Environmental Need-to-Know List: KEC Members' Recommendations for Environmental Readings

From George Sosebe

Book: The Third Industrial Revolution
Author: Jeremy Rifkin

Comments:
Rifkin's recently published book discusses what is going on now in “the Green Revolution.” It also points out what is coming in the future as we face the end of fossil fuels and the scary future surrounding climate change. Anyone concerned about the future of earth’s environment should read this book.

From Gwen Fischer

With gas drilling companies asking Portage County commissioners to lease county property for extraction of natural gas using fracking techniques, Concerned Citizens Ohio, a local Portage County organization, prepared a statement of concern regarding the environmental impact on the county’s resources for presentation to the elected officials. To read that statement, click here.

To learn what Portage County residents can do, click here.

From Edith Chase and Caroline Arnold

Regarding the current status of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant, Port Clinton, Ohio:

First, a little background information from Edith Chase, which she refers to as “A History of Trouble”:

In 2002, Davis-Besse’s reactor head came close to failure when the reactor was shut down to replace spent fuel, and a pineapple-sized hole was found. It was estimated to have been about two months before disaster, after workers had ignored visible signs of corrosion for several years.
 
The reactor head was then replaced with an unused head, but a more recent breakdown of reactor nozzles made it necessary to replace the replacement. After Davis-Besse was shut down on October 1, 2011, for this repair, a 30-foot-long hairline crack was found in the concrete outer structure of the reactor.

FirstEnergy, owner of the plant, is evaluating this latest trouble to determine the cause and extent of the crack. The company had already submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the plant’s operating license for another 20 years to 2037.

For more information, See the Toledo Blade article, “Activists seek city opposition to renewing license for Davis-Besse” by David Patch, Blade staff writer.

From Swanny Voneida

Magazine:  Sierra Club Magazine, November/December 2011   
Articles:
1. "Old MacDonald’s Carbon Footprint"
2. "But, What Fish Can I Eat?"
By Nate Seltenrich 

Comments:   
1. The carbon footprint of meats, cheese and eggs

From Ann Ward

Book:  The End of Country
Author:  Seamas McGraw

Comments:
This book is now available at the Kent Free Library. The book is an excellent account of the experiences of an independent journalist's family—and those of their neighbors—with hydraulic fracturing in central Pennsylvania. The author describes in engaging detail the entire process from being approached by land men representing energy companies to signing leases; from the actual construction on drill sites to the process of being fracked; and from the frustration with the state's lack of enforcement to the economic pressure to sign deals.

Update on Fracking in Ohio

by Ted Voneida, KEC Energy Focus Group Facilitator

On April 6, 2011, I testified against fracking in our state parks at the State House in Columbus before the Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Click here to read my complete testimony. 
 
Of the 37 people who testified, 36 were against the legislation, and one person was for it. That one person was the director of the Ohio Division of Natural Resources. Majority rules, so the bill was passed by our legislature, and now those of us who can't afford a long weekend at Hilton Head with our families can enjoy the hundreds of trucks filled with brine, the clear cutting of state forest trees for roads, and the joy of watching a highly destructive drilling process right in our own state parks.

I found the National Resources Defense Council article, reprinted below, to be very informative:

10 Reasons Why You Need to Be Concerned

1. Declining Property Values
Most banks and insurance companies consider gas leased properties to be an unacceptable risk. Many loan companies have policies which deny mortgages on those properties which have been leased. Insurance companies are balking at writing policies for leased parcels, as landowners can be liable for accidents related to natural gas drilling. Drilling will eventually depreciate the value of not only your residence, but of investment parcels as well. If you are considering selling your property, you must ask, “Will I be able to find a buyer who is willing and able to pay cash?”

2. Toxic Chemicals
Gas companies say that frack fluid is 99% water but that equates to 7,500 gallons of chemicals used for every well drilled. According to experts, 93% of these chemicals have adverse health effects, 60% are known carcinogens and more than 40% are endocrine disruptors.

3. You Can’t Drink Gas
The greatest and most widespread harm seen in gas drilling is toxic chemical pollution caused by spills. Any contamination of ground water and aquifers is a threat to public health, agriculture, and wildlife. After a recent spill in PA, the USDA quarantined cattle that drank contaminated water in an effort to protect the public from consuming potentially harmful products. But humans are not directly protected because the gas industry is exempted from the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Your drinking water is not protected.

4. Air Quality Concerns
Ground level ozone and noxious chemicals can have serious health consequences on people, animals and plants. For humans this includes asthma, stroke, cardiovascular disease and irritable bowel disorders. Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is as much as 25 times as potent as CO2. Experts say that during transport, 3-5% of the methane escapes from pipelines and compressors as fugitive emissions.

5. Health Effect from Other Pollutants
Studies have shown that what the industry calls annoyances—noise, light and dust pollution—can also have a negative impact on health. Brine from drilling can contain heavy metals and be highly radioactive, yet some communities are using this as a road deicer.

6. Increases in Traffic
The DEC estimates between 5850 and 8905 truck trips for each well pad. Increases in traffic lead to increases in traffic accidents. School bus accidents and chemical tanker spills have occurred in other communities as truck drivers try to negotiate rural roads at high speeds.

7. Gas Pads Not Limited to Countryside
Wells have been drilled near suburban homes, churches, schools, parks and even in city centers. Even the dead can’t rest in peace as cemeteries are not off limits to drilling activity.

8. Security and Social Costs
Drilling-driven temporary population booms increase demand on police, fire and EMS, and social services, all paid for by local tax payers. Studies have shown that as gas drilling increases in an area, so too does the crime rate.

9. Economics
Gas production is slated for much of New York’s food producing regions. Yet, agricultural production, tourism and recreation contribute more income to the state economy than the proposed income from gas drilling.

10. Environmental Issues
Gas activities draw heavily on fresh water reserves. Reduced oxygen levels, high levels of dissolved solids and pollutants negatively affect aquatic life, including fish.  Many species of birds and wildlife are negatively impacted by forest fragmentation, while others may benefit (coyote). Unfortunately this creates an imbalance in the ecosystem. While some species may be lost as an unintended cost of drilling, other species may arrive. Access roads and pipelines provide openings for invasive species infestation.

KEC Summer 2011Newsletter Available

To view the Summerr 2011 issue, click here.