Children from the Homestead School in Glen Spey, New York traveled to Dimock, Pennsylvania for a firsthand look at what life is like for those who live in the increasingly industrialized landscapes where gas drilling is occurring. They met with homeowners whose water wells have been contaminated and talked with children to gain their perspective. The River Reporter covered their trip (see http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/10-10-28/head2-gasland.html). The following reflections were penned by the students cited below.
Is Natural Gas Drilling So Natural?
By Ayden Gann--6th Grade Homestead School
I would like to inform you that there is a crisis that is affecting our area and all over the country. Gas drilling is a way to get natural gas from the ground using a process called hydraulic fracturing. The question is how natural is natural gas? First gas drillers must make a 2 acre pad where they are about to drill using tons and tons of gravel. The next step is to build the drill rig involving using giant trucks to transport the parts over local roads that may not be able to hold the sufficient amount of weight. Then they drill the hole past the water table into the Marcellus shale. Then they send down explosives to break the Marcellus shale. Thus sending down millions of gallons of water and sand and millions of gallons of fracking fluid into the ground to make the gas flow out. The complication is that 30% to 70% of this dangerous substance is left in the ground. There are even more difficulties. Fracking fluids contain more than 500 chemicals. Fracking fluids can seep in to the water table and pollute water sources such as the reservoirs that support water for the New York City area. Fracking machines release carbon-dioxide vapor which is partly toxic. Fracking fluid tanks contain large amounts of fracking fluid but sometimes can crack or fall over and the deadly mixture can leak out almost killing anything in its path. Sludge ponds are caused by the used and wasted fracking fluid. Unfortunately it can’t be disposed of and just sits in ponds of toxic waste which can splash out and naturally leak out. Hydraulic fluids are highly toxic and release poisonous and toxic chemicals.
I recently went on a trip to Dimock, Pennsylvania where gas drilling is taken to action. I met a few townsfolk whose neighbors have signed leases. Life for them was tough with gas drilling going on. Trucks are going back and forth at two in the morning. One of their neighbors that live a mile down the road had their well blow up because of the gas drilling that was happening nearby. They are living with many kids and use this affected water everyday. Even though whenever they drink their water they get sick the gas company (Cabot Gas) does not give them a supply of water. They are living a very hard life because of gas drilling.
There is also a big problem with the water, the millions of gallons that are pumped under ground. There is another problem. Road Dumping the “produced water” will just make it seep into the ground and ruin the soil. There are some alternatives to gas drilling like geothermal. The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). So, geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth. We can recover this heat as steam or hot water and use it to heat buildings or generate electricity. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because the heat is continuously produced inside the Earth. Wind Energy is like old fashioned windmills. Today’s wind machines (also called wind turbines) use rotating blades to collect the wind’s kinetic energy. The wind flows over the blades creating lift, like the effect on airplane wings, which causes them to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator to produce electricity. With the new wind machines, there is still the problem of what to do when the wind isn't blowing. At those times, other types of power plants must be used to make electricity.
Tidal energy is all about understanding the water cycle and is important to understanding hydropower. There is another alternative of gas drilling called solar energy. When converted to thermal (or heat) energy, solar energy can be used to:
Heat water for use in homes, buildings, or swimming pools.
Heat spaces for use inside homes, greenhouses, and other buildings.
Solar energy can also be converted to electricity
Two drawbacks of solar energy are:
The amount of sunlight that arrives at the Earth's surface is not constant. It depends on location, time of day, time of year, and weather conditions.
Because the sun doesn't deliver that much energy to any one place at any one time, a large surface area is required to collect the energy at a useful rate.
Which one would you choose to heat and power your house? With all of these alternatives, why should we bother using gas fracking? We need help fighting gas drilling for a greener and better future.
Gas Drilling
By Catherine Nicholson—Grade 6 Homestead School
I personally believe that gas drilling is partly harmful but if it could be commenced in a safer manner it would be fine. For example if they made it so less wells would be contaminated it would be a lot better and more money would be made and our economy would skyrocket.
One of the problems with gas drilling is the fact that some of the wells are contaminated so the people in Dimock, PA have to have water delivered in big containers called water buffaloes. Dimock citizens also have the amazing ability that Cabot Gas gave them which is to light their water on fire. Doesn't that sound fun? The children in Dimock have gotten sick by drinking the water which includes vomiting and rashes. Other than contaminated water, fracking can also kill the wildlife.
