ALEC Members Love Fracking and De-Regulation

Just because we "can do something" - doesn't mean we "should do it".

And that is my stance on "fracking".  Just because the technology exists - doesn't mean we should be using it - if it is unsafe. 

But , the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) would disagree with me on that because my stance gets in the way of the ALEC Corporate Sector / Private Enterprise members raking in obscene amounts of money.

ALEC Corporate Sector / Private Enterprise members raking in obscene amounts of money - while our water supplies are destroyed and people's health is put at risk - but that is the ALEC "free market" philosophy.

Right now there is a big #Occupy push for the Delaware River Basin because on Nov. 21, the Delaware River Basin Commission will vote on a plan to allow over 20,000 gas wells in the Delaware River Basin. The process to be used is called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”

Fracking and the support of fracking is a big deal for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Corporate Sector / Private Enterprise members.  They have written "model legislation" and given that legislation to legislators to implement -  that promotes fracking.

Regulations and specifically, getting rid of regulations is a big deal for the American Legislative Exchange Council Corporate Sector / Private Enterprise members.  They have written resolutions - and given those resolutions to state and federal ALEC  legislators to implement to get rid of Federal regulatory agencies.

This story illustrates why ALEC's "free market philosophy" is WRONG! 
Here are some excerpts - but the whole story is worth reading.

A pair of environmental monitoring wells drilled deep into an aquifer in Pavillion, Wyo., contain high levels of cancer-causing compounds and at least one chemical commonly used in hydraulic fracturing, according to new water test results [2] released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The findings are consistent with water samples the EPA has collected from at least 42 homes in the area since 2008, when ProPublica began reporting [3] on foul water and health concerns in Pavillion and the agency started investigating reports of contamination there.

Last year -- after warning residents not to drink [4] or cook with the water and to ventilate their homes when they showered -- the EPA drilled the monitoring wells to get a more precise picture of the extent of the contamination.

The Pavillion area has been drilled extensively for natural gas over the last two decades and is home to hundreds of gas wells.

The gas industry -- led by the Canadian company EnCana, which owns the wells in Pavillion -- has denied that its activities are responsible for the contamination. EnCana has, however, supplied drinking water to residents.

…the chemical compounds the EPA detected are consistent with those produced from drilling processes, including one -- a solvent called 2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE) -- widely used in the process of hydraulic fracturing. The agency said it had not found contaminants such as nitrates and fertilizers that would have signaled that agricultural activities were to blame.

The wells also contained benzene at 50 times the level that is considered safe for people, as well as phenols -- another dangerous human carcinogen -- acetone, toluene, naphthalene and traces of diesel fuel.

The hazardous affects of compounds like benzene and phenols is what ALEC has historically and currently refers to as "junk science".

ALEC supports fracking and deregulation - on behalf of ALEC Corporate Sector / Private Enterprise members.

More money for ALEC Corporate Sector / Private Enterprise members - unsafe water, air and food for the people.

Oh and by the way....................

EnCana was a "Director" level sponsor of

2011 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conference.

UPDATE - Think Progress January 2, 2012

Ohio Earthquake Linked To Fracking Injection Wells | On New Year’s Eve, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck northeastern Ohio, the second quake to strike the region in a week. Saturday’s earthquake, which occurred in an area not typically known for this type of natural disaster, is being traced back to fluid injection wells at a Youngstown fracking site. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, “the quake was the 11th over the last eight months in Mahoning County, all within two miles of the injection wells.” They also point out that injection wells have been linked to earthquakes in other states as well, including Arkansas, West Virginia, Colorado and Texas. Two of the Ohio injection wells in question are now being shut down.

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We must stop ALEC!

All legislators who are ALEC members at the state and federal levels

- MUST NOT BE RE-ELECTED!

Without ALEC legislators - ALEC will implode.

For more information on ALEC –

Please read this or this or this

or this series of six articles.

This is what ALEC is About  - Mark Pocan - About ALEC

Please do your part in educating people about ALEC

by sending them the links to the articles and reports listed just above.