Search Results for: fracking

Fracking and Drought – Bad Company

I recently heard a piece on the radio about farmers in the United States who are being forced to sell livestock because they cannot raise them in drought conditions that are plaguing America in the wake of one of the hottest summers in history.

It got me thinking about how fracking uses water. A lot of water – two to four million gallons per well. I found myself wondering how many areas of the country that are at risk for drought also have shale gas in play.

Notice how much overlap there is between the two maps?

Just sayin’….

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Maps from droughtmonitor.com and gasland.com. Here is another map from the Energy Information Administration showing the same thing as the gasland map. 

Pennsylvania Law Gags Doctors Treating Patients for Fracking Chemical Exposures

UPDATE – on  7/26/12 a  PA  Court rejected the portion of this law that forbids municipalities from limiting  natural gas drilling within their boundaries.

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A dangerous new law signed by Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett takes away the rights of local governments to use zoning laws to regulate the location of natural gas drilling sites in their communities – even if those wells are adjacent to homes, schools, hospitals, parks or other public areas.

Even more concerning is a gag on doctors treating patients for suspected chemical exposure, all under the guise that the chemicals being injected into the ground are a “trade secret”  –

If a health professional determines that a medical emergency exists and the specific identity and amount of any chemicals claimed to be a trade secret or confidential proprietary information are necessary for emergency treatment, the vendor, service provider or operator shall immediately disclose the information to the health professional upon a verbal acknowledgment by the health professional that the information may not be used for purposes other than the health needs asserted and that the health professional shall maintain the information as confidential. The vendor, service provider or operator may request, and the health professional shall provide upon request, a written statement of need and a confidentiality agreement from the health professional as soon as circumstances permit, in conformance with regulations promulgated under this chapter.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society has already voiced frustration that the lack or research on the health effects of fracking chemicals has crippled doctors trying to take care of patients who live or work near fracking sites.

Uncertainty prompts me to write that as a doctor, I do not know what to tell Pennsylvania patients when they ask me if hydraulic fracturing—fracking—in their neighborhood or region might affect their health.

I’ve seen anecdotal stories in the media. I’ve read as much as I could find about how the hydraulic fracturing process works. But I’m still uncertain because we lack data and research on the matter.

My colleagues in the Marcellus Shale regions tell me that they are getting questions from patients every day, such as, “I’ve had well water for many years—should I have it tested now that there’s a gas well nearby?” and “I’ve had this rash off and on for a while; could it be related to the gas well they just finished a mile or so up my road?” or “A gas well was just finished near our house; my children play nearby and even though they’re not sick right now, how will I know if they get sick from it—even years from now?”

We have no definitive answers to these questions because we lack data.

By now gagging doctors who may discover health risks of fracking chemicals, Governor Corbett and his allies in the legislature are making sure that the public is kept in the dark as to the real consequences of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

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UPDATE –

The Public Record – reports on this issue. Here is what one doc they interviewed had to say –

“I have never seen anything like this in my 37 years of practice,” says Dr. Helen Podgainy, a pediatrician from Coraopolis, Pa. She says it’s common for physicians, epidemiologists, and others in the health care field to discuss and consult with each other about the possible problems that can affect various populations. Her first priority, she says, “is to diagnose and treat, and to be proactive in preventing harm to others.” The new law, she says, not only “hinders preventative measures for our patients, it slows the treatment process by gagging free discussion.”

The Atlantic Monthly has picked up the story, with some insight into how the gag order made it into the law –

The provision was not in the initial versions of the law debated in the state Senate or House in February; it was added in during conference between the two chambers, said State Senator Daylin Leach (D), which meant that many lawmakers did not even notice that this “broad, very troubling provision” had been added. “The importance of keeping it as a proprietary secret seems minimal when compared to letting the public know what chemicals they and their children are being exposed to,” Leach told Mother Jones.

Fracking Hell

New York State has passed a moratorium in natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

In Pennsylvania, the drilling continues, and I fear for the future of my beautiful Endless Mountains. We are barely into what we are told will be decades of drilling and already the water supply of one town has been compromised, and streams and wells are being lost on an ongoing basis.

