So now, Josh Fox’s Gasland II is "fiction"? I think, NOT.
This is what collaborating with the gas industry gets you.
You end up being used as an unwitting shill for the drill, and are used to discredit, marginalize, and ridicule those who have had the guts to stand up, tell the truth, fight back, and used to try to convince others that this dangerous, toxic, destructive, extreme industrial activity can be conducted "responsibly" where people live, and that "if" we can just clean up the air to tolerable levels, the contaminated water, the fragmented forests, the loss of viable agricultural land mass, and the effect that our continued use of fossil fuels is having on our climate will be an acceptable trade-off for corporate profits and 'cleaner' air. Not clean, not safe, just 'cleaner and... safer'. Which means that maybe less people will become ill, or suffer chronic respiratory illnesses, and maybe a few less children will suffer from asthma.
It also creates the illusion that "regulations", either voluntary, or mandatory can work, and that the industry can be trusted to police itself... at their expense, because they really want to be our "good neighbors", and they care about people.
Organizations such as C.O.G.E.N.T. and BESC claim to be "following the example of Calvin Tillman", but fail to state that he eventually gave up and moved off-the-shale. Now, on top of their misguided support of John Hanger and his "world class regulations" that he claims to have in his back pocket, that there is no regulatory model he can site as an example, they've become the "poster children" for the industry, and have undermined the efforts of every socially conscious individual who has worked so hard to protect the areas that have not been devastated yet by the gas industry in PA, and the rest of the world.
Is this what "realistic and constructive" looks like? It seems a lot like a Faustian deal to me.
This is what collaborating with the gas industry gets you.
You end up being used as an unwitting shill for the drill, and are used to discredit, marginalize, and ridicule those who have had the guts to stand up, tell the truth, fight back, and used to try to convince others that this dangerous, toxic, destructive, extreme industrial activity can be conducted "responsibly" where people live, and that "if" we can just clean up the air to tolerable levels, the contaminated water, the fragmented forests, the loss of viable agricultural land mass, and the effect that our continued use of fossil fuels is having on our climate will be an acceptable trade-off for corporate profits and 'cleaner' air. Not clean, not safe, just 'cleaner and... safer'. Which means that maybe less people will become ill, or suffer chronic respiratory illnesses, and maybe a few less children will suffer from asthma.
It also creates the illusion that "regulations", either voluntary, or mandatory can work, and that the industry can be trusted to police itself... at their expense, because they really want to be our "good neighbors", and they care about people.
Organizations such as C.O.G.E.N.T. and BESC claim to be "following the example of Calvin Tillman", but fail to state that he eventually gave up and moved off-the-shale. Now, on top of their misguided support of John Hanger and his "world class regulations" that he claims to have in his back pocket, that there is no regulatory model he can site as an example, they've become the "poster children" for the industry, and have undermined the efforts of every socially conscious individual who has worked so hard to protect the areas that have not been devastated yet by the gas industry in PA, and the rest of the world.
Is this what "realistic and constructive" looks like? It seems a lot like a Faustian deal to me.
~~~
The following articles are among the most outrageous and disingenuous pro-gas propaganda I have ever seen. The One Issue on Which Anti- and Pro-Drillers Agree
Is there an issue on which both anti- and pro-drillers can
agree? Is there ever a time both sides can sit at the same table and discuss a
potential problem, and do so without hyperbole and snarky comments? Is there an
issue over which both sides can talk and not have it end in shouting?
Indeed there is–and it is the issue of
air pollution. MDN realizes we’re on shaky ground with our industry friends by
writing this, but on several occasions we’ve pointed out there is a growing body
of evidence that shows a marked increase in air pollution in heavily drilled
areas–mostly from compressor plants, but also from drilling rigs, truck traffic,
etc. (see PA DEP Report: Counties with Fracking Have More Air
Pollution). The issue of air pollution is enough to unite
two neighbors from Dimock, PA who were formerly on opposite sides of the
drilling debate.
One of those neighbors starred in Josh Fox’s
Gasland II fiction–Victoria Switzer (see More on “Pro-Drilling” Conversion
of Gasland II Star from Dimock). We wouldn’t
say Vickie is exactly pro-drilling these days, but she’s decided to be realistic
and constructive, instead of obstructive, and that’s a positive change. She’s
once again on speaking terms with her Dimock neighbor Ron Teel, a pro-drilling
landowner. Ron and Vickie both belong to the local advocacy group Breathe Easy
Susquehanna County.
More on “Pro-Drilling” Conversion of Gasland II Star from Dimock
A few days ago we told you that one of Josh Fox’s stars in Gasland II, Victoria Switzer, has changed sides and now wants to work with the drilling industry to ensure the air is clean in Susquehanna County, PA (see Gasland II Starlet Leaves Anti-Drilling Behind, Adopts “Realism”). This is a huge problem for the anti-drilling movement, a movement that is typically shrill and frankly, unthinking. We now have at least a few people who, while they don’t like natural gas drilling going on around them, are willing to have a cogent, what they call “respectful” dialog about it. They also recognize shall drilling is here to stay–they are realists. Finally, some people on the other side of the issue we can talk to!A bit more about the new tone and the new group which Switzer and other former anti-drillers have formed–a group called Breathe Easy Susquehanna County.
Gasland II Starlet Leaves Anti-Drilling Behind, Adopts “Realism”
What’s this…one of the stars of Gasland II, someone who trash-talked the shale drilling industry in Dimock, PA has changed sides? Yep. Well, sort of. Victoria Switzer has given up what she calls “tunnel vision” and has adopted “realism.” She says, “Realism is good.” She no longer calls for a halt to drilling in PA and instead wants to ensure it’s done safely–by working with industry and regulators. Welcome to logic and sanity! Glad to have you on our side.Watch out Josh Fox: Switzer is not the only former anti-driller now whistling a different tune.
