On the 28th of January, 2012, two lectures were presented at Athens, Ohio. The local speaker was Dr. S. Thomas Bond of Harrison County, WV. He is active in the Guardians of the West Fork as well as the WV/PA Monongahela Area Watersheds Compact. The other speaker was Calvin Tillman, former mayor of DISH, Texas. Mr. Tillman talked about the destruction in the Dish area and the health effects on his family and his neighbors associated with the drilling and fracking of shale for oil and gas.
Tom Bond wanted to reach three audiences: the older people and very busy people present, who rely mostly on verbal communication, the larger portion of the group, who rely mostly on reading and the third part who are internet savvy and have enough time and inclination to follow up.
A comprehensive talk was presented, as can be found on the web-site referenced here. In Dr. Bond’s introduction, he said:
My view of the earth is Biblical: it was put here for our use. But we are here as cultivators, not to be desecrators. Our use is to be prudent, not extravagant. It is not to destroy our resources and our selves and the good earth we have been given. I hope this ties together for you three things: conservationism, environmentalism, and a moral approach to use of the earth, given our individual, indefinite tenure on the earth.
Some of the topics covered by Dr. Bond were air pollution, water pollution in streams, contamination of aquifers, heavy trucks destroy inadequate roads, landmen and leases, a corruption of the political process, drill site damages, explosions, health issues, life style issues, transient workers, population scale issues, loss of surface (land) values, and the overall impacts of drilling and fracking.
In conclusion, Dr. Bond said “Everyone has to fight his own battle in this, as far as his own property is concerned. It is your property against one of the greatest concentrations of wealth ever known. But we have the law, such as it is. And you have your MIND and TIME TO THINK AND TO LEARN. You must be well informed, you must keep your eyes open and you must consult with other people. Stick your head in the sand and they will bury the other end! We need to cooperate to move the political process, too. It is hard work and difficult for people who have many other responsibilities. Ultimately, it is the only hope.”
For the full text of this talk in PDF format, see “Overview of Shale Drilling” presented in Athens, Ohio, on January 28th.
Point Your RSS Reader to FrackCheckWV.net/feed/
