Drilling facts are ignored
The Dec. 8 letter to the editor, “Children at risk near drilling,” by Raina Rippel of the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, is a prime example of a common activist strategy of ignoring facts and instead relying on talking points that will elicit an emotional reaction. The narrative used in this instance – exploitation of children – happens to be taken directly from the anti-fracking activist playbook.
The truth is, there are no facts to support the six talking points Rippel claims in the letter. For example, she states, “A growing number of studies conducted by researchers at major research universities are finding associations between proximity to, or density of, horizontal drilling wells and health impacts in the neurological and respiratory systems, among others.” Yet she fails to identify a single reputable, peer-reviewed study by an unbiased source to back up this claim.
Rippel also chooses to ignore data that shows fracking is protective of public health, instead trumpeting an agenda-driven ideology that insists the “closer you are to fracking, the more susceptible you are to suffering negative health effects.” That isn’t supported by the facts.
To set the record straight, since the Marcellus Shale revolution began, the three most dangerous criteria pollutants – sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and fine particulate matter – have dramatically declined, having a profoundly positive effect on public health for families across the country.
Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Energy Information Administration show a 60 percent decrease in fine particulate matter (which can cause early death, cardiovascular or respiratory harm) and 68 and 38 percent decreases in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, respectively. Over that same period, U.S. natural gas production dramatically increased, particularly in Pennsylvania, and natural gas-fired electricity generation has surged 76 percent.
And as we continue to see all across the country, natural gas development helps create thousands of jobs and deliver wealth to communities that use those resources to build better hospitals and schools and create better opportunities for young people – all factors that contribute to better health.
The Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project happens to be nonprofit entity closely associated to some very biased groups who directly or indirectly advocate against all natural gas development. For obvious reasons, this should raise red flags in terms of the veracity of the information they’re putting out.
Hopefully next time, the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project will ditch baseless scare tactics that willfully ignore “highly technical information” and focus on the facts.
Jackie Stewart
Pittsburgh
Jackie Stewart is a director for Energy In Depth, a research, education and public outreach campaign.