Breaking up is hard to do

Breaking up is hard to do by Thomas Crosbie Media Ltd., March 11, 2012
Some, even in the scientific community, remain suspicious of the claims of fracking proponents. Tony Ingraffea is a professor of engineering at Cornell University. He has done significant research into the effects of fracking. Asked about the pro-fracking argument, that there is no proven case of the procedure causing contamination of drinking water, he half-suppresses a laugh. “They buy off the offended party, and there’s a gagging order — that’s what happens,” he says, not referring to any single company. “Is there an example, in the public domain, of a well being contaminated? No. But I am absolutely convinced that there are examples of it in lawyers’ files and in the files of the gas companies.”… Ernst argues that Ireland should “do a conservative socio-economic assessment of what Ireland stands to lose — in current jobs, industry, your infrastructure, your health. And even the water itself. What is the value of Ireland’s rivers and loughs? Often in these things, we look at the supposed short-term gains, but we don’t look at what we put at risk.” When asked what she would suggest as a course of action for Ireland on fracking, her message is simple: wait. “The best advice I can give to people in Ireland is that the wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Watch the mistakes happen everywhere else,” she says. [Emphasis added]

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