The water supplies of Philadelphia and New York City are at risk, as are the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers. Over 4 million gallons  of water per well drilled become polluted by fracking chemicals, some of which can be cancer-causing. When these waters spill into fields, cattle die. When they get into streams, there are fish kills. And when they get into people…

Unbelievably, by virtue of what is called the Halliburton loophole in the 2005 energy bill, the natural gas industry is exempt from the clean air and clean water act.

Among the many dubious provisions in the 2005 energy bill was one dubbed the Halliburton loophole, which was inserted at the behest of — you guessed it — then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a former chief executive of Halliburton.It stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. Invented by Halliburton in the 1940s, it involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, some of them toxic, into underground rock formations to blast them open and release natural gas. (via New York Times)

In the meantime, state DEP agencies are understaffed and cannot begin to regulate the behomoth gas industry in their states. Local water treatment plants are not up to the task of cleaning unknown chemicals from their local water supplies. Farming communities that already must monitor water usage to avoid drought conditions cannot withstand the loss of their precious water to drilling.

Town by town, landowner by landowner, drilling is occurring under the radar

That’s why it’s taken us all by surprise. The Halliburton loophole has kept natural gas drilling below the national consciousness, since the impact of the process on water and air quality is exempt from national oversight. Put it in rural areas, and its hidden in plain sight.

Since 2005, drilling rights have been sold by private landowners to gas companies with no community oversight and no national regulation. Acre by acre, town by town, lake my lake, stream by stream, the natural gas companies are moving through some of the most pristine and beautiful land in America – including public lands, state and national parks – and threatening to turn them into industrial waste zones. The quality of life in these areas is being destroyed, property values are plummeting and futures ruined. Short term profits and cash lining the pockets of the minority are trumping long term concerns and the rights of the majority.

Drilling is proceeding at a breakneck pace, and without national oversight, states and local communities are left to deal with the consequences.

Folks, natural gas is not clean

That’s just how they’re marketing it. When we look at it’s environmental impact of fracking, the process by which we are choosing to extract it, natural gas is downright filthy.

Get informed

To get up to speed on the topic, I point you to the video above and to the resources below. Read them. Link to them.  Tweet them. Email them. Tell someone. Anyone.

Get Involved

Urge congress to move on the FRAC act, which would require gas companies to disclose the contents of fracking water. If you live in a Marcellus shale watershed area, tell your local government representatives that your water is at risk. Read about what Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are doing to protect their water supply.  And if you live in the shale, fight.

We are facing what has been called the environmental crisis of a generation.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to do something.

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Natural Gas Drilling & Hydraulic Fracking – Essential Reading

  • A Colossal Fracking Mess – Vanity Fair’s report on the dirty truth behind natural gas
  • Pro Publica’s Groundbreaking Investigation into Natural Gas Drilling
  • The Frac Act – Which would require gas companies to disclose fracking chemicals – is stalled in Committee since the summer
  • Gasland – the award winning HBO Documentary on Fracking. Watch the trailer, then order the movie online or from Netflicks.
  • Andrew Reinbach’s brilliant solution to stop drilling – sue your neighbor.
  • Pittsburgh bans Natural Gas drilling
  • Mark Ruffulo is leading the fight against fracking in NY State. Pennsylvania needs a star to help us too!
  • Life in the Gas Lane – An honest look at day-to-day impact of drilling in Bradford County, Pa
  • Calvin Tillman, Mayor of Dish, Texas – A blog about the effects of drilling on one small town “We are hard working honest people who have been dealt a raw hand by the pipeline industry.”
  • Frack Tracker – a blog from the U of Pittsburgh allowing readers to track actual drilling activity, water withdrawal permits and potential environmental impacts in the Marcellus Shale.
  • The Department of the Interior held a forum today on fracking – will it lead to passage of the Frac Act?

TBTAM’s Top Ten Podcasts of 2017

You know you’re a radio junkie when you find yourself scribbling not just prescriptions, but lists of podcasts for your patients to listen to on their long plane flights or drives to Florida or wherever else they are heading for the winter months. I figured if I wrote them all down, I could save myself the scribbling and just share a link to the list.

And so here, in no particular order, are the podcasts I found myself recommending over and over again this past year.

