Posts Tagged ‘Shameless Gas Promotion’

EPA Shoots DEP “In The Back” Says Krancer

November 17, 2012

DUG In Deep

PA DEP Secretary Krancer was in Pittsburgh last week, marshaling his forces at the Drilling Unconventional Gas (DUG East) Conference, and peppering his pro-gas speech with an unnerving number of Civil War references. According to Don Hopey in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Krancer “referred to several dozen protesters outside as less imposing than opposition he sees as a Civil War re-enactor.”

Lest we forget, the Mason-Dixon line once divided The Marcellus Shale, too.

Access to the Pittsburgh conference was limited to those who meet DUG’s self-prescribed “press pass policy.” Indeed, it’s only getting more difficult to gain entry to big gas shows, even if you are willing to pony up nearly a grand to register, even if you are a legitimately credentialed member of the press, like Buck Quigley of ArtVoice.   (more…)

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Posted in DEP, Environment, epa, PA Drinking Water, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics, Unconventional Gas Drilling | Leave a Comment »

Babes In Truthland

July 18, 2012

Rep. Jesse White’s Search For An ‘Honest and Fact-Based’ Discussion

There’s nothing irrational about wanting to protect our land, air and water from the ravages of industrial shale gas drilling. Today, Truthland is making the rounds with sponsored viewings in drilling regions across the state. I suppose the showings are meant to mimic the viewings of Gasland that fractivists regularly host in their homes. Make no mistake, Truthland was created by and for the Gas Industry, so they could have an artsy puff piece, sort of a mockumentary answer to Josh Fox’s powerful, Golden Globe winning, Academy Award-nominated film. But serious propaganda it ain’t, and if the ramifications of people believing this dreck weren’t so serious, one might even say it’s a gas. Truth is, Truthland only generates more exposure for Gasland, and makes us impatient for the promised sequel, Gasland2. Until then, Fox fills the factual void with this emergency short film, The Sky Is Pink.

Rep. Jesse White [D-46th] recently attended a viewing of Truthland in his district “to learn” …   (more…)

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Posted in anti-fracking movement, Energy, Environment, fracking, shale gas pollution, Unconventional Gas Drilling | Leave a Comment »

Pennsylvania’s Fracking Governor

June 15, 2012

What Did The Delaware River Ever Do To Tommy Corbett?

PA Governor Tom Corbett wants to drill the iconic Delaware River Watershed… Y’know, the river George Washington crossed to win American independence, the river that currently sustains 15.6 million people and countless species, the river that already generates $22 BILLION for the Pennsylvania economy each year, according to the University of Delaware. Our guv’na is the poster child for greed, corruption and neo-con ignorance. He looks (and acts) like a stupid frat boy, yet when it comes to shale gas, he’s devious as all hell. It’s like he’s date-raping every river, meadow, forest and mountain in the state.

Tim Darragh gets us up-to-speed on the behind the scenes machinations of Patrick Henderson, Corbett’s state-funded Energy Executive, in Pennsylvania Lobbying for DRBC Fracking Rules in The Allentown Morning Call:

“‘That’s been a frustration since the November meeting was canceled,” said Corbett spokesman Patrick Henderson. ‘We have been having discussions with the DRBC staff as recently as this week’ ” (more…)

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Posted in anti-fracking movement, Politics, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | 1 Comment »

Marcellus Advisory Commission Daytrips Through Gasland

June 3, 2011

Lt. Governor Jim Cawley, Chairman of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, took members on a tour of Lycoming County recently. They visited several Anadarko drilling sites, spoke with residents who have gas wells on their properties, and met a plastic liners manufacturer who, like so many business owners is seeing his gas-drilling related sales and services explode. The Commission is comprised of “key stakeholders” including experts from the environmental community, natural gas industry, local government representatives and state government officials. The trip was arranged by the Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce. (more…)

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Posted in fresh water pollution, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Roll Call: Which PA Politicians Accept Funds from the Gas Industry?

May 11, 2011

MarcellusMoney.org is a Gas Industry watchdog group formed by Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania and Common Cause/Pennsylvania. In May 2011, they jointly released the report “Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets” which found that over the past decade, Pennsylvania lawmakers of both political parties have received more than $7 million from Gas Industry. Contributions from gas interests to Pennsylvania lawmakers have more than doubled since the 2006 Gubernatorial Election Cycle. Current Pennsylvania Lawmakers have received about $3.4 million in campaign contributions from the Oil & Gas Industry.
When asked to put in place a temporary moratorium on drilling in public lands until a full study of the impact could be made, those who voted “no” had accepted an average of three times as much cash from gas interests than those who supported that reasonable measure. [SOURCE: marcellusmoney.org] (more…)

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Posted in Politics, shale gas pollution | Leave a Comment »

PA DEP Says Its Job Is To “Get Gas Done”

May 9, 2011

“At the end of the day, my job is to make sure gas is done and gas is done right,” said Michael Krancer upon his appointment to Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

Really? I thought the PA DEP mission was to “protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment,” and to “work as partners with individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to prevent pollution and restore our natural resources.” [SOURCE: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us]

Krancer may dismiss his critics for using “bad” science and having alternate agendas, like solar and wind, but it seems to me, an average interested citizen, that if the PA DEP was truly protecting our drinking water resources, they would wait until further “good” science is concluded before approving so many new gas drilling permits!

The PA DEP would also support the FRAC ACT because it would help them do their job more effectively. If drillers were required by law to publicly disclose fracking chemicals, the agency would have already known what chemicals were exploding from Chesapeake’s LeRoy, Bradford County well blowout on April 19. They would not have had to ask the company for it on April 22.  As of May 5, 2011, neither Chesapeake nor the PA DEP has made this information available to the public.

In all fairness, according to PA Environment Digest, Krancer also said his main job in regulating Marcellus Shale drilling is to protect the water. “There will be significant changes in the way the state’s energy policy is done. In the past, the DEP Secretary was the be-all and end-all for energy policy. ‘You’re not going to see that anymore,’ Krancer said. He said he will be part of a team, working with the Governor’s Energy Executive Patrick Henderson, to address energy issues.
 He noted Pennsylvania needs a diversified energy portfolio– nuclear, coal, natural gas, solar and wind– for the future.'”

“I want to leave a legacy as a good enforcer,” Krancer said.

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Posted in fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Politics | 3 Comments »