Energy: The Pros and Cons of Shale Gas Drilling

The Environmental Protection Agency is just beginning to study the effects of fracking on drinking water: is the problem fracking per se, or human error?

Or consider what happened in the Appalachian town of Dimock, Pa. In the shale gas gold rush, Dimock is the ghost town.

"How many of you lost your water supply?" Stahl asked a group of residents.

All of them raised their hands.

A company called Cabot Oil and Gas paid many of the folks in Dimock $25 an acre, and they were happy until one day a water well exploded.

"My boy had come over the night before and said, he just said, 'Dad, we got gas in the water over there.' I can actually shake the jug up and light it," Bill Ely told Stahl. "I can take my water, just put it in a gallon jug, shake it up, turn it up and it'll explode."

Ely demonstrated it for Stahl by hooking a hose from his well to a jug and lighting it; there was an audible pop.

State authorities have determined that gas leaked into the water because of a poor cement job; Cabot now supplies bottled water to the residents, but has admitted no guilt. So the company is being sued by some residents.

"This is a poor area. This is the perfect place to come in and drill. A lot of guys didn't have work. Now they're driving trucks. The bars are hopping, the rentals are full. So there is an economic boom here, but at what price?" Victoria Switzer asked Stahl.

"I can live without natural gas. I can't live without my water," Craig Sautner remarked.

"You have these landowners who will say that their water was clean. They could drink. They couldn't light it on fire. And then the gas industry came in and now taking a shower makes them sick. There are too many landowners who are describing the exact same scenario. And so it can't just be a coincidence. There's something wrong here," the Sierra Club's Michael Brune said.

"So here we have natural gas from shale touted as the solution to our energy problems by one group. Another group says it's the biggest environmental nightmare," Stahl remarked.

"Ah well, actually, they're both correct," Brune said. "So what we need to do is we need to promote gas as a cleaner alternative to coal and oil, but hold the industry accountable for tighter standards."

Which Aubrey McClendon says he'd go along with, because he says natural gas is such a huge game changer: "If you use natural gas, America can establish independence from OPEC and can put Americans back to work. We can lower our carbon emissions, and we can begin to improve the economy as well by not exporting a billion dollars a day of American wealth. The greatest wealth transfer in human history takes place every day. And it doesn't have to."

As part of its study, the EPA asked nine companies to disclose to the government the chemicals used in fracking. Eight complied; only Halliburton said no, so last Tuesday the EPA subpoenaed them.
Produced by Shachar Bar-On and Meghan Frank

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[Dentex01]

Check out the behavioral analysis of Mr. McClendon's interview with Leslie at www.bargroup.net. Very interesting!!

[Astonded]

This article starts out by saying natural gas is being touted as the answer to our energy problems. The answer to our energy problems begins with CONSERVATION of energy first and foremost.It then demands that we work WITH the natural world, not against her - not by pumping untold quanities of toxins into the earth while we blow up layers of rock with unknown consequences. That we are simply looking for a way to continue our wasteful ways of course comes as no surprise from a culture that has raised greed to the level of a virtue. I love the Aubrey McClendon's certainty - it reveals just how the potential of making millions blinds people to the fact that all things are connected in the natural world, and there WILL be horrible consequences, as there always are, to our destructive and greed driven ways. Our goals seem to be simply about how we can continue to be consume and waste in a way that won't contribute to global warming - as if the problem doesn't lie in our greedy and wasteful disregard for this beautiful planet and its generosity. It is also totally UNACCEPTABLE (though not surprising) to not have public disclosure on the chemicals. CBS's reporting here is pathetic. We must know what SOME of these are, and they should be named beyond saying they are "nasty."

[OttoButz]

The real truth in Otsego County New York is that the drilling companies are a lot poorer than Chesapeake Gas Company.

The two farmers who received the checks making them millionaires is a far cry to what is being offered in this area. A gas company signed an Amish Community for $3.00 an acre. Other unsuspecting people signed un-cancelable leases for $25.00 an acre and up, but nothing like what was shown on your program.

Due to lack of regulations (federal and state), these companies have plundered Pennsylvania (Dimmick) and other states. A village in New York, Pittsfield, was given and unwittingly accepted ?free? water for dust control on dirt roads until they found out the contents of the water was brine from fracked wells. Companies contracted with a hauler who dumped radioactive waste (from wells) in Chemung County landfills. Do you remember Love Canal?

When the New York State Senate passed a drilling moratorium (49-8) to stop drilling, Pennsylvania blasted New York for its position. Now Pennsylvania woke up after the gas drillers plundered their state, but it is too late for many. New York still does not have the moratorium in place because it has not been voted on in the Assembly. The gas companies know this and are running roughshod before the bill is voted on. They feel any work started will be exempt when and if passed and signed by the governor.

I wish 60 Minutes or CBS would come upstate and see the beauty and way of life we want to preserve. New York City?s water supply starts here, goes down to the Catskills and the New York City watershed via the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers and streams and tributaries. As you know they go well beyond our state, to the Chesapeake Bay.