Gas drilling has many problems including methane leaks, drilling cement slides, and frack fluid spills. A house in Dimock, PA, had a drilling cement slide which leaked all over the road. Somewhere in Pennsylvania 8,000 gallons of fracking fluid leaked into a stream and killed all of the wildlife. Also near the gas drilling pads, taps in houses started bubbling methane. Other than chemical problems there are also problems with noise pollution.
Fracking causes thousands of trucks to drive past each week. The children in Dimock told us it was hard to sleep at night because of the lights and the noise of the trucks driving past. Have you ever noticed that it easier to drive at night than during the day because there are less cars so it is easier for them to drive to the drilling rig? Some of the trucks have weight problems so it is better for them to drive at night when there are no cops.
I believe that drilling is fine as long as it is done safer. There is a certain per cent chance that water will be contaminated. The gas companies should try to make that 0%. Instead of using gas we could focus on wind, solar, tidal, and bio diesel. The gas companies should also work on keeping methane out of the air! Over all gas drilling is not such a bad thing but it could be better.
Gas drilling needs to become safer and regulated in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. It is important to protect our wildlife and people. With gas drilling I think it should be regulated so we can find out what is in the fracking fluid. I say gas drilling has to be regulated and made safer so it becomes a clean energy.
Gas Fracking
By Ella Sherwood—Grade 6 Homestead School
Gas Fracking to get energy is not necessary, because as a human species, we have plenty of other resources that we could use to make energy. We could use solar, wind, tidal energy, and much, much more. Another reason we shouldn’t use gas is because someday it will run out, so we should try to use some resources that will never run out like wind. Some people don’t realize that gas will eventually run out and also after they drill on your property they have to come back a few years later to do it again, and get anymore gas out of the ground.
There are safer ways to get gas out of the ground. It may take longer than it does now but it is a lot safer for people and for animals. It is a little more expensive but it is better to be safe then sorry. Some gas companies drill safely but most of the companies just do it the fastest way so they can keep on going. For example, Cabot gas in Dimock didn’t really care that people’s water was contaminated, and when hundreds of people complained Cabot gas only gave fresh water to very few people.
Gas Fracking is not good for any human or animal. “Processed” water is not good because it has certain chemicals in it that can kill people and even animals, and it does. Not only does gas Fracking pollute the Earth but it also pollutes the air and water. Another thing is that once they drill into the Earth there is no way to put the Earth back the way it was. No amount of money could pay for the loss of a beautiful Earth.
Sadly, some people don’t realize how bad gas drilling is not only for people and animals but for the Earth as well. Why would you want to give your great grandchildren a ruined Earth to live on? What is also not good is that the gas rigs take millions of gallons of fresh water and make it unable to drink. Only one percent of the water on Earth is drinkable the rest is salt water. Once the gas rigs use the water and make it undrinkable where will they put all of the millions of gallons of bad water? Also if you let gas companies drill they have to drill under other people’s property. So why would you want to pollute your neighbors water. They don’t get paid anything if they won’t let them drill. When the gas companies finish drilling your taxes will go up to fix the roads, because the heavy trucks break the roads.
Do you want to stop gas drilling? Well here are some ways to stop it. We could all stop using gas then the gas people wouldn’t have a reason to drill. We could change to another resource like solar or wind. One thing you could do is tell people not to let them drill. It poisons the Earth, and it kills animals. There are so many ways to stop gas Fracking but it will take more than one person to stop it.
Gas Fracking in Dimock
By Marina March--Grade 6 Homestead School
Gas Fracking in Dimock is a devastating, beastly, despicable crime. Drilling should be stopped right as we are speaking. We have to take good care of Earth, then Earth will take care of us. Right now, we are letting all our good water, air, and everything else get ruined.
Contamination in Dimock happened in many places. There were kids vomiting, rashes, “Processed Water,” and malodorous smells. When I went to Dimock, I saw and asked kids some questions. They said that when the drilling process was going on, they were drinking their water. At first they would get stomach aches, and their mother thought that they had the stomach virus. She was wrong. The fracking fluids had leaked out into her well. Cabot company didn’t even give her water, she had to buy water! I felt so disconsolate, getting sick from drinking the stuff that keeps you living, that’s what really made me distraught. The woman also said that her daughters were getting embarrassed from rashes that the gas would give. Getting embarrassed about taking a shower because your skin breaks out, that sounds horrible. The kids also said that the sounds are boisterous. The trucks even drive at night with no license plates.
Gas Fracking also affects animals in the same way as humans. Sometimes the consequences are better than when the humans do, and so sometimes it can be even worse! Have you heard about the oil spill? Well, that’s what can happen, maybe not as bad as the animals caught in the spill, but still pretty bad. The animals suffocate, and even drink the horrible water.
