Open letter to the Honorable John Hickenlooper, Governor State of Colorado

July, 31 2012 Dear Governor, Let me introduce myself, I am Carl B. Erickson. I reside in Weld county Colorado. I am currently running for Weld county Commissioner at Large as a write- in candidate. Overall I am very pleased with your tenure as Governor, especially your handling of the recent tragedies in Aurora and the wildfire epidemic. But as a resident of Weld county, the county which has the largest number of oil and gas wells in it, I have one very large area of concern. I am heartily worried about the future of our great State, I fear the will and welfare of our citizens are being widely ignored. Widely voiced resistance to unwanted hydro-fracture drilling and the plethora of support industries involved in it are met by platitudes and rhetoric by our elected officials at the state and local levels. You, sir, are among the issuers of these. On July 17, 2012 you were quoted as saying “Like any industrial process, fracking has some risks but, really, if done properly, certainly out in the West, there is literally no risk — certainly much less than many industrial processes,” in an interview for Fortune Magazine. Which is it Governor? Some risk, literally no risk, or much less risk? Is it the ‘some risk’ of polluting reported by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission estimated at 44% of spills at fracking pads resulting in contamination of groundwater? Or the ‘literally no risk’ imposed by drinking water contamination as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency in their draft report on contamination in Pavillion WY? Or the ‘much less risk’ posed by the EPA analysis of the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas being 9,000 times higher than previously reported? Or, maybe the operative phrase is, ‘if done properly’. Perhaps the necessary steps are not in place to insure the responsible drilling of which you speak. Perhaps the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s maximum fine of $1000 dollars a day per incident isn’t anything more than an acceptable operating cost to the offenders. Or maybe the handful of investigators we have is not enough. Whatever the cause, if we are not ensuring drilling is ‘done properly’ we are ignoring the health and welfare of our environment and our residents. Stunts like swilling fracking fluid as you said you did in a March 1 2012 radio report for KUNC, do little to assuage concerns when residents who live in the vicinity of frack sites can observe the effect of spilled fluids first-hand. Dying plants and dead water life are ample proof that just because you can drink a little something (grain alcohol for example), doesn’t mean it is healthy or conducive to growth when applied in gallons. Residents of Weld county find it a hard pill to swallow when ample water to raise crops and quench the thirst of livestock and yards is unavailable to them. Insult is added to this injury when rows of fracking water trucks line up 20 deep to fill up with water from municipal fire hydrants as they do in Greeley, and then transport that water on county roads so dry they spew dust high in the sky and depress the roadbed with their weight, right past farmers and ranchers whose crops and livestock could have been sustained for a while on the contents of those trucks. The contents of said trucks to be pumped into the impervious shale layer that will only return a small fraction of its contents to water cycle. I’m sure you have heard of these issues, as well as the issues of inappropriate use of roads and blatant disregard of traffic laws in Weld County and elsewhere in the state. Yes we have jobs, but at what cost? At what level of quality are we subsisting in this energy economy? Cash is one of those things that may be edible, but is not beneficial as a primary foodstuff. Human and environmental issues are not things we can plug in to a cost/benefit analysis; any loss in either of these areas negates any benefit that might be gained. If this industry cannot operate ‘properly’ it needs to be halted until such time as our lives and livelihood can be protected. Therefore, Governor, I implore you to reconsider your stance on the practice of hydro-fracturing, considering the welfare of the majority of the citizens of this state before the financial benefits of a minority interest. Respectfully, Carl B. Erickson https://sites.google.com/site/electcarlberickson/

German Government to Oppose Fracking

Spiegel.de
Nein Danke

Berlin is opposed to plans to use the controversial fracking process to extract natural gas in Germany, SPIEGEL has learned. Government ministers are "very skeptical" about the technology, which environmentalists claim can pollute groundwater.

Activists from the Attac group in Lower Saxony offer lurid cocktails to highlight the potential environmental risks of the fracking process.

