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Scoring Rubric Exam 1

SWK 480

Diana Frank
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Scoring Rubric Exam 1

SWK 480

Hydraulic fracturing is a process of extracting gas or oil from a well by injecting at high

pressure, water, sand and chemicals causing fissures to open in rock or shale. The sand holds the

fissures open allowing the gas or oil to be released and captured. Hydraulic fracturing was first

developed and tested by Halliburton in 1947 and put into use in 1949 in the Hugoton Oil Field in

Kansas. It is now being used to extract natural gas from shale deposits.

There are many shale deposits suitable for hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as it is

commonly referred to, all across the United States. The largest, the Marcellus Shale lies mostly

beneath the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. There are also small deposits in

Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia (2010, US Energy). The Marcellus Shale was

formed during the middle Devonian geological period 385 to 398 million years ago. Until 2003,

the shale and the gas below it remained undisturbed. Geologists were aware of the natural gas

reserves that existed, but did not think that production per acre was sufficient to merit extraction

(geology.com).

In HydraFor environmentalists one concern involves the chemicals used in the drilling

process. Methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hydroxide

(Manuel, 2010) and . In addition to the chemicals, millions of gallons of fresh water, salt and

sand are used in the process (ProPublica, ND). The drilling companies claim the ingredients in

their “chemical cocktail” are proprietary so the public is not able to find out what chemicals are

possibly leaching into the groundwater. Quoted in Newsweek, one Halliburton executive

explained, "It is much like asking Coca-Cola to disclose the formula of Coke," (Moscou, 2008).

In addition to the actual drilling, there have been accidental spills in other parts of the country.
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Between June 2002 and June 2006, 924 spills were reported to the Colorado Oil and Gas

Conservation Commission. Some of these spills were caused by lack of maintenance to

pipelines. (Earthworks, ND).

We are facing a world fresh water crisis. The use of at least 100,000 gallons of fresh

water for every well drilled is an exchange of one limited resource for another. While

hydrofracking is not the only example of the misuse of fresh water, it affords concerned people

an opportunity to examine the use of the world’s resources, the amount of resources that exist

and how they are being squandered as well as how they can be replenished.

I have wanted to get involved in this issue for some time, but have not been able to do

more than show up at a demonstration. I am using this topic in SWK 465 for a group facilitation

project and in SWK 455 for my policy analysis. I am hoping this overlap will give me time to get

more involved. I also discovered by going to Congressman Charley Dent’s website that he says

he supports the environment so there is an opportunity for lobbying even him. I do not have

much hope for the effectiveness of lobbying him, but you never know. Quite frankly since the

drilling has already started, the economy is in such a shambles and the energy crisis continues, I

don’t have much hope of stopping the drilling, however, I think it is always important to fight. I

also think it is important to monitor the health of the people and the environment starting as soon

as possible. This might be what the grant could be written for. Even if it funds a citizen task

group to track illnesses, it’s important.

Many people are upset about this issue. I am sure just as many people would oppose

stopping the drilling due to the economy, but enough are concerned that I think it’s possible to

work on the issue. The gas and oil industry is a powerful group with a lot of money. The gas

industry contributed $361, 207 to Tom Corbett’s gubernatorial campaign. (Campbell, 2010).
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Groups like hunters and fishermen who do not usually support this type of issue will be

profoundly affected if the practice is allowed to continue. I think they are an untapped source of

support.

The population that will be affected is first the people who live around the drilling,

second the area immediately surrounding the drilling, but ultimately there will not be a

population that is not affected. There is a noxious notion in the air that everything is the way it is,

always was and always will be. Capitalism is the system we live under. Didn’t feudalism come

before? Is it possible that something else will come after? One of the things I learned from my

involvement with the Greens/Green Party from all the debate and discussion is that you cannot

look at human life separately from all life. As people, our environment is the planet and

everything on it; everything that affects it, affects us.

Hydrofracking is on the surface an environmental problem and an economic problem

involving clean water, jobs and energy. At base it is a systemic problem. As John Paul Getty

said, “The meek shall inherit the earth but not the mineral rights.” (Thinkexist.com ND). Like the

mythical King Midas, corporations take the public wealth, touch it and turn it to gold for

themselves. We are left with nothing but poison to eat, breathe and drink.

The problem affects us all. It affects farmers of animals and farmers of crops. It affects

fisherman and the fish. It affects all the creatures that drink from the creeks and rivers. It affects

people with wells. It affects our health. It affects health care workers who treat well workers

overwhelmed by fumes. (Moscou, 2008)

The problem is very severe. Water treatment plants cannot handle the high number of

total dissolved solids (TDS) that are a byproduct of the fracking process. According to officials

the water is safe to drink even though it smells bad. (Hopey, 2009). On January 17 of this year a
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well blew in Tioga County, PA. Sand and chemicals were discharged into the air. (Ithaca

Journal, ND). In Dimmock, PA animals are losing their hair; the water is undrinkable,

contaminated with methane. People are experiencing dizziness, skin rashes and other physical

problems. (Bateman, 2010).