S-Town

Part mystery, part bizarre tale, part crazy sad but also totally wonderful and addicting. I fell in love with this guy John B McLemore, quirks and all.  Not to mention this is one gorgeous website.

And some great theme music.

Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin 

A veritable who’s who of modern media and culture sit down for one-on-one’s with Alec. He’s not the worlds best interviewer, and sometimes I wish he’d shut up and stop trying to impress us, but the truth is I love him. He’s not afraid to seek common ground with his guests, who range from Judd Apatow to Kristin Wiig to Patti Smith to Jerry Seinfeld.

Fresh Air

Terri Gross is a true national treasure, and her interviews just get better and better with time.

She makes me so proud of my hometown, Philadelphia. And WHYY, still my fave radio station ever.

More Perfect

Thanks to my daughter for introducing us to this podcast about the Supreme Court, that branch of government no one but Nina Totenberg seems to understand. Until now. Learn about the cases that define the court and the nation. The Imperfect Plaintiffs and Object Anyway, from season 1, are must-listens for every American.

The Axe Files

David Axelrod, former Obama campaign strategist and White House Advisor, interviews key figures in the political world. Broadcast from the University of Chicago, where Axelrod heads the Institute of politics.

Naturally, a highlight was his interview/discussion with Barack Obama (12/16/16), but if you’re a political junkie, you won’t stop there. Great listening, this.

The New Yorker Radio Hour

Somehow I never find time to read the New Yorker, but I do listen to the podcast. The episode on how Oxycontin was sold to the masses is a tour de force, and David Remick’s conversation with Hillary Clinton is one of her best post-memoir interviews she’s given.

 

Freakonomics Radio

Stephen Dubner hosts this wonderfully creative and interesting podcast, exploring ” the riddles of everyday life and the weird wrinkles of human nature”. A three-part series “Bad Medicine: explores the underbelly of medicine and the drug industry. The July 5 episode tying the fracking boom to local population explosions and the decline of marriage is fascinating. And “When Helping Hurts” will change forever the way you think about what “doing good” can really mean.

This American Life

Of course.

 

 

 

Missing Richard Simmons

One day Richard Simmons, fitness guru, weight loss coach and darling of the aerobics set, just up and disappeared from public and private life. Dan Tuberski wants to know why. If you think it’s none of his or your business, don’t listen. Or rather, try not to listen.

 

Number Ten 

Actually, I only have 9 top podcasts of 2017.

I’m still searching for number 10, which I hope to listen to on drives back and forth to Philly over the holidays.

Contenders are :

  • 36 Questions (a three part podcast musical);
  • Dirty John (True crime mystery, supposed to be riveting); and
  • Sincerely, X (Anonymous Ted type talks about things no one really talks about- including one doc’s medical error that lead to a diagnosis of burnout).

Let me know in the comments which you think I should listen to first.

And if I’ve left your favorite podcast off the list, tell us what it is and why it’s your favorite.

Happy listening, everyone!

Buying a Hybrid

Our new Ford C-Max SEL

It was time to buy a new car. Our wonderful 2003 Ford Taurus had 130,000 miles, and we’d put in quite a bit of money  in upkeep and repairs in the past year. Nothing unusual, just the things that start to go after that many years and miles. TIme to move on.

With all the ranting we do against fracking (our cottage is on the Marcellus Shale), the decision to go hybrid was an easy one. But could we get the mileage we wanted in the car we needed at a price we could afford?

Our priorities were –

  • Price – We knew hybrid meant more money than we’d ever spent on a car before. (Our Taurus was an end of season used dealer  model for just 14K – did I mention we are cheapskates when it comes to cars? ) But there is a break even point on hybrids, and we knew we had to just do it.
  • Mileage – We were looking for something comfortably above 35 MPG city and highway. The higher the better.
  • Cargo room  – Our Taurus has a generous 16 foot trunk, and that’s barely enough for us on trips to the cottage, where the lack of local supermarket means schlepping groceries as well as luggage  for 4.
  • Comfort – Our Taurus is really, really comfy, especially in the back seat. But our kids said they’d rather have to use a pillow in the back seat on a long ride than sit with suitcases, so cargo room was more important.
  • Power Drivers Seat option  – I’m not tall. I need to pull the seat way up to drive and then back again to get out of the car comfortably  And I often adjust during the ride. I thought this would not be an issue with any model car. But I was wrong.
  • Solid feel – Mr TBTAM has an issue with lighter cars for both safety and drive feel. Not a deal breaker.
  • Leather interior – our Taurus leather interior still looks like new after 9 years.  No compromises on this.

