Kristel Guimara Hello everyone and welcome! My name is Kristel Guimara and I currently live in the beautiful northern Adirondacks. I have my Bachelor's degree in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Science from Paul Smith's College located in Paul Smith's NY. Currently, I am in my second year of graduate school pursuing my Master's Degree in Conservation Biology from Green Mountain College in Poultney VT. I am currently researching the effects of black carbon concentration in the Adirondack snowpack which will be compared to samples taken in the Arctic Regions. This I hope will continue beyond my thesis requirement.
I recently attended a presentation on "Fracking in NY" held at my local library. I attended the presentation to increase my knowledge on this subject and to interact with others, within my local area, regarding their views and opinions on this matter. I have found that many of us share a commonality to our concerns regarding water pollution, health concerns and land degradation, to name a few.
For those of you who may not know what fracking or rather hydraulic fracturing is, let me try and provide you a simplified version of what it is.
Hydraulic fracturing is defined as the following according to the NYSDEC website:
"Hydraulic fracturing consists of pumping a fluid and a propping material such as sand down the well under high pressure to create fractures in the gas-bearing rock. The propping material (usually referred to as a "proppant") holds the fractures open, allowing more gas to flow into the well than would naturally. No blast or explosion is created by the hydraulic fracturing process, which has been used in New York since at least the 1950s. Hydraulic fracturing technology is especially helpful for "tight" rocks like shale.
Quantity of water needed for hydraulic fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale will require large volumes of water to fracture the rocks and produce the desired amount of gas. Each well may use more than one million gallons of water."
I am interested to know what many of you think about this subject. Are you for or against fracking? And why?
Now I know that this subject can be quite controversial and be heated at times. This subject weighs heavy on the minds of the many, including myself. Therefore, I would like to ask all of you to please be kind to one another if a comment does not coincide to your own personal opinions or concerns. Thank you.
I have heard too many stories of the water tables in entire communities being polluted to be comfortable with fracking. You run a very real risk of mixing the petro-chemicals that you are seeking with the water supply.
My personal opinion is that any risk is too much risk. Which is more important, oil and gas profits or our water supply?