Guess what? We can go solar! Gas will run out soon, but solar will never run out. The sun is natural, and right in front of us, we don’t need to get a tube and stick it the ground to get the sunlight. Going solar is probably even less labor. Instead of spending so much time making something that will soon run out, why don’t we use that time for something that will always be right in front of us.
Well, that is some of my information I have to share with you. So with everything I said, I hope you get some thoughts on Gas Fracking. The alternatives to gas drilling are that we should go solar, tidal, and use wind power.
Hydraulic Fracturing
By Parker Hamill—Grade 6 Homestead School
Gas fracking is rocking the nation in an attempt to bring natural gas from the ground. How is it going to affect the people? What dangerous chemicals are being used in hydraulic fracturing fluid, if not what chemicals, labeled harmless, mix and become toxic? These and other questions will be answered in this review.
Hydraulic fracturing is the process when water and chemicals are shot 10,000 feet in the ground to collect natural gas. The question is, what chemicals are being used? The natural gas companies are not revealing this. Could they be highly toxic? We don’t know the answer.
Dimock is a town already ravaged by gas drilling. Many of the people have polluted water. The gas companies have given water to many of the people but not all of the ones with chemical sludge for water. Families have trouble taking showers because the chemicals hurts their skin. One teenage girl has a stomach ulcer after drinking from her families polluted well. The gas company, Cabot, denies that this is their doing and says the water was naturally filled with toxins.
Out west, in states like Utah, gas drilling has forced people to move out of their homes. It has been kept quiet because the companies give millions of dollars for people to live somewhere else. Who knows what problems occurred out there?
The Earth is the most important thing of human civilization. This great resource is being ruined because of gas fracking. Water, ground, noise, and light pollution are the result of fracking. Water is filled with dangerous chemicals. The ground is becoming barren because of the placement of drilling rigs. While fracking is taking place the noise is deafening and lights are on all night. Would you want this to happen to you? Do you think this is healthy for your family? Could you actually sleep in these conditions? In conclusion I think that green energy could be used to fill the country’s needs. The gas companies have plenty enough money to become solar companies but it would be a better investment to use wind energy. Tidal and geothermal would also work well. Whatever the solution hydraulic fracturing isn’t safe.
My Opinions on Gas Fracking
By Taylor Jaffe
Gas Fracking is a devastating, unsafe, and unattractive way of extracting gas out of the Marcellus shale to be used for energy.
Gas Fracking is not good for our health, thus not making it not good for humanity. People who have drunk the processed water such as Rachel and her brother William, have become sick vomiting, and doubled over in pain. People who do not have access to clean drinking water like Rachel and William also have to pay for clean drinking water, and shower in the poisonous results of gas fracking. When they told me this, it was just so horrible, showering in poisons and toxins, when showers are supposed to clean you off, and not to mention the dizziness they got sometimes after a long shower. Also, all of the diesel trucks used in the operation create air pollution, and make people dizzy. Not to mention, clean air and water are less available to us and the other creatures of earth.
Because of the loss of some clean water, gas fracking is also bad for animals. House pets have gotten sick from drinking the processed water as well as humans. Wild animals that don’t have owners to supply clean water have no clean drinking water. Vegetation needed for some herbivores could die out because of water and air loss, and then the food chain would start to fall apart. Animals and humans alike are negatively affected by the pollution produced by gas fracking.
Gas Fracking is a majorway of polluting. Ultimately, water is in a big cycle, and if one part of the cycle gets heavily polluted continually, so will the rest of it. The air becomes contaminated by diesel trucks that work for the drilling companies, and also by gas that escapes the earth before the drillers are ready for it. Excess gas from the Marcellus shale seeps up into an underground water supply, and into the soil, destroying both qualities. Also, the pollution inflicted by gas fracking is unsafe to the earth.
The earth and all of its inhabitants are being harmed by gas fracking. The three most basic things that earth supplies, and all life forms need are being depleted because of gas fracking. Those three major things are water, air and land. Without these three basic building blocks, all of the earth’s inhabitants will die out. I feel dumb-struck by the time in the past that I had no clue about gas drilling, and by the fact that some people still don’t know, even with horrible things happening to places like Dimock. Also by the fact that some of the people who know, still don’t know that much about the details of this dilemma, and are being delayed in finding the facts they want to know, or even some solutions that they may be willing to try out. However, instead of focusing our time, money, and labor on gas fracking, we should switch over to clean and renewable energy sources.
Alternatives to gas fracking are solar, wind, and tidal energy. If we use safe, and renewable energy, we can save ourselves, the earth, and have a new, better, and clean source of energy.
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