A Second Response to Pro-Fracking Groups

After carefully reading and analyzing the Pro-fracking groups response to what we have set forth about fracking we feel the group did not accurately interpret our information. We feel the pro-fracking group completely ignored every fact and opinion we put forth and went back to their true, but misguiding facts.

The first example is set forth when they claim that our posting on twitter of closing 37 different fracking stations is a complete mistake. They believe that there is a lack of research about fracking and how it affects our environment. As we have stated in our previous blogs, fracking has been proven to have a major affect on our environment. According to money.cnn.com, fracking has put states like Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma at the same risk of earthquakes as California is. This puts the citizens of these states in serious danger. The opposing group argues that there is not enough research to back up our claims that fracking causes serious environmental harm. We counter this by providing many academic sources that have done studies on how detrimental fracking is for the environment.

A quality source we have provided is environmentamerica.org. This is a document that provides graphs and numbers proving how harmful fracking is. While the opposing group may argue that there is not enough research on fracking, the graph below provides an easy to understand example of just some of the harmful impacts that fracking causes on the environment, and people.  

Along with their claim that “there still isn’t a lot of scientific evidence that proves fracking is bad for the environment and impacts health”, the pro-fracking group talks about how anti-fracking groups do not have a plan to reduce our reliance foreign oil markets. The fact of the matter is that is not the problem we are trying to discuss here. Our platform is not based on the United State’s foreign oil dependency, it is based on the environmental effects of fracking, and how citizens are affected by it.  They are trying to pivot the argument from facts of how bad fracking is for the environment to how are we going to get oil in the future, which is not our concern.

The other “argument” the pro-fracking group uses against us is that “the Buffs against Fracking are railing into their supporters trying to get them on board with policy changes while very few of these people are educated in that subject.” We understand that there is a lack of knowledge about fracking, and that it is not an issue that concerns many except for those who are directly experiencing it. The opposing group also claims that we are “failing to hit on their own point of educating the people first.” Through our extensive research, blog, and twitter posts we have provided many reputable sources intended to help educate those who read them, including live video evidence of some of the direct and dangerous impacts of fracking.

TeamProFracking made a claim that “the general public really does not know much about the policies that go behind fracking.” They went on to misleadingly say that Gallup found 13% of respondents were “undecided” on fracking, when in reality they had “no opinion.” Also, a year prior, they found that 19% of respondents had “no opinion” on fracking, which suggests people are becoming more educated on the issue. If 87% of the population has an opinion about fracking, in which 51% are opposed to it, then most of general public is informed on the issue. The other side failed to acknowledge that support for fracking went down 4% from last year, and opposition to fracking went up 11%. The public is beginning to become informed on fracking, and not only Democrats are opposed to it. TeamProFracking suggested that Democrats were the only party against fracking, but the same Gallup Poll shows that only a third of Independents support fracking, and half of independents oppose it. Only 55% of Republicans are now in favor of fracking in 2016, which is a 11% drop from 2015. They also completely ignored the Pew Research Group Poll showing 51% of the general public opposing fracking. Not only is the TeamProFracking group criticizing the entire general public as being ignorant on fracking issues, but they are distorting the numbers to portray a false picture of fracking in America. If TeamProFracking is going to mock the anti-fracking coalition and call us “uneducated” for opposing fracking, they are also mocking the 51% of Americans who are with us.

As an anti-fracking group we ultimately believe that fracking should be banned altogether, but we also believe there needs to be higher regulation on fracking sites and these huge companies that have no concern for human rights to safe clean air and safe drinking water. We agree that there should be more money dedicated to further research into fracking, however, we urge our opposition, to acknowledge the extreme safety hazards that are known to accompany fracking, in an attempt to keep people safe.