The root of the problem is the failure to reduce energy consumption in any meaningful

way. Since the 1960’s there have been concerns about the environment. There have also been

successful attempts to clean up rivers and lakes on the part of groups and organizations. For a

brief time during the Carter presidency there was a push for solar power, but with the election of

Reagan these ideas went by the wayside. There is a sector of society that refuses to recognize

global warming and its causes. There is power on the side of ignorance-oil and gas companies,

arms manufacturers, plastic and chemical manufacturers, vegetable, fruit and meat agribusiness

and companies poised to privatize water. All have special interests in maintaining the status quo

which includes the capitalist system.

The PREPARE model assessment tool would be valuable to use. (Kirst-Ashman,

Hull, 2009). It forces you to look at the specifics including a review of your personal reality. If

you have a personal emotional stake in the issue how will that affect your dealings with the other

individuals and groups that you will be working with? Working with people who are different in

their backgrounds, education and political points of view it is important to understand that

listening to and learning from the others is important. Some people have lost a lot and stand to

lose more. Some people have long standing roots in the community. Some people may own land

that’s been in their families for years. If that is not the case with you it is important to respect the

differences. You might think to yourself, “This has been going on long enough that they should

have known better than to lease their land to these companies.” You might think they took the
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money and didn’t think about the long term affects. Having contempt for people will not move

the process forward. Practicing warmth, empathy and genuineness is just as important when

working with groups as it is with individuals. (Homan, 2003) Understanding yourself and what

motivates and hinders you will also help you be more affective. Understanding that the people

are not causing the problem is also important.

One of the roles that will be required is that of educator. Some people who are not

directly involved with the issue might not be aware of everything involved in the process. This

will also involve being a speaker and a researcher. Within your role as an educator and speaker

you will also be called upon to facilitate. As an activist you will be called upon to negotiate and

advocate for the people affected and the planet itself.

The community is a broad community. Because of the widespread practice of fracking a

lot of communities are affected. A lot of watersheds are affected so a lot of environmentalists

and community activists are out there already working and blogging on the issue. I haven’t seen

too much activity on the part of hunters and that kind of intrigues me. I think they could be allies

in this fight.

The IMAGINE model could be used to develop the next steps. (Kirst-Ashman & Hull).

There are a lot of people working on this but there isn’t one central site for fracking information

in PA. One idea that I am interested in is tracking the health issues around the fracking wells.

In spite of magnetic ribbons and bracelets and pink Kitchen Aid mixers, cancer is growing and

not just because we’re living longer. Childhood cancers are growing as well. (Davis, 2007).

Ignoring the environmental causes of cancer is like sticking your head in the sand. People say

that alcoholics are responsible for their disease. Heroin addicts die because they inject a chemical

into their bodies. Smokers die from lung cancer. No one has sympathy for these people.
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Otherwise intelligent rational people allow themselves to be poisoned everyday because they

don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them. The hand that feeds them bread and water today will

take away their homes, their life savings and their very lives tomorrow when they get sick and

have no health insurance. It may seem like a leap, but I feel that these issues should be linked.

Years ago I read a book called. “I Do Mind Dyin.” (Georgakas & Surkin, 1975) I don’t

remember anything about it except that line, “I don’t mind working, but I do mind dying.”

Bateman, C. (2010, June). A colossal fracking mess, the dirty truth behind the new natural gas.
Vanity Fair retrieved from
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-
201006

Campbell, C. (2010 May 13). Report says natural gas industry gives bog to PA politics.
Observer Reporter retrieved from http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/localnews/05-
13- 2010- common-cause-report-on-gas-contributions

Davis, D. (2007). The Secret History of the War on Cancer. Philadelphia, PA: Basic Books

Earthworks (ND). Contamination incidents related to oil and gas development. retrieved from
http://www.earthworksaction.org/Coloincidents.cfm#Condensatecomplaints

Georgeakis, D. & Surkin, M. (1975). I Do Mind Dyin’. Cambridge, MA: South End Press

Homan, M. (2003) Promoting Community Change, Making It Happen in the Real World.
Belmont CA: Brooks/Cole

Hopey, D. (2009 August 8). Monongahela water leaving bad taste but is safe to drink.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 8, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.post-
gazette.com/pg/09220/989472-114.stm
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Kirst-Ashmann, & Hull, (2009). Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities.
Belmont CA: Brooks/Cole,.

Manuel, J. (2010 May 1) EPA Tackles Fracking. Environmental Health Perspectives, 118, 5,
a199 retrieved from http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info:doi
%2F10.1289%2Fehp.118-a199

Moscou, J. (2008 August 20) A toxic spew? Officials worried about impact of ‘fracking’ of oil
and gas. Newsweek, retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/2008/08/19/a- toxic-
spew.html

ProPublica.(ND). Hydraulic Fracturing. What is Hydraulic Fracturing retrieved from

http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national

Thinkexist.com ND John Paul Getty quotes. Retrived from

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_meek_shall_inherit_the_earth-
but_not_its/209901.html

US Energy Information Administration (2010 December 16) What is shale gas and why is it
important? Retrieved from
http://www.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/about_shale_gas.cfm