From ex oil/gas worker: "Concerns about shale gas exploration"

[Brendan OConnor]

See also: "Ex-oil worker blasts shale gas industry / Ex-oil worker's concerns"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uEByZiD6Cg "Say No to Shale Gas June 30, 2011, Rexton, New Brunswick, Part 2"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRYHCYS18tQ#t=1m44s http://monctonfreepress.ca/?q=article/concerns-about-shale-gas-exploration Concerns about shale gas exploration Presentation to Energy Commission Article | February 16, 2012 - 6:47pm | By Maxime Daigle As Albert Einstein said: "Insanity; doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  For what needs to be said here, 10 minutes is not enough....so today I will stick to only one main energy resource that we need to NOT go towards. My name is Maxime Daigle and I from Pointe-Sapin, NB.... I’m a student in Electrical Engineering Technology/Alternate Energy Systems....and also a former oil & gas driller.....I’ve worked  on the oil rigs for number of years  in Alberta, British Colombia, Saskatchewan, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New-Brunswick.  Most people have heard about the Sable Island Project.... but geologists, with studied analysis, have came out and said that the big shale gas deposit  off Sable Island is also inland in the Maritimes  and that it is way larger than it is out in open waters. Today I come here to speak about my concerns about shale gas exploration. As a citizen of New-Brunswick, Canada and planet earth, I really do believe that our basic human rights are violated by these oil & gas companies and governments that support such activity. From working in the oil & gas industry for 7 years, I’ve had the opportunity to see how a well is drilled and what methods and chemicals are being used in the process. I tell you today this is not a safe practise for our ecosystem or for our health and future. The ways of extracting oil and gas from a well bore, is done by hydraulic fracking. Hydraulic fracturing is the high-pressure injection of fracking fluid – a mixture of water, sand, and toxic chemicals – into the ground to break open and “fracture” rock formations to release liquid gas. The controversial technique was developed in the 1940s by energy services company Halliburton. Modern practices such as horizontal fracturing and high-volume hydraulic fracturing allow drillers to extract greater amounts of gas than previously possible. But at what cost? The chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing often include substances that are toxic to humans and wildlife. While particular fracking fluid chemical combinations differ based on the company and drilling location, many include toxic substances such as benzene, ethylbenzene, glycol ethers, and  acids to name a few. Many of these chemicals contain arsenic, boron, chromium and many more. Fracking fluids may contain mixtures of hundreds of chemicals agents. Yet, the precise chemical compositions used are secret; drilling companies refuse to disclose the composition of their fracking fluids, citing proprietary interests. The amount of these chemicals used can reach upwards of 50,000 gallons during the fracturing of a single well. The infiltration potential of these fracking fluid chemicals into drinking water supplies is alarming. Even though the hydraulic fracking process is designed to remove these chemicals, a large percentage – anywhere from 25-80 percent – are often left in the ground and never fully recovered. As well, Hydraulic fracturing’s potential impact on both water usage and quantity can be significant. A single fracture of one well may require anywhere from 1 to 5 million gallons of water. To compare, a single fracture using 1 million gallons of water would roughly be equivalent to 2 Olympic size swimming pools. This also translates into as many as 200 truckloads of water per fracture of a well. Many wells require multiple fractures, some up to 18 times. Where is this water going to come from? With fracking, comes an enormous threat of contamination of residential wells, groundwater aquifers and nearby surface water sources such as rivers and streams. From Virginia to Wyoming, hundreds of documented cases have surfaced regarding water quality and quantity problems in residential wells located near natural gas drilling operations. These reports include incidents of water wells being contaminated during and directly following hydraulic fracturing operations. Gases such as methane and hydrogen sulfide have been reported in drinking water, along with murkiness and discoloration of water. These corporations and government supporters realize that we have an addiction to fossil fuels and consumerism. They say that hydraulic fracking is safe and well controlled. Opponents such as I, say that hydraulic fracking is not safe to our water supplies......most are confused and don’t have the education to make an educated choice on the manner; meanwhile, they know that regulations to the fracking process will not be enforced.  