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Tracking commentary and opinion from around Central New York, the state and nation:



Friday's Topic:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday for the first time that fracking — a controversial method of improving the productivity of oil and gas wells — may be to blame for causing groundwater pollution. Linda Steffen, of Canastota, writes about hydrofracking in the Readers' Page of today's Post-Standard. Here is her letter:

Money is far more important than the truth; that's why the gas lobbyists are spending millions relentlessly spewing there are no "documented" cases of ground water contamination in over 60 years of "fracking."

The term fracking has caused confusion from the start. The gas industry defines fracking to a single moment of the underground fracturing, a part of the process that has never been investigated, which allows the obvious contamination from the whole fracking process to be denied. This method drills deep into the Earth, fracturing the shale horizontally for miles to release the natural gas. There would not be any drilling into the Marcellus if not for the new horizontal drilling/fracking combo called hydrofracking.

In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 70 to 140 billion gallons of water are used to fracture 35,000 wells in the United States each year. This is consumptive use of fresh water, never to be returned to our drinking water supply.

In Pennsylvania, in just a few years of hydrofracking, there are reports of illegal dumping of wastewater, methane migration, improper casings, spills and well blow-outs.

We need to develop alternative, sustainable fuels that will create jobs, provide for our energy security and protect our environment. All forms of energy create risk. However, once introduced, the harm from hydrofracking cannot be undone.

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A $10 word trending in today's news

Rampage. n. A period of violent and uncontrollable behavior, typically involving a large group of people. [Newswordy]

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