Video courtesy of pipelinepg on Youtube.
For this week's assignment, I turned to fractracker.org and searched for a story that I found disturbing. I didn't expect to actually find a local story, but I found one that is taking place in Pennsylvania as well as other areas.
Although the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) flagged 129 abandoned wells as top priority, there are more than 8,000 more of these wells. "Problems with Abandoned and Orphaned Wells" on Fractracker.org states that "Abandoned wells are those that have been out of production for a year or more, and orphaned wells are wells that were abandoned prior to 1985, and from which the current landholder or operator didn’t receive any economic benefits. When wells are designated as orphaned, the DEP is responsible for plugging them. As of February, there are 6,251 wells classified as orphaned and 2,272 abandoned wells."
Some of these wells are big enough for kids to fall into. This in itself is cause for concern, but there's more. If the wells are not "plugged" (or filled in), they can release gas or oil that hurt crops, aquifers, and ecosystems. These wells can also cause sinkholes and even cause fires because of the gas that leaks from them.
Plugging these "abandoned and orphaned wells" can be expensive and the DEP is responsible for doing it (Kelso). This fact can easily slow the process of plugging the wells.
This entire article disturbed me because some wells haven't been found yet and who knows what dangers could result from that. The article almost made me paranoid. It's enough to make someone an agoraphobic.
Interestingly enough, Exxon Mobil and Range Resources do not mention the topic of "abandoned and orphaned wells" (Kelso). They seem to be ignoring the problem and pretending like it doesn't exist.
Noam Chomsky has said that the mass media target two groups of people. 20% of the country make up the "political class" or the educated group, while the other 80% (the second group) just do what they're told and do not question anything.
My question for you is: Do you think you are in the "political class"? Do you think your friends and family are aware of what the media is doing? Or are they in that 80%?
SourcesNoam Chomsky has said that the mass media target two groups of people. 20% of the country make up the "political class" or the educated group, while the other 80% (the second group) just do what they're told and do not question anything.
My question for you is: Do you think you are in the "political class"? Do you think your friends and family are aware of what the media is doing? Or are they in that 80%?
Kelso, Matt. "Problems with Abandoned and Orphaned Wells." FracTracker. 3 June 2011. Web. 23
Oct. 2011.
pipelinepg. "Gov. Tom Corbett defends tax exemptions for Marcellus Shale." Youtube. 8 April 2011.
Web. 23 Oct. 2011.
Oct. 2011.
pipelinepg. "Gov. Tom Corbett defends tax exemptions for Marcellus Shale." Youtube. 8 April 2011.
Web. 23 Oct. 2011.
To answer your question i think we are all a mixture of both classes. We all take a part in both of them in some way. As far as the fracking, do you think that the people that do it would do it by their own homes? Would it be any more appropriate if they did it far enough away that it didn't affect us directly?
ReplyDeleteI actually did the same video that you did, do you think Pennsylvania will hate him when he finally realizes how bad this is for the environment and how it puts locals in danger?
ReplyDeleteVaughn- No, I do not think they would do it by their own homes. These people want to make money, but at the same time, they know the risks and wouldn't want to risk their land or family.It wouldn't be more appropriate if they did it far enough away because there would still be consequences eventually.
ReplyDeleteKarley- I do think that Pennsylvania will hate him when they realize the consequences. I'm sure that day will come.