nova scotia extends moratorium on fracking after release of independent study

[RidonKs]

good news for my province imo. economically it could hurt but the long term ramifications are much more important.

article (http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1233818-nova-scotia-to-ban-fracking)

what is the status of fracking in your neck of the woods?

[masonanddixon]

I really hope it gets banned here as well. Like you said, it may provide a short term financial boom but it destroys the land and water forever

[MMM]

It is also a big issue in neighboring NB. Energy/hydro have swung the last few elections. Looks like fracking won't be a go in NB as well but what about the east west pipelines???

[kNIOKAS]

There was a project to start fracking in my country. The local community signed petition and it was stalled. It became political issue with various people visiting the community and trying to talk them in, but now it's on halt indefinitely I think...

The terms for a foreign company to come in and start fracking were something like they don't have to pay taxes for the first two years, or after first two years, I don't recall. Sounded very fishy.

I don't know much about fracking but I remember a guy from Vice talking about how they were trying to do a documentary. They got to the fracking site but quickly they got redirected to the another one, as if there were something even more interesting to see. They were brought in the middle of nowhere where was no site in place at all, then given stupid excuses on how it's supposed to be there or something, and when they got back nobody wanted to talk to them anymore.

So I don't know.

[Nanners]

I am a pretty hardcore environmentalist, but I dont really think fracking is any more of a problem than traditional oil drilling. The real problem is not the act of fracturing of a deep underground rock formation (thats what fracking is). The problem is the fact that the drilling (and fracking) of any gas well is contracted out to the lowest bidder, so there is a financial incentive to cut as many corners as possible. This means more wells with casings made out of low grade concrete, more illegal dumping of waste, lower quality work in general. For fossil fuels, just like anything else, there are people who will go to any length in the name of saving money. In a perfect world, fracking and fossil fuel exploration could be done 100% safely, but we dont live in a perfect world.

There are hundreds of thousands of wells that are actively producing in the US, so even if 99% work perfectly and only 1% of those wells is leaky, you are still talking about thousands of leaky wells. Again, this is true for anywhere that has oil wells, there is nothing about the act of fracturing rock formations deep underground (fracking) that makes a well more likely to leak.

What do we do about it? For one thing we need to make better laws/regulations surrounding drilling, and do a better job of enforcing existing laws. But more importantly we need to invest in more sustainable sources of energy. These fossil fuels wont last humanity forever, one or two hundred years at best, but something like solar could guarantee us another ~4 billion years.

They are fracking like crazy in my state right now, but I dont really care, because fvck oklahoma. If the people really want to turn my state into a toxic waste dump then whatever, so be it. I just want to save enough money to move somewhere like the pacific northwest with clean air and water, Oregon and Washington look pretty nice.

[brantonli]

I admit I haven't researched the environmental effects of fracking well enough, but seriously, the economic benefits are huge (not least the favoured political stick of being 'energy independent). In fact, it should be a bigger issue here in Europe, given how more fracking would allow less dependence on Russia for gas.

I know there have been reports of earthquakes and stuff from fracking, but on the whole it seems fairly safe (?)

[masonanddixon]

I admit I haven't researched the environmental effects of fracking well enough, but seriously, the economic benefits are huge (not least the favoured political stick of being 'energy independent). In fact, it should be a bigger issue here in Europe, given how more fracking would allow less dependence on Russia for gas.

I know there have been reports of earthquakes and stuff from fracking, but on the whole it seems fairly safe (?)

From what I have been told by friends involved in environmental science, fracking unequivocally introduces toxins (benzene based chemicals) into the water source and damages it permanently. There's nothing safe about it.

[SunsN07BookIt]

If the people really want to turn my state into a toxic waste dump then whatever, so be it. I just want to save enough money to move somewhere like the pacific northwest with clean air and water, Oregon and Washington look pretty nice.

Oregon is nice, I have some family there but I hate to burst your bubble, Oregon has some of the most polluted waterways in the nation.

[Nanners]

Oregon is nice, I have some family there but I hate to burst your bubble, Oregon has some of the most polluted waterways in the nation.

i dont see how they can be any worse than the midwest or east coast

[Rockets(T-mac)]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LBjSXWQRV8

^ ****ed up... good on Nova Scotia to ban this dangerous practice. :applause: :biggums:

That's insane.... how do you drink/use that water after you discover this?