Germany has put the brakes on plans to use hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, to extract natural gas in places where it is difficult to access, such as shale or coal beds.

Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen and Economy Minister Philipp Rösler have agreed to oppose the controversial process for the time being, SPIEGEL has learned.

Sources in the German government said that the ministers were "very skeptical" about fracking, which injects chemicals as well as sand and water into the ground to release natural gas. "There are many open questions which we will first have to carefully examine," Rösler told close associates.

With their stance, the two ministers are opposing plans by energy companies to use the fracking process to tap into deposits of natural gas in shale, especially in northern and eastern Germany. In order to access the gas, the shale needs to be fractured using a mixture of hot water, sand and chemical additives, some of which are poisonous. Environmental groups reject the use of the technology, saying that the chemicals used can contaminate drinking water.

Continue reading...

Las Vegas New Mexico City Council Votes and Passes the Community Rights Banning Corporations from Fracking for Shale Gas--1st in the West!

March 24, 2012

Drilling Mora County'

Las Vegas, New Mexico Council Votes to Pass the Community Bill of Rights Banning Corporations from Fracking for Shale Gas

“Along with the City of Pittsburgh, this is how we change federal law, folks.  It starts at the bottom.  We do this, and other cities do it. It starts a ball rolling that hopefully will not stop.  We change our laws in this great country that protect us instead of protecting corporations."    --- Andrew Feldman, sponsor of "Las Vegas Community Water Rights and Self-Government Ordinance"

Monday night the City of Las Vegas, New Mexico, City Council voted on a community Bill of Rights.  It is known as the "Las Vegas Community Protective Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance."  This Ordinance establishes a new system of law--giving rights to citizens and nature.

The City Council voted 3-1 in favour of the Ordinance.  In favour:  Councilman Feldman, Councilwoman Tonita Gurule Giron and Councilman Romero.   Opposed:  Newly elected Councilman Vince Howell.

This community rights ordinance is the first rights-based ordinance to pass in the southwest.  It takes courage to be the first on the block, but more importantly, it takes a strong moral compass to stand up for the rights of the citizens when the pressure to support the status quo is dauntingly powerful.

Continue reading...

A model everyone should follow:  "Las Vegas Community Protective Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance." 

Oil and Gas take notice, your exemptions will not last!

Support SB 107 - Vote Yes on the Fracking Safety Act [ONLINE VOTE]

By Senator Morgan Carroll (Contact)

To be delivered to: The Colorado State House, The Colorado State Senate, and Governor John Hickenlooper

Colorado is experiencing an unprecedented boom in oil and gas drilling. 

It is critical that any fracking activity be done in a responsible manner that avoids harm to property values, protects Colorado's water supply, and protects the public health and environment. 

Drilling activity near radioactive materials, Superfund sites, explosives, endangered habitat, or in residential areas poses serious risks if not handled properly. 

In the interest of our people, land and water, I am asking that you please vote "yes" on SB 107, the Fracking Safety Act.

TO SIGN - CLICK HERE

Senate Republicans take aim at Obama gas ‘fracking’ regulations

TheHill.com
By Ben Geman
 03/29/12 09:36 AM ET

Senior Senate Republicans are floating legislation that would slam the brakes on Obama administration efforts to expand regulation of the controversial oil-and-gas drilling method called “hydraulic fracturing” on federal lands.

Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, is the lead sponsor, and the seven other backers include Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), the top GOP member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The bill is unlikely to advance but will provide Republicans another rallying point for allegations that President Obama’s Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency have an overzealous agenda that will stymie development.

The bill introduced Wednesday requires that only states may regulate hydraulic fracturing — or “fracking” —– on federal lands within their borders.

“States better understand their unique geologies and interests,” Inhofe said when introducing the measure.

Fracking involves high-pressure injections of water, chemicals and sand into rock formations to open up seams that enable trapped gas to flow.

The bill arrives ahead of a planned Interior Department proposal that would require disclosure of chemical ingredients used in fracking on public lands, and also create new requirements regarding well integrity and wastewater management.

