consumer prices - and impacts - will increase, too.

 

IMAGE: ANN PINCA 
PPL Ironwood natural gas power plant, Lebanon, PA 

   

   

  The Ugly     

  President Obama's plans to       

  support natural gas development  

  will subject untold numbers of   

  Americans living near drilling   

  areas  to suffer from health,  

  economic, and social impacts   

  and will release untold acres  

  of public lands to degradation. 

  With the Environmental  

  Protection  Agency's (EPA) 

  unexpected exit from the 

  Pavillion, Wyoming, water  

  pollution problem and the EPA  

study on groundwater impacts not expected to be completed until 2016, one has to wonder if Obama truly has the best interest of his constituents in mind.    

Shortly after the President's address, several major environmental groups sent out alerts to their members. They asked members to send thanks to the President with their agreements of support for his climate change efforts, without any mention of the obvious problems that come along with his support of natural gas expansion. Since then, this writer knows of only one group, Earthworks, whose initial statement questioned the problems of the natural gas issue. Other groups have since back-pedaled a bit with follow-up messages on natural gas. Disillusionment has now replaced the respect members formerly held for those environmental groups that didn't seem to see expanded natural gas development as a problem. 

 

The Challenge

The President's address ended with a call to American citizens to "stand up, and speak up, and compel us to do what this moment demands."   We must do that for climate change, but now more than ever we must do that for the impacts of shale gas exploitation. The President's embrace of the natural gas industry may have made this more difficult, but we will follow his instructions:

 

"Speak up at town halls, church groups, PTA meetings.  Push back on misinformation.  Speak up for the facts. Broaden the circle of those who are willing to stand up for our future."

 

We can do that, but we must first do it by speaking up to our President about the real impacts of shale gas development not just on our climate, but on American citizens as well.

 

 

     A natural gas flare at the Ultimate Warrior well pad near
         Farragut, Lycoming County.                 IMAGE: ANN PINCA

hike 
This Weekend!

Keep it Wild with RDA at the
McIntyre Wild Area

Saturday, June 29 at 1 p.m.
 
Gather with friends and family at Band Rock to hike, explore the area, and enjoy music by Doug McMinn. Check here for more details
or call 570.494.7583

moreMore on Climate Change

  Click the picture to watch President Obama's
  climate change address:







The Intersection Between Hydraulic Fracturing and Climate Change - Full Presentation
  Watch the video to see
  Dr. Anthony Ingraffea's
  presentation, "The Intersection
  Between Hydraulic Fracturing and
  Climate Change"





 
RDA Newsletter

Ann Pinca, managing editor
Ted Stroter, RDA Board of Directors editor
Ralph Kisberg, contributing editor
Robbie Cross, President - RDA Board of Directors
Jenni Slotterback, Secretary - RDA Board of Directors
Barb Jarmoska, Treasurer - RDA Board of Directors
Mark Szybist - RDA Board of Directors
Kevin Heatley - RDA Board of Directors
Roscoe McCloskey - RDA Board of Directors


This weekly e-letter is written and designed by the RDA consultants and Board of Directors and sent to RDA members/subscribers. Every effort is made to assure complete accuracy in each issue. This publication and the information contained herein is copyrighted by RDA and Ann Pinca and may not be reproduced without permission.
All rights reserved. Readers are invited to forward this newsletter in its entirety to broaden the scope of its outreach. Readers are also invited to comment to the managing editor regarding contents and to submit articles to be considered for publication in a future issue.  

Donations may also be sent by mail to: Responsible Drilling Alliance, P.O. Box 502, Williamsport, PA 17703 
Thank you for your support!
    
Responsible Drilling Alliance