UPDATED: Fracking chemicals? You're soaking in it
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
UPDATED: Fracking chemicals? You're soaking in it
So I covered Tom Corbett tonight speaking to his "base," also known as the business executives of the Greater Philadelphiia Chamber of Commerce. Nothing wrong with our governor appearing at the event -- it's an annual "Conversation with the Governor thing -- except that he doesn't show his face in public in Philadelphia many other times. How about a question and answer session up at Temple, so he can explain to kids why their tuition is going up, as opposed to telling a friendly room of rich people how he's fighting to get Big Government off their back?
I did get to hear this pricelsss exchange:
Under pressure for his administration’s favorable treatment of natural-gas drilling, or fracking, Corbett told WHYY's Marty Moss-Coane that he has information about what chemicals the drillers use in the controversial process, even though the public does not.
“I’ve seen pamphlets of what’s in the chemicals, many of those chemicals...Do you have lipstick on right now?” Corbett asked.
“I do,” said Moss-Coane.
“It might be in your lipstick,” replied Corbett. He said some of the chemicals — which environmentalists have blamed for polluting nearby water supplies — might be the “intellectual property” of individual companies, but he said that state officials are looking at stronger regulations.
Feel safer now?
UPDATE: Here's my entire fair-and-balanced report on Corbett's state visit to Philadelphia.
There was a guest editorial in our local paper. First they quoted at length stories of polluted aquifers and pollution from fracking in the Susquehanna River that might destroy the river (and not help Chesapeake Bay much either). But then they said that their source was an environmental organization, so it should not be trusted. Fracking might be just fine, and the economically depressed portion of Pennsylvania (most of the state) would benefit. This was just about the dumbest editorial I have ever seen--first offering some real horror stories, then saying that we should be skeptical because of the source, but the apparent source for the remainder of the article appeared to be gas drillers. I prefer to be skeptical of the drillers instead of the persons trying to save the environment.
Comment removed.
I know that every morning I personally drop a stick of lipstick in my morning glass of water so there's no reason to be concerned about drinking all of these chemicals, right?— philliesphan79- Comment removed.
- I'm forming a political action committee: Pennsylvanians For Poisoned Water— p-diddy
- Obama Administration: No Documented Cases of Hydraulic Fracturing Contamination
http://epw.senate.gov/publicindex.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=70289BE8-802A-23AD-479D-CA2D6F6B36CD— Philly.Tru - “I’m not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water, although there are investigations ongoing,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at a hearing on 5/24.— jmc
- it doesn't take a genius to realize that when you insert hundreds of chemicals into the ground that you are going to have huge environmental consequesnces somewhere down the road. even an intellectually disingenuous right wing zealot can see the common sense in that.— slanted and enchanted
- So that's the extent of this post? You recount one "priceless exchange" between two parties? What is your job description again, "journalist", right? Okay gotcha that's some fine work.— m13sully
- Archimedes -
Are the environmentalist organizations trying to protect the environment or protect their jobs? It's all the same on both sides. Everybody is looking out for their own bets interest, even in our (gasp!) government. They're all whor es.— MikeBrooks806 - You people are morons if you think that pumping tons of harmful chemicals will have no impact on our drinking water. It is a cycle everything you put on the ground (grass treatments, pesticides, AND fracking chemicals) finds its way into our drinking water. It will be in higher concentrations in the areas where natural aquifers are being destroyed by the high pressure. Why on earth don't you people use your heads? It is common sense as well as proven science.— scargosun
- hey bill: why so angry dude? chillax, drink some fracking water, you'll feel better.— brendancalling
- Corbett is bought and paid for by the natural gas drillers. Have Corbett come up to Bradford County and drink some of the water. 300,000 gallons of fracking waste water spilled and some got into Towanda Creek. Let Corbett eat a trout out of Towanda Creek.— Jeff C.
- Chemistry and Environmental Science aren't really debatable. You can pollute the groundwater just by washing your car, but the sheer volume of hydrocarbons involved in fracking is such that people in PA at this very moment have flamable drinking water. This isn't about mere environmentalism, this affects humans as much as nature.— Pearz36
- SPILLED fracking chemicals impact the drinking water, just like any other spilled industrial accident. So long as the fracking water is not discharged into a water body before being treated there is not an impact on the drinking water. Again, yes, it can cause problems, but so can any industrial process that has an accidental discharge. This is just Will's crusade to make the drillers out to be evil greedy baby killers, so he can justify taxing and over regulating them until they leave the state, and take existing economic benefit for the area with them. The water in the fracking process is used well below the groundwater table, and it is virtually impossible for that water to migrate UP, THROUGH BEDROCK, into the groundwater aquifer supply.— Greg S
- Andrew Sullivan
- Blinq
- Blogorrhea
- Blonde Sagacity
- Free Republic
- Instapundit
- James Taranto
- ScrappleFace
- The Corner
- Buzzmachine
- Eat the Press
- Editor and Publisher
- Media (Huffington Post)
- Media Bloodhound
- Mickey Kaus
- Pressthink
- Romenesko
- The Inksniffer
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- Above Average Jane
- BlankBaby
- Citizen Mom
- Keystone Blog
- Metroblogging Philadelphia
- Phawker
- Philadelphia - America's Hometown
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Philly Future
- Phillyblog
- Phillyist
- The Clog
- The Next Mayor
- Welcome to Phillyville
- Young Philly Politics
- Afro-Netizen
- All-Spin Zone
- Atrios
- Bad Attitudes
- Billmon
- Booman Tribune
- CorrenteWire
- Fables of the Reconstruction
- iFlipFlop
- Kiko's House
- MyDD
- Philly (Dragonballyee)
- Rowhouse Logic
- Slacktivist
- Suburban Guerilla
- Tattered Coat
- upyernoz
- AmericaBlog
- Andy Borowitz
- BuzzFlash
- Crooks and Liars
- Cursor
- Daily Kos
- David Sirota
- Drudge Report
- Echidne of the Snakes
- Fire Dog Lake
- Glenn Greenwald
- Hullabaloo
- Jesus' General
- Jon Swift
- Josh Marshall
- Juan Cole
- Kevin Drum
- Mad Kane
- Majikthise
- Matthew Yglesias
- Oliver Willis
- Raw Story
- Swing State Project
- Talk Left
- Taylor Marsh
- TBogg
- The Carpetbagger Report
- Think Progress
- War and Piece
- Wonkette
- A Citizen's Blog
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Beer Leaguer
- Dick Polman
- Phillies Nation
- Philling Station
- Shallow Center
- The 700 Level
- The Good Phight
