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Inaction Is Not An Option |
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Written by Paul Lumia
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 14:55 |
Upholding Conservation Values in the Face of Natural Gas Extraction
As the executive director of North Branch Land Trust, I have had the opportunity to discuss at length with the various stakeholders the pros and cons of gas drilling in Northeastern Pennsylvania.I have also read many articles and technical documents covering just about every angle of the gas extraction industry and its effects on the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the region. Having attempted to soak in all of this information, I can’t say I am an expert on any one aspect of the industry, or its current and future effects on the region, but I can say that I have noticed some unsettling trends that are worth noting as we grapple with the social, economic, and environmental issues that are unfolding as the gas extraction industry takes root. Before proceeding, however, I would first like to offer up a few facts about gas extraction and fossil fuels in general to help frame the point I would like to make.
The United States has one of the largest appetites in the world for energy and our economy is built around the consumption of fossil fuels to meet this energy need. The gas drilling has begun in earnest in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and, given the amount of money that has changed hands, it does not appear that the industry is going to pack up its bags and leave the area anytime soon. Gas drilling can have a negative and sometimes damaging impact on the environment, but is usually not as invasive and damaging as other extractive operations such as mountaintop removal and long-wall coal mining and tar sands strip mining for oil.
Some gas drilling operations and support industries in the region have already experienced environmental accidents and there will no doubt be more. As is the case with any industry, some of the players are open and honest and correct their mistakes while others prefer to bend the rules and hide their transgressions. Such is human nature. Pennsylvania generates 53% of its electricity from burning coal, the dirtiest of all the fossil fuels. The burning of coal and oil produces far more pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulates, and mercury than does the burning of natural gas. The U.S. budget for the development of clean and renewable energy sources is pitiful compared to the funds made available for existing energy technologies. With these facts in hand, let’s look further into the socioeconomic issues swirling around the development of the gas extraction industry in our region.
Many organizations have been weighing in on the economic, social, and environmental impacts that the gas extraction industry is and will have on the region. All of this discourse is good and important as it has an influence on how the industry will develop over time. Moreover, we certainly need well-organized watchdog groups to help protect our best interest. However, shouldn’t we be expending an equal amount of time and energy on creating workable solutions to the problems inherent in the development of the gas extraction process rather than taking sides and pointing fingers at the missteps as they crop up?
It is easy to crow about all that is wrong with the gas extraction industry, and clearly there are some glaring examples of things gone wrong. Did we really think it would be trouble free? Are the environmental problems cropping up the industry’s fault or our fault for lack of regulatory oversight? As the industry ramps up, evidence is mounting that shows our state regulatory arm, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), is understaffed and having trouble keeping up with the necessary monitoring requirements. A fast-growing gas extraction industry, coupled with an understaffed regulatory arm, is not a good combination. Wouldn’t our time and talents be better spent lobbying (demanding) our public officials to enact laws and regulations that provide for proper monitoring and that hold the gas extraction industry to a higher standard?
I am amazed that we spend so much time deliberating and writing about the obvious problems inherent in the industry when we could be working on solutions that reduce risk and uphold accountability. All of us have a right to a clean and healthy environment, and we should ensure that our elected officials work to that end. There seems to be a disconnect between what most of us want in terms of environmental oversight, safeguards, and regulations and what our elected officials are providing through the legislative process. I’m sure gas industry representatives are not sitting on the sidelines in Harrisburg and Washington D.C., and it appears that their efforts have contributed to some relatively lenient state and federal regulations governing the industry. I do not fault the industry for its efforts, as it is attempting to run a business as efficiently and economically as possible. However, an equal lobbying effort must be made on behalf of the citizens of Northeastern Pennsylvania and our rights to a clean and healthy environment. There must be an equitable balance! I do not see this happening as evidenced by the lack of meaningful legislation coming out of Harrisburg and Washington D.C. that would help protect the natural resources we all enjoy.
These are obviously tough economic times. The state of Pennsylvania has had to make massive budget cuts to balance income and expenses. However, the gas extraction industry is beginning to withdraw a natural resource from below our lands and it will make a handsome profit doing so. In return, we should demand that our public officials act in our best interest to ensure our natural lands and waterways are protected and maintained to the highest possible standard. This demand would seem wise, given that our legislators hold the key to producing laws that would protect our environment, now and for future generations to come.
Though many of us have been calling for change for some time, we as Americans are just now beginning to wake up to the need to adjust our consumption patterns and embrace energy conservation and alternative fuels for energy production. This shift cannot happen overnight, and unless we are willing to severely compromise our current lifestyle, we will need to consume fossil fuels for sometime to come. Natural gas can act as a good transitional fuel if we are willing to commit now to moving in a different direction— investing in and developing clean alternative fuels and technologies and putting in place the proper laws and regulations to protect what is most important to us. If we do not like the way the natural gas industry is unfolding in our backyard, then we need to act. We need to demand stricter regulations, push for greater funding for renewable energy technologies, keep an eye out for problems, and not be afraid to report them. Nothing happens if nothing happens!
North Branch Land Trust is a land conservation organization operating in eight Northeastern Pennsylvania counties, and specifically in the counties where the bulk of the new deep gas wells are being drilled into the Marcellus Shale. North Branch has protected more than 10,800 acres of natural lands in the region and continues to work with landowners to ensure that the conservation values they cherish are upheld. |
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