Americans protest fracking as Obama cheers for it

[limpyhobbler]

It took years, but opponents of fracking, the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing for the extraction of natural gas, are finally getting their point across. President Barack Obama, however, still isn’t convinced of the cons.

What began as a grass roots campaign to examine the dangers of high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing has over the last few years spawned a massive movement of critics who are committing countless hours towards find a way to abolish fracking. When American energy companies drill deep into the Earth’s surface to free up natural gas, groups are able to mine a natural resource without dangerous offshore production facilities or by cutting deals with foreign nations. The trade-off to many, however, is simply not worth it.

Yes, fracking can provide massive amounts of methane gas to be used domestically; but it also produces millions of gallons of wastewater that can contain elements that are known carcinogens. Despite fracking freeing up cancerous agents and releasing them into the environment, there are roughly 400,000 of these wells across America. As advocates against the excavation process raise questions regarding its safety and fight to free their cities and towns from these wells, opposition is growing, and fracking, for now, seems to be slowing.

In the Empire State, where fracking occurs in countless sites, Ithaca College biologist Sandra Steingraber tells Mother Jones that the movement is "the biggest since abolition and women's rights in New York." Ten miles west, Ann Furman of Concerned Citizens of Ulysses (CCU) in Ulysses, New York says that they got 1,500 of 3,000 registered voters to sign off against fracking in the town last year.

continue->http://rt.com/usa/news/fracking-obama-drill-union-707/

[msongs]

1. 1%ers like Obama have nothing to fear from fracking. nt

[Marnie]

2. They screw of the Ogallala Aquifer and bread and taco shells

will cost as much as gas.

As stakes will cost a whole lot more than that.

[jody]

3. "By their fruits you shall know them." nt

[Voice for Peace]

4. Obama did not cheer for fracking.

He was very specific that they would do all possible
to explore that source of energy
but not without regulation & oversight of
environmental effects, exploration & development of
renewable sources.
And he emphatically made the point that there's
only enough gas for 100 years.

I believe his commitment to the health of the earth
and humanity is 100% genuine, and visionary,
and we will see/hear more of this in the second term.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. So as long as he is going to provide regulations when they cause earthquakes with fracking, it's OK?

How about that BP spill from deep-water drilling in the Gulf? Did the Administration stop all deep-water drilling? Or did they issue more permits to companies who own sufficient oil disbursements to conceal some of the damage from oil spills?

Fracking is known to cause earth movement and earthquakes. Regulations which allow fracking to continue will not solve the problem.

[me b zola]

9. Yeah, testing contaminated fish by smelling them, how visionary can you get!

Or maybe you were vaction during the summer of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and are not aware of what took place. I've seen Obama's handling of the environment and I'll pass on that type of "visionary".

[xchrom]

5. Du rec. Nt

[UnrepentantLiberal]

8. Exactly.

"Regulation" is a joke. Enough said. But like the BOG says, he never claimed to be a liberal.

[AdHocSolver]

7. How dare they pit planetary survival against corporate profits? nt

[_ed_]

10. No Mega Corporation Left Behind

So, how have the extractive industries and the financial sector done since 2008?

[IDDYBUD]

11. One of Obama's biggest campaign-year mistakes

I believe that one of Obama's biggest 2012 campaign mistakes to date was making the Fracking issue central to overall Energy in his SOTU speech. I think that it's turned a lot of trusting, committed supporters off. Hope is a fragile thing. Anti-fracking citizens already have the weight of Big Energy working hard against their reasonable concerns. And this?!? http://www.cnbc.com/id/45208498 When military-style psy-ops are used against Ma and Pa, you know that the health of small-d democracy has gone down the crapper.

[Kolesar]

13. "I think that it's turned a lot of trusting, committed supporters off."

Well you think wrong
"central to overall Energy in his SOTU
Hope is a fragile thing.
psy-ops are used against Ma and Pa"

[Kolesar]

12. Flaming Russian propaganda

It Hardly represents President Obama's energy policy.

More bait for the flipping pool of nonactivists .

[ncteechur]

14. Yet another disingenuous headline.

Obama loves violence (because he hasn't spoken up against the NHL)

Obama smacks down PETA (because he has fish for dinner)

etc., etc.

More bullshit.

How about saying that he cheers for it when he actually does really endorse it without reservation.