Nova Scotia has banned hydraulic fracking, and Quebec has put a halt on further fracking?....why is it that people in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and other states have proven that their water wells are contaminated  and these oil/gas companies are saying it’s not because of their explorations? Why would we believe oil/gas companies and not believe families living in those situations?... If you want to watch a good documentary on what shale gas exploration does, go rent or google for the documentary named “Gas Land” and then ask yourself what if this pollutes your water supplies, what would that mean for you, your neighbour, your kids and grandkids..... is it worth risking our health? So if you believe that this possibility could be true, stand up to these guys and say NO to shale gas exploration. Plastics, wax, insecticides, pesticides, and ammonia or fertilizer used for mass food production....comes from oil and shale gas. For every calorie of food produced it demands 10 calories of hydrocarbons to produce. A barrel of oil pulled out of Iraq for 1$... is the equivalent of 25 000 man hours...how can you replace that barrel of oil in to fit our way of life?  We had a good opportunity to make the transition to Renewable Energy during the Oil Embargo of 1973 but when we we’re offered a cheaper way to continue our way of life by OPEC, we cancelled all Renewable Energy projects....are we going to do so again? And this Peak Oil is not US Peak Oil; this is world Peak Oil upon or past us. There is no doubt that we need oil & gas to keep our way of living, but is doesn’t mean we have to continue our way of life.....because sooner or later, there won’t be a choice to make the right or wrong decision, nature will make that decision for us. We maybe need to change from well-having to well-being.... We live in a society that nature and life is not the most important.....it’s the economy....and we are paying a price for it today and will pay an even bigger price if we keep going down the path we are now. How many governments have really taken the environmental issues seriously? Our attitudes are based on selfishness, our economic situations, and politics. This disconnection from nature has caused us to believe that we are above the environment but all along we are part of the environment. The biggest derivative in the equation needed to be focused upon to solve our energy dependency is the environment first and foremost.  Independent experts are not driven and working on trying to make money off their statements, they are informing us of what is upon us could be the greatest challenge of our time.  We need to stop living in DENIAL and create a sustainable future in time! The transition needs to be lead by our governments that have the resources to put the right people together to make this happen. We have the technology that can capture the Sun’s energy in sub technology of solar cells, wind and air or geothermal heat transfer systems.....I’m sure that if you would ask the public if they would want these resources they would say yes.....so instead of investing in non-renewable resources please consider investing in renewable resources as possible incentives or large scale renewable and innovation.  Why are we not making the needed transition? Is the government answering to a higher power? Corporation’s maybe? A very good hearted man named Deepak Chopra once said: that people are doing the best they can given their level of awareness...So the way to help others to reconsider of changing their way of thinking and their hearts is by making people aware and working together towards a common good for everyone and the Earth’s Biosphere. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance are our 5 emotional stages towards this. Most live in Denial all their lives or feel so hopeless or suppressed by authority that they choose to stay there.... David Suzuki said that when he looked back at what was the basis of us as social creatures....he concluded that it was LOVE....(pause)........so if we care enough for ourselves, for each other, our kids and grandkids, we will make the changes needed. When the government wanted to sell NB Power, we stood up together and voiced our concerns and said it was not acceptable.....so again, we need to make a stand to protect our home while being able to have access to electricity. So when you go home tonight, and your loved ones look you in the eyes and tell you they love you, remember that love is just more than a word...it’s the action of what we do or Would do to protect their lives. Now for the question about who should pay for the changes??....have a carbon tax – tax the big polluters, have a profit of the Hydro-Quebec’s electricity your buying for 5 cents/kWh and selling back for 10 cents towards renewable incentives, have the richer pay his fair share instead of getting tax breaks at every corner, and make people aware of what is our challenge now to prepare for our future and impose a calculated electricity rate increase that would be monitored INDEPENDENTLY towards a sustainable obtainable future. And about corporations wanting to leave if they don’t want the business conditions in this province, well this effort needs to be at a national and global effort if you have the concern of them leaving. Thanks for your time and Take Care About the Author Maxime Daigle Former worker on oil and gas rigs around North America Related Terms: Energy Albert Einstein Alberta Brunswick Canada chemical chemicals Disaster driller Electrical Engineering Technology/Alternate Energy Systems energy Energy Energy in the United States fracturing Frak Halliburton Hydraulic fracturing Hydrocarbon exploration Kansas Louisiana Maxime Daigle Natural gas fields oil oil and gas Oil wells Oklahoma Peak oil Petroleum Petroleum production Physics Politics Quotation Saskatchewan Shale gas Texas