Letters to editor

Opinion: Fracking for natural gas needs to be banned in Michigan and elsewhere

Posted on Sat, Apr 9, 2011 : 1:03 p.m.

Halliburton has devised a means of extracting natural gas from shale rock called fracking. This fracking process involves drilling deep wells that go far below the underground aquifers, fracturing the shale, and creating great pressure, so that the natural gas can be harvested. One of the problems with fracturing the rock and creating these unnaturally high pressures is that the high pressure gas often leaches up, contaminating aquifers, lakes and rivers.

I have just seen a documentary called “Gas Lands” at the U-M Museum of Art that does a good job of exposing water contamination caused by the fracking process. Many people were interviewed who had good water for many years prior to the fracking for natural gas, and could no longer use it after the process had been done near them. Air quality and public safety issues were also raised.

The state of Michigan is next in line for this type of natural gas extraction on a large scale. In fact, there are already a number of fracking wells in the Lower Peninsula.

As I see it, the fracking process does more harm than good. There has got to be a better way!

We need to keep our priorities straight if we are to survive as a people. Clean air, water, and uncontaminated food are more important than energy production. When a process of extracting or producing energy is shown to pollute the air and the water, and also contaminate the food we eat, it must be halted.

Dan Goebel Howell