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Fracking

Letter to the editor 2To the Editor,

Did the Loveland petition carriers ride their bikes to City Hall to turn in their petitions? Maybe, but there are better questions about hydraulic fracturing.

What really is happening out there? How often do spills occur, what have been their effects on ground and surface waters, and have there been attempts to keep this information from us?

How can we get oil and gas out of the ground without poisoning drinking water or causing air pollution that leads to serious health problems?

What will it take to mitigate the negative effects, how much will it cost us, and how many lives are we willing to disrupt in order to save ourselves money?

How much can we believe the assurances of the oil and gas companies, when they felt it necessary to get hydraulic fracturing exempted from the federal Clean Water, Clean Air, and Safe Drinking Water Acts? (Remember the tobacco companies?)

In short, how can we protect the owners of both mineral rights and surface rights?

The people who turned in those petitions are asking for two years time for the City to review and publicize the numerous independent studies of experiences with hydraulic fracturing – all across this country– and its real-life effects.  They would prefer to mitigate the harm first, instead of learning about it after it’s too late.

Is this too much to ask?

Ann Harroun
Loveland, Colo.