Greetings Friends. Would you believe it. Oil and gas industry executives are saying that the industry can do better at managing their vast shale resources, particularly managing information in the public domain. The implication is that much of the “problem” with shale gas development is one of public relations, i.e. an issue of how we the public go about perceiving the industry.
“Let’s be honest, as an industry, we have not always done our best to engage in the public debates about these issues,” Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, said on Wednesday at a speech during a major energy conference. “We cannot ignore that parts of the public don’t trust our industry and our ability to operate safely,” said Helge Lund, president and CEO of the Norwegian company Statoil, now involved in Marcellus shale development.
And, you won’t believe this. The Governors of our respective States believe that we have enough legislation to protect our environment, our lands, our roads, and other infrastructure. The Governor of West Virginia was not willing to support any of the more than 20 bills introduced by legislators this year, as the Session of the Legislature comes to a close this week end. The Governor of Pennsylvania hand picked a new director for his Department of Environmental Protection that is more interested in budget control than environmental protection, given the budget battles in Harrisburg this week.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich said March 7 that his state has observed and learned from the mistakes other states have made with hydraulic fracturing. “We studied all the states, and they were very forthcoming with us,” Kasich said.
On public concerns regarding fracking, Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado said communication is the main issue. He noted that there have only been a couple documented cases of groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing activities. “We have to get real facts out there,” Hickenlooper said. “The industry has a tremendous self interest in being more transparent, really reaching out to communities and resolving those anxieties.”
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oh, yes, they are poisioning us and want us to let them. well i got a question, who in their right mind would let them? so every time you take a bath and forbid you drink the water, do you look at it and think? well breathing the air, we have no choice. so they will do what they do best, poisioning us all to death.