Five Frightening Facts About Fracking

I just signed a petition to President Obama and Governor Brown urging them to stop “fracking” up our water supply. The petition reads:

Attention: President Obama

Petitioner: Dr. Jerome Freedman

I urge you to protect the country’s drinking water by implementing a federal ban on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for oil and gas.

The toxic results of using hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas and oil have led to the contamination of drinking water, cattle being quarantined, and dangerous explosions in states across the country, among other issues. In order to protect America’s essential water resources, we need a nationwide ban on fracking.

I urge you to protect the American people by calling for a ban on hydraulic fracturing.

Sincerely,

Jerome Freedman, Ph. D.

At the same time, I read these five frightening facts about fracking:

1. “Fracking” a single well can require more than 1,000,000 gallons of water. This depletes the local groundwater and can dry up nearby creeks. The wastewater produced by fracking contains high levels of radioactivity that wastewater treatment plants are not equipped to treat.
2. Dangerous fracking chemicals are kept secret. In many states, big drilling companies don’t have to disclose what chemicals they use in their fracking fluid – the mixture is a “trade secret.” Its effects on your health won’t be “secret” though, as independent analysts have identified 41 known chemicals in the fracking fluid that are extremely toxic.
3. The “Halliburton Loophole.” Thanks to intensive lobbying from then Vice President Dick Cheney, Big Oil & Gas are exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act.
4. You can light your tap water on fire. When the high explosions used in fracking scatter the rock in which the gas is contained, it can leak into nearby household wells and drinking water. The gas can not only make you sick and even kill you, but it’s also highly explosive.
5. The number of fracking wells is growing at an exponential rate. Fracking is already underway in 28 states. Big Oil & Gas companies are racing to drill more wells before people realize how dangerous this is to their health and safety. No one is safe from the spread of this dangerous drilling practice.

So, here I go again on another ranting, this time about fracking. This is another cause to warn us about mindful consumption. We are in great danger of serious problems with our drinking water and chemical pollution of our waterways.

Here are steps you can do to take action against fracking:

1. Sign the petition to President Obama and the Governor of your state by visiting Food and Water Watch.
2. Learn more about fracking here.
3. Download the Activist Toolkit.
4. Investigate what is happening in your local area. This can help: Local Actions Against Fracking.
5. Donate to Food and Water Watch.
6. Start practicing mindful consumption by reading the Fifth Mindfulness Training.

The fifth mindfulness training reads,

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I am committed to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.

Did you donate to Food and Water Watch? If you did, you can request a free Guided Meditation for your support. Just send me a copy of your receipt.