Fear of fracking

Fear of fracking by Kristina Calhoun, Leader Yukon Green Party, January 6, 2012, Yukon News
I would like to applaud MLA Jim Tredger, for his efforts at seeking a moratorium on fracking in the Yukon. The public should be afraid of fracking. In Nadine Sander-Green’s article (Whitehorse Star) she stated that the process involves injecting a pressurized mixture of water and “other substances” into the ground to release trapped natural gas. Those other substances are actually formaldehyde, boric acid, ethylene glycol, methanol, isopropanol and diesel. Some of this toxic sludge is left underground where it leaches into and poisons local groundwater. Landowners in Rosebud, Alberta, have documented stories of being able to light their tap water on fire due to methane gas released as a result of fracking. They have also developed skin burns and rashes from showers, and pets and farm animals are refusing to drink water as a result of groundwater contamination. This doesn’t even address the fact that anywhere from two to 9 million gallons of water are required for a single fracking job, and because of the level of contamination that water cannot be returned to the watershed. I say to Brad Cathers, if ensuring that Yukon watersheds and Yukon residents are protected from the inevitable disasters that this type of procedure would create is not worth a moratorium, then I don’t know what is!! If the Yukon Party cares at all for Yukoners and this resource-rich territory, then a very easy and symbolic gesture would be to place a moratorium on fracking in the Yukon BEFORE anyone has come forward to the government with an interest in fracking.