Attack Against Pro-Fracking Group:

A response to “Team Pro-Fracking”

Group Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeamProFracking

Group Blog: http://teamprofracking6.blogspot.com

Key points made by opponent:

-Fracking creates jobs

-Lower cost of natural gas

-Fracking=$

-Pro-Libertarian and Republican

-Associates Fracking with lower CO2 levels

-“fracking has lowered CO2 levels”

-“Fracking Didn't Cause Oklahoma Earthquake”

Response:

As an anti-fracking group, we find that the pro-fracking group TeamProFracking has many faulty and misleading arguments regarding hydraulic fracturing. Our opponents are more interested in short-term monetary profit than long-term rewards for protecting our environment. For example, the pro-fracking group praises the fracking boom in the Midwest because it has created millions of jobs. However, these jobs created by the fracking industry are not stable, and many people get laid off when companies move to different oil wells. As a result, many of those employed by fracking don’t last long in the business. It has been shown by Economists who do a cost-benefit analysis of short-term job growth and environmental damage that externality costs of fracking in fact does more harm in the long-run. Thus, it would be more beneficial to invest in alternative forms of energy, which in return, reduce carbon emissions and protect our environment. According to a IRENA report, more than 8.1 million jobs were created globally from renewable energy, which is a 5% increase from 2015. This shows that while we might be dependent on job creation, there is not a need to be dependent on the jobs created by fracking. We don’t need fracking when we can get energy in a more clean and efficient way through renewable energy sources.

The pro-fracking group also tweeted a claim that “fracking didn’t cause Oklahoma earthquakes,” which is a flat-out lie. Many pro-fracking interest groups like “Protect Colorado” and others are associating the increase in Oklahoma earthquakes with natural earthquake patterns. However, many scientists are coming out claiming these earthquakes are “man-made” and are triggered by fracking activity. Prior to fracking activity in Oklahoma, earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude were rare; only 20 earthquakes were recorded in 2009 above a 3.0 magnitude, and 890 in 2015. Only two months ago, the US Geological Survey recorded the largest earthquake in Oklahoma history, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. It was thought that earthquakes like these were impossible in the Midwest, but these “induced earthquakes” are triggered by the ongoing activity of fracking. CNN reported, that the state of Oklahoma ordered to shut down 37 oil wells as a result of the increase in man-made earthquake activity caused by local fracking. The clear trend suggests that fracking caused many of the earthquakes recorded in Oklahoma, and the pro-fracking group is failing to acknowledge the real dangers it poses to the 7 million people who live within that fracking region.

Another myth that is often claimed by the pro-fracking coalition is that “fracking has lowered CO2 levels” in the atmosphere. However, it is to be noted, that the rise in fracking has no correlation with the decrease in CO2 levels. The recent decline in CO2 levels is instead caused by the decline in coal mines across the country that have proven to be very harmful for the environment.

TeamProFracking states in their latest blog post that the Libertarian Party supports Fracking because they consider it a grey area in our country. They go on to state that the consequences of fracking have yet to been fully researched, essentially giving the ok for it to be done on our soil because we are ignorant to its effects and that it will decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Although it could potentially reduce that dependence, they state themselves that more research needs to be done on the effects that fracking has on our home state. TeamProFracking also goes on to state that the Libertarian Party roots its belief in facts, even though there are simply not enough facts to prove that fracking is safe to have in the United States. This in itself, shows that using the Libertarian Party as legitimate evidence when defending fracking is a stretch at best.  

Another example of the pro-fracking team using misleading arguments is in their SWOT analysis. They specifically talk about how the fracking air quality myth is faulty and not understood. This however is a proven fact that people closer to fracking sites have worse air pollution and are in huge danger of health risks. Instead of them admitting they have weaknesses they are covering up it by saying there hasn’t been enough research done. They also state that methane “leaking into your glass” of water is completely normal.

The truth is, fracking is terrible for the environment and is a risk for many citizens who are close to fracking site. Another example of this is in the team's ‘threats’ section. Instead of pointing out the huge effect fracking has on the environment they bring up the point of that the media is biased and advocate for these groups way more than they should. In our opinion, we don’t believe the media talks about fracking much at all especially during the time of this critical election. With that said, we do feel it should be brought up more to people’s attention. The fact that the Pro-fracking group thinks this issue is due to media biased leads us to think they haven’t had much success in finding sources to back up their claims. When we as a group had to talk about our threats and weaknesses we actually addressed the upside of fracking and how there can be benefits to the fracking industry. To understand a topic clearly, you must be able to address the opposite opinion of yours, our opponents have yet to show that.

After reading our opponents arguments we are now more than willing to say the pro-fracking groups blog is misleading with faulty statements. We as anti-frackers are looking out for the common good of all people. The pro-fracking group is looking out for big corporations invested in the use of fracking. We need to think about the consequences of fracking for not only the good of the people but also for the environment.

Video proof of the Oklahoma earthquakes, 5.6 Magnitude, September 3rd, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMO14yoGcuI