Get the FRACK outta here!

By Anthony D'Angelo III

So far, our class has investigated the environmental issues of global warming and climate change, as well as the environmental ideology of land use and the connection with the natural world. These two topics have large, global implications, and are applicable to situations not only in America but to all other areas of the world. Although large scale Hydraulic Fracturing (or fracking) has global ramifications and impacts, it appears as though America specifically will be the “wild wild west” of fracking operations and environmental debate. We focused on the topic of fracking in America this week, and paid special attention to fracking in New York State. To me, it was important to look at a local environmental issue, because when something is happening real close to home, or in our case, when something is potentially happening in your drinking water, it puts a tangible feel to something that can feel at times far away and abstract

My personal favorite of all the works we studied this week was Dear Governor Cuomo. I found that of all the readings and viewings we have had so far, the topic of this movie was most significant and relevant to me. I thought the movie was original in the way it was filmed and constructed, not just because the movie was based off of a concert, but because the movie made its point in a very friendly, elegant way. I loved the way the various artist, actors, activists and scientists would tell their story and make their point to the audience, and then the film cuts to a song being played, and lets the viewer reflect upon the message being delivered, over the tunes of some very enjoyable music.  I thought this film was a breath of fresh air compared to the tones of the other films we watched. Rather than trying to vilify big government, energy companies or a particular politician, the protagonists of the film opt to make the governor a “hero” and actively try to persuade him with a combination of science, music and personalized stories. 

One song in particular that I really connected with was Hurricane Waters by Citizin Cope. I had never heard this song before I watched Dear Governor Cuomo.  But the imagery this song created for me was intense. I instantly thought about super storm sandy and seeing this place I call home, Long Island, devastated. I could take this entire blog to break down this particular song. But maybe it’s best to just listen and hear what the song does for you. 

We were introduced to Sandra Steingraber this week through a variety of writings and viewings, much in the same way we were introduced to Bill Mckibben last week. I like this strategy. It gives the viewer, in this case our class, a chance to see these environmentalist’s works and ideas from different perspectives. Reading someone’s black and white words is one things; seeing their face and hearing their voice is completely different. For instance, in “Raising Elijah”, Sandra comes across as a concerned mother over the future of the planet. Not only is she and environmentalist, but she’s a parent who is concerned about the issues her children will have to face in the future, due to problems we are causing today. Her words came across to me as gentle and caring. But the theme of concerned parent was always present.  In contrast, after watching Dear Governor Cuomo and the short interview of Sandra in class, I came away thinking the she was fiery, passionate, persuasive and red blooded. Civil disobedience isn’t for the faint of heart, particularly when you know you will be arrested, and you have a family that needs you.  Her strong convictions are much more clearly displayed through video media than her writings.  

“The Fracking of Rachel Carson” by Sandra Steingraber was a different kind of read then I’m used to in this class. I’m not quite sure how to interpret it. The first thing that confused me was the way that the points being made were numbered, but nowhere is it ever clarified as to why she is numbering her ideas, nor is there a clear pattern as to why one point stops and another one starts. I was also confused as to the overall message she was trying to send. The article felt part biography, part political satire and part literary non-fiction.  Given all these questions, I still liked it. The article is easy to read and its facts are clearly stated. I like that her writing style in this particular article seems to combine poetic description , science, law, fact and casual conversation in a way that satisfies the needs of all her readers.  She’s not too informal, but she will take a sentence or two to remind you that’s she’s a human. 

 “In the iconic Hawk Mountain photo, Rachel Carson is truly beautiful. Her smile looks natural rather than forced. Posed on a rocky summit, she is wearing a badass leather jacket and wields a pair of leather-strapped binoculars. So armed, she scans the horizon. At her feet, the whole of Berks County, Pennsylvania, unfurls, forest and valley, field and mountain, like a verse from a Pete Seeger song.”

She’s not too scientific, but she flexes her intellect when needed. 

“High-volume, slickwater, horizontal hydrofracking would be considered a crime if the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which regulates underground chemical injections, pertained. But they don’t. In 2005, fracking was granted specific exemptions from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Fracking is also exempt from key provisions within the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Chemicals used in drilling and fracking operations can be claimed as trade secrets; public release of their identity is not mandated by federal right-to-know provisions. The Environmental Protection Agency has limited jurisdiction over fracking.”

I felt that Sandra Steingraber was very influenced by Rachel Carson, much in the same way that Bill Mckibben was influenced by Henry Thoreau.  Not only because Rachel Carson had an effect on ALL environmental writers, but because they seem to have very similar writing styles. They are both gifted scientist and writers, and they find ways to make their scientific ideas literarily aesthetic.  I also can’t help but think that being a female environmentalist with cancer made Steingraber connect with Rachel Carson that much more. Sandra connected with her philosophically and personally, and it’s evident in the way that Steingraber writes about Rachel.   This quotes sounds like more than just an observation; it sounds like empathy.  

 “In the later portraits, Carson was dying of breast cancer. It was a diagnosis she hid out of fear that her enemies in industry would use her medical situation to attack her scientific objectivity and, most especially, her carefully constructed argument about the role that petrochemicals (especially pesticides) played in the story of human cancer. But behind her unflappable public composure, Carson’s private writings reveal how much physical anguish she endured. Bone metastases. Radiation burns. Angina. Knowing this, you can imagine her patience running out during the interminable photo shoots. The wretched wig hot and itchy under the lights. The stabbing pains (cervical vertebrae splintered with tumors) that would not, would not relent.”

Gasland was a very interesting film that gives a sense of urgency to the issue of fracking. Its filming style is witty and clever, and has a sarcastic yet urgent undertone. Like many other movies we watched, this film took aim at big energy companies and personified them as enemies. The documentary style filming adds a personal feeling to the various scenes, and I thought the commentary over the scenes was well timed and appropriate. Unlike Dear governor Cuomo, Gasland deals with the issues of fracking throughout America. The scenes that stuck with me were the ones showing people lighting their faucet water on fire, and I think that was the director’s plan. The shock value of those scenes is very important politically. If I knew nothing else about fracking, and someone showed me the water on fire video, that’s more than enough to create a negative connotation for fracking. 

My article contribution from Newsweek.com on fracking is a recent article that tells the other side of the story as it pertains to the environmentalist movement against fracking in NY.  Around fifteen towns are researching the legality and debating the economic effects of actually seceding from New York and joining Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania towns that have allowed thousands of wells to be drilled are reaping the short term economic benefits associated with the sale of their land, and thousands of New Yorkers want to cash in too. Their reason may be a little sketchy :   

“‘Everybody over the border has new cars, new four-wheelers, new snowmobiles, James Finch, a Republican supervisor for the small town of Conklin told Capital New York. “They have new roofs, new siding.”

Nonetheless, these people’s right to profit off their land, regardless of environmental issues, needs to at least be heard. In the perfect world, deep pocketed advocates and non-profit organizations would be able to give these people some money in order to persuade them to keep their land, this way the environment and those people’s bottom dollars are both satisfied.