Continue reading...

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To think that each state can 'regulate' its own rules that are supposed to prevent adverse impacts from the fracking industry is ludacris! What's to regulate when they are Federally exempt? To remove local governance from cities and counties only creates a fascist, iron-fist for the oil and gas Governors to continue to play  'back-door Romeo' with the industry. If America is an immoral environment, it is because the government has no regulations that mitigate special interest and kick-backs to politicians from the Oligarchy. Get it yet?

Do you know who is visiting your fracking website? We take visitors masks off at WTFrack.org

It is quite interesting to see the different companies that visit WTFrack.org. Below, we have listed a few of  the many service providers (company names, educational facilities and government agencies) that have recently paid a visit to WTFrack.org.   The most interesting was from the executive office of the president -Washington, DC. Any ideas why?

There is certainly a trend for teams of lawyers to pay us a visit. Are they waiting for a class action lawsuit or are they representing the oil and gas industry?

We remember being at a water review hearing at the State Capitol in Denver, Colorado in early August where one self identified lawyer said to another: "Maybe we'll get some real work here." Maybe.

And what would an oil & gas expose' blog site be without it's number one clientele, the oil and gas industry? They are happily listed en masse here as well.

Are people realizing that fracking is a rogue industry? Are they nervous because we have a right to speak and use the press for civil public service? The oil and gas industry is unregulated and exempt from the laws that keep humans and the environment safe. That's not so civil is it?  Who doesn't like clean air, safe and clean water? Who wants hundreds of thousands of future fracking super fund sites all across the United States? Who wants contaminated soils?

On another note, we sadly predict that deep injection wells, (deep underground wells where 'toxic' produced water is pumped by the hundreds of millions of gallons and stored) will someday cause a massive water source contamination from contaminant source migration where many people could very well be subject to the ills of today's exemptions. Why is the State of Colorado allowing this? Why would any state allow this to potentially happen? Where is sound science?

Draw your own conclusions with the visitor data below.

WTFrack.org   Visitor SP	Sector
highland capital management	banking
national city corporation	banking
national city corporation	banking
executive office of the President	DC gov
boston university	ed
columbia university	ed
duke university	ed
fairmont state university	ed
lasalle university	ed
minnesota state colleges and universities	ed
pennsylvania state university	ed
university of colorado	ed
university of colorado denver	ed
university of hawaii	ed
university of missouri - research and education	ed
university of missouri-columbia	ed
university of utah	ed
university of california at berkeley	ed
air liquide america	energy
california energy commission	energy
chesapeake appalachia llc	energy
conocophillips company	energy
el paso natural gas co	energy
exxon mobil corporation	energy
gfi east	energy
halliburton company	energy
houston energy	energy
pg&e	energy
sanjel corporation	energy
southeast colorado power association	energy
southwestern energy	energy
wisconsin elec. power	energy
anadarko petroleum corporation	energy
cabot oil gas	energy
hess corporation	energy
washington water power	energy
c2 (c squared) systems llc	engineering
copa-office of attorney genera	gov
department of veterans affairs	gov
state of colorado general government computer	gov
u.s. department of state	gov
u.s. environmental protection agency	gov
u.s. house of representatives	gov
wyoming.com	gov
national bureau of economic research	gov
new york state health department	health
baker hughes inteq	law
borton lawson	law
finnegan henderson farabow garrett & dunner	law
jones day reavis & pogue	law
kaplan kirsch & rockwell	law
kurzman karelsen frank	law
new york state office of the attorney general	law
nixon peabody llp	law
wetiz and luxenberg	law
apco worldwide (dc hq)	law
charleston newspapers	media
the news corporation	media
cbs corporation	media
merck and co. inc.	pharma
ford motor company	prod
caldwell watson	real estate
lamont doherty geological observatory	science
texas commission on environmental quality	science/gov
rbs securities inc.	securities