[Patran2]

It was 22 years ago that a small Central Monterey County California community called Lockwood, protested and won the fight against a Coal-fired Cogeneration plant from being built in our very rural and unpolluted area. This company had planned to use Coal to produce steam to extract the thick (solidified) oil. Now we are faced with a company coming in that has already drilled 9 "test" wells and are planning on leasing or buying the 6,000 acre BLM land lease surronding our beautiful San Antonio Valley. We are told they will be using the "fracturing" method of injecting chemicals to get the oil out while we believe this methos has the possibilty of polluting our underground water supply.
We are having a town hall meeting on Dec 4th and hope we can gather together as a community to stop this from happening, but we are already facing opposition from those land owners who may become the next "Shaleionaires".
I, for one cannot believe that this is happening to our environment - what year is this anyway? Haven't poeple learned from the past? I can live without gas and oil, but I cannot live without water or the food that we produce.
60 minutes - maybe you should send a reporter to our beautiful and unpolluted area to report on the events that are happening here and what we are fighting against.

[cfjs48]

Just a brief comment... if the gas company are wrong how will we ever fix it and who pays for it to be fixed ! Living close to one of the most poluted lakes in the US, Onondaga Lake in central NY, the company that poluted it for almost 100 years (with the blessing of our local government) has since left town now another company and the state etc are cleaning it up someday. A recent article in the Albany paper mentioned 75,000 abandon oil and gas wells in our state alone. They are 100 yrs old and continue to leak into the environment. Another question of tax payers cleaning up industries mess. It's been so long no one knows who is responsible for the clean up. SO will this follow in the same line. 20 Yrs of gas production then rigs and machinery left to rote? Tell me this will be different this time !

[edcloonan]

The fact that 60 Minutes did not reference Gasland the movie by Josh Fox signals an industry bias,that refuses to consider anything beyond the industry viewpoint.Anyone who sees Gasland will be concerned if mot alarmed and 60 Minutes ignoring it minimizes any possible addition to the complete pool of knowledge.

[ladybroadoak]

Yes, a reference to Gasland would have been nice, but at least people know to go to the Sierra Club to organize against fracking, which is GOOD.

[mmmimi]

Such a big deal is made about the damage to the water system of Dimmock because it's easy to set some residents water on fire.

Nobody ever published the fact that that has been possible for ages.

Where are the tests, done by a qualified agency, of what the water at a particular home was like before and after drilling?

[kenwebster06]

Right Wing, Left Wing, or in Between...it doesn't matter. Fact is that Brazil, Japan and other countries are running their vehicles on cleaner CNG(compressed natural gas)right now,leaving the United States behind. Finding an alternative to fossil fuel is great, but right now and for at least the next 20 years you can continue to burn large amounts of coal and oil or a significantly cleaner energy independent supply of natural gas(Or Nuke). Electric vehicles are a joke also...do you really think a Volt that powers up with coal powered electric generators is cleaner than a CNG vehicle?

[kenwebster06]

Pahgre, sorry u are upset. I'm not real big on politics, just an engineer stating facts. In Brazil you have a choice of filling your vehical with CNG(compressed natural gas), standard gasoline, or ethanol at many stations. In Brazil they call compressed natural gas NGV. Just google it or go to Brazil, I've been there several times so I know it's a fact.

[nopatriot]

Let's see basic of knowledge how we live on the earth.
Trees' leaves take CO2 and produce O2, you know that.
Now we have some option to have solar energy and some people cut down trees that is WRONG!!
If less trees on the earth, who produce O2? We are going to be extinct!!
Many people might not believe what Stanley A Hulham writes about but not only him but also me and some people have same ideas to clean up the air.
Rule No.1 Don't cut trees but protect and increase trees which have leaves.
But choose trees, some are not fit your yards or environment case fire or any other situation.
Rule No.2 Big companies should not pretend they can not decrease toxic gasses etc.
I don't understand why USA says "CO2 Cap" yes need balance of CO2, however trees need CO2 to
produce O2. human need O2 or die ! Simple.
Rule No3. However , solar panels are usable but not perfect goods.
We can combine solar energy goods with other energy but not necessary to cut down trees.
The reason already mentioned that. We need o2 and trees produce co2.
Trees are CO2 filters to produce O2.
So, your neighbor need sun right and cut down tree in your yard and makes a law suit is nonsense . You can fight back We need fresh air to take breath every day.

If you really want to have all solar power life, you should move to desert area.

If we cut down our trees surroundings , all areas are going to be desert

So you already understand what this mean, we all die.

We should produce trees and flowers which have leaves.

And factories should go green,

Meanwhile we do this, also technology to produce O2, Yes, would be helpful in future.

Please keep remind the base of knowledge , trees are our life savers and partners.

[kenwebster06]

60 minutes did not do their homework on this one. Evil Halliburton hiding their chemicals......while in the background you see a container with an MSDS(material safety data sheet). All chemicals used are in containers required to have an MSDS which shows the type of chemical.
Natural Gas is the cleanest alternative that will meet our energy needs and provide energy independence, period.