GET USED TO FRACKING

                                                       GET USED TO FRACKING

About a month ago DR. Alan Chartok had a show about fracking on WAMC. For an hour people from all over the area called in to express their displeasure, their horror, on how this brutal method of extracting oil and gas from shale will destroy the ground water and in general poison the environment. I for one could not have agreed more with each of the callers. The toxic chemicals along with the unimaginable quantities of water necessary to carry out the horizontal drilling in order to get the fossil fuels trapped underneath the land will surely cause horrendous damage.

Since I was in the car driving up to Williamstown, I heard the entire show. And I could not believe that not one person seemed to understand the inevitability of widespread fracking. After all, the possibility of the United States becoming energy independent after years and years of sucking up to OPEC is so overwhelming, so game changing, that the issue is basically a done deal.President Obama is holding fifteen licenses to drill in the Bakken Shield of North Dakota, the Eagle Ford of Texas and the Monterey formation in California etc. All of the big bad oil companies are champing at the bit to get those licenses. But Obama is holding them close to his vest. They are, after all, worth a fortune each. And since the country is broke, Obama will indeed sell them, but not before he extracts his pound of flesh from the companies.

My guess is that the economic possibilities involved are so great in terms of not only energy independence, but the creation of thousands and thousands of jobs along with great wealth, that Obama will become a hero very much like FDR. And like Roosevelt, the American people may even want Obama to run for a third term. If he can't overthrow the 22nd amendment, there's always Michelle.

I know all that sounds crazy. And I will mourn with so many of you over the destruction that will surely be done to our land and water. But the economic potential is so great, it could literally lead to the re-emergence of this country. Lets face it, the economy and jobs versus the environment has never been a contest in America. Much to my chagrin, the writing is on the wall.

March 4, 2013