We’re not yet empty nesters, so the tiny hybrids were out (great mileage, no cargo room). So were the hybrid minivans (great cargo room, not great mileage).

I’d been waiting for the C-max for two years, convinced that it would offer me what the Prius would not in terms of comfort and space. Then Toyota came out with the Prius V, and I knew we had to consider it.

Other Things We Considered

  • Going electric. Unfortunately, electric batteries eat into trunk space. Also, our garage is not yet equipped to charge us. (And where they are, it’s not cheap  – $98 a month or $3 an hour for charging.) Finally, most of our driving is distance – electric shines best for commuting. We could not see an advantage to electric at this point for us in NYC.
  • Giving up the car altogether. We were car-less our first 10 years in NYC, and had survived. But the price (and often limited availability) of car rentals in NYC , our addiction to Costco, and the ability to pop down to Philly and family on a moment’s notice kept us car owners.
  • Diesel – we didn’t see a big advantage over hybrid, and the diesel high mileage cars were too expensive anyway.
  • Non hybrid cars with good gas mileage – None came close to the hybrids we were considering in terms of fuel savings. Plus, it felt like taking baby steps –  our environmental stance demanded a leap.

Why we did not buy a Prius

We thought the Prius V had everything we needed. But not quite. Here’s why –

  • The driver’s seat in the V is not power adjustable, even on the highest end model! (What’s that about, Toyota?) You need to pump a lever to raise and lower it and reach below to move it back and forth.
  • The comfort factor – the Prius V had more cargo room, but less head and leg room than the C-max. We weren’t sure the added cargo space was worth it.
  • The weight of the car. Mr TBTAM likes a more substantial feel to a car, and the Prius feels a lot lighter than the C-max. (Others might see this the other way around, and call the C-Max too heavy  – it’s all in the buyer’s eye…)

The 3rd generation Prius came very close to being what we wanted. It has a power drivers seat in the higher end models and beats the Cmax in mileage and price (though not by much in either). The cargo room was acceptable, and it looked great. But it is smaller, lighter and noisier than the Cmax. Most importantly to me, visibility seemed compromised – there is a blind spot on the front window if you pull up the seat as I do to drive, and the back window is split and seems small. Although they say you get used to the small rear window, I couldn’t see past the salesman in the back seat on my test drive.  (Hint to Totyota dealers – don’t sit in the middle next time you take a customer out for a test drive…)

In the end, the benefits in terms of price and mileage on the 3rd generation Prius were not enough to beat the C-Max for us.

Why we got the CMax-SEL

Mostly because I am totally in love with this car!  It has everything I want – 47 mpg city & hwy, power driver seat, decent cargo space (24.5 cu feet behind the second row), leather interior,  plus a few things I didn’t know I wanted  – back up camera, automatic foot operated hatch and sun roof.  And I could have given up the sun roof, but it really brightened the interior in a way I did not expect. (Another hint to dealers – if you want folks to buy sun roofs, take them out in a model that has one on a sunny October day…)

It seems as if I am not the only one who loves the C-max. While we were waiting for the salesman, another couple test drove the car we were looking at and by the time we came back from our test drive, they had already put an offer down on it. But that’s okay -it had options we did not need (like park assist – we know how to park, thank you). The one we’ve ordered will come in at our price limit – even with the sun roof – thanks to a dealer rebate.

I’ll post again after we’ve gotten our new car and driven it awhile

I am no stranger, after all, to post purchase regret. And real world mileage  can differ from posted MPG’s – though knowing my husband, he’ll be one of those hybrid drivers who tweak their driving style to get the best milage they can.

So stay tuned…

Now for the real question –

Does anyone want to buy a well-maintained used 2003 Taurus?

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Here’s a comparison on the three vehicles we looked at on Cars.com. And for the record, no one paid me to write this post. I just wanted to share our process thinking it may interest others making a similar purchase decision.