Frick, Frack…WHACK!!!

There is a thought process that says go for the short term gains (usually money, jobs, etc.), at any cost.

I do not share this thought process especially when it's the environment you are playing with. Especially if it's the environment in Pennsylvania, as that seems to cut a little too close to home (although honestly, I am pretty earthy, and pro- protect our environment kinda girl).

It's for the reasons above, and more, that I just do not understand why we don't stop Fracking. IMMEDIATELY.

In case you have been under the proverbial rock, Fracking is:
Hydraulic fracturing (also called "fracking"), a method for extracting oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer caused by the presence of a pressurized fluid.

Here is the longer definition in case you are curious.

Fracking in our state is putting increased chemicals into our drinking water (yes, sometimes small levels of some chemicals appear naturally in nature but we are not talking small levels here). Period. There is evidence of such harmful chemicals, such as,
a. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX)
b. radioactive elements including radium, barium, strontium, and uranium;
c. heavy metals including lead and arsenic;
d. high levels of mineral salts such as bromides and chlorides.

So the chemicals are getting into our drinking water thru fractures and because the waste water in the Fracking process, is dumped, without filtering, back into our streams and reservoirs.

Yes, small towns that employ Frackers have jobs and lots of full motel / hotel rooms now, but in under 10 years, they may very well be ghost towns, as the water will be polluted and the jobs long gone.

I beg us the stop the insanity. Call your Senator and Congressman and tell them to stop Fracking.

Here are some resources:
http://marcellusprotest.org/the-big-deal-about-marcellus

Now we get to taxing it and some safety standards, I am still a no but wanted to be fair…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/pennsylvania-fracking-bill-governor-corbett_n_1265489.html

smarter debaters than I:
http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-fracking-a-good-idea

and its not just our state:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/story/2012-02-12/cnbc-fracking-north-dakota/53041830/1

Lets grab this logic chip and say no to fracking, together, or our children are going to pay for this decision dearly.