Do you think mankind can induce earthquakes? Well, it seems our government believes mankind can…check out the following link.
After 2 long years away it’s time to reenter the fray…..EaRtHQuAkE!!!!! anyone?
Well….if you live in SW Michigan you either experienced first-hand (or heard about from nearly everyone you know) our 4.2 magnitude earthquake. All you Californian’s take a deep breath…we don’t get earthquakes here. Not like this! This was a big deal for many of us.
I live beside a small airport that added helicopters to the things that fly around several years ago, at that point I was forced to remove small loose items from shelves, and all my paintings on the walls are not just hung from nails, but also stuck to the walls by Velcro in the corners, because I was tired of straightening them every five minutes. My daughter-in-law five houses away wasn’t as prepared as I. Her story of wondering why things were jumping off the walls, shelves and counters is quite comical the way she tells it.
Saturday morning was beautiful. Sunny, pleasant and warmed up quickly. Even though a pesky helicopter was buzzing around and around and around the airport, I opened windows to let the fresh air in. At about 12:21, as I was talking to my son on the phone, I heard a loud boom followed by immediate shuddering of the entire house. I sort of hollered and jumped up and ran from the house knowing the only thing that could account for that kind of noise and shaking of the house was if that chopper had crashed into my house. I knew with that kind of impact the fuel tank would explode in moments, so yeah, I ran from the house! My son actually heard the crash over the phone and was asking me what the heck had just happened.
When I got outside and saw no sign of a chopper or airplane protruding from my roof, I went toward the street to see if a semi truck had slammed through the front wall…nope. At this point, I still wasn’t thinking “earthquake”. I figured, along with the neighbors who were also outside now and just as perplexed as I, that there was an explosion somewhere close by. I was too flabbergasted to even think to call 911, but the neighbor was more “together”. He came over a few minutes later to tell me they suspected an earthquake at the 911 call center due to the humongous number of phone calls they were getting.
Well, the epicenter was only about 50 miles from me (as the crow flies) and even closer to areas of fracking…so, I guess it’s time for me to get back into the fray again. I learned this past weekend, that I never want to experience any stronger quake than the one I did. At least you Californian’s don’t also have to deal with snow and ice…this is just too much.
Escapades at the Fair-Monday
Monday 7/16/2012
I helped two other fractivists get our booth up and running. I returned at 6 p.m. to take my shift with getting petition signatures.
Many people didn’t know what fracking is, so a lot of time was spent repeatedly informing people of the risk involved with this particular method of drilling. It was incredibly hot!
Around 8 p.m. two couples walked by and I asked if they were familiar with the process of fracking. They said, “yes” so I pressed on asking them if they’d had a chance to sign our petition to put ban language on the November 2014 ballot.
The short version is that they did not. From what I gathered both the men worked in the fracking industry out in N. Dakota and it was the only job allowing them to support their families. The one woman told me as much. Her husband, with some urging, stayed around to answer a few of my questions.
He said he is a truck driver and that to his knowledge there had never been an accident, spill or release in N. Dakota. He believes fracking is a good thing and he wants to see it in Michigan.
Fracking Considered in Ionia County – FOX 17
Fracking Considered in Ionia County – FOX 17.
The beginning of the end of “Pure Michigan” and still the lies promulgated by the oil industry receive the most press while the dangers are downplayed.
jstephencleghorn | angerandcourage
jstephencleghorn | angerandcourage.
If you’re still undecided about the fracking issue, check out this Pennsylvania residents blog. It will provide some information with a more “first-hand” view than what I have here in Michigan so far.
Food For Thought
It came to me this morning, that many of you who are still straddling the fence on the whole fracking issue may not have thought of two things…
1) There are a lot of TV ads proclaiming the safety of fracking…if that were true, do you really think the oil/gas companies would spend so much money on commercials to convince you?
2) Let’s say you didn’t sell or lease your mineral rights and you aren’t worried about it. Take a drive two miles from your home (Google Earth will do it with satellites so you can map your route before leaving home) and if you see an area of land about the size of four-football fields THAT is an area where a frack well could sit.
What does that mean to you? Well, once they turn that drill bit horizontally they can drill up to two miles away. That means they could drill under your land…yes, right in your back yard. And guess what? Your well water is now at risk for contamination. Your neighbor, who is two miles away from you, will be the person getting that nice fat check for the lease of their mineral rights and residual income if the well produces…..and you get nothing…except perhaps water that you can’t drink or bathe in.
How is that fair?
Go to http://www.letsbanfracking.org and find out where you can sign a petition to get this on the ballot in 2014. Better yet, sign up and commit to getting 12 or more signatures in the next two weeks. We still have time to slow this down now and stop it in 2014.
Call or write your state representative (find your state representative and how to contact them here):
http://www.house.mi.gov/mhrpublic/
and your state senator (find your state senator and how to contact him/her here):
http://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysenator/fysenator.htm
and
Governor Rick Snyder:
PHONE: (517) 373-3400
PHONE: (517) 335-7858 – Constituent Services
FAX:(517) 335-6863
Mail: Governor Rick Snyder
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Talk to your local government and let them know you are against fracking.
Industrial Scars
This is an amazing pictorial piece. Click on each photo to move to the next one. We really need to stop this from happening anywhere else.
Let’s get involved with phone calls to our elected officials; phone calls, emails and regular mail to the national groups who are simply asking for “more legislation” to make it safer. You can’t make poisoning the earth “safer” we can only put a stop to it.
Radiation Exposure from Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Radiation Exposure from Fukushima Nuclear Plant.
You really have to check out the information on Radiation Exposure in this article.
With the worry in the scientific and medical communities regarding the US’s potential for exposure to radioactive isotopes from Japan, it seems ever more important to stop the rape of our continent by the oil/gas companies…especially in and around Michigan which is home to one fifth (1/5) of the worlds fresh water supply.
In a “worst case scenario” Michigan’s fresh water could mean the difference between extinction and survival. This huge fresh water supply should be considered a national treasure and be protected at all costs.
Fracking uses 6-8 million gallons of water per day…can we really afford to poison that much water? We may need it to drink and grow food in the very near future. Currently, gas prices are very low, due to the glut on the market from all the gas made available from the frack sites currently operating. There’s absolutely NO NEED to continue to mine natural gas in America right now.
Call your representatives, senators and governor(s) and tell them Fracking is not what America needs right now. Heck, call the President too while you’re at it.
We don’t need radioactive anything…
A friend who is a member of the Sierra Club sent me this info in an email last week.
“Back in July, on one of those 100+ degree days, Consumers Power recorded their highest electricity use day in Michigan history.
What was most significant about that was that both Davis-Besse (near Detroit) and Palisades (near South Haven) nuke plants were off-line that day, and there were no black-outs or brown-outs. This suggests that we do not need these dangerous, aging dinosaurs in our energy mix; especially considering how expensive they are compared to renewables. We need more wind and solar to supply our energy needs in the future.
Vote for 25% by 2025 on your November ballot!”
Study: Gas from ‘fracking’ worse than coal on climate – The Hill’s E2-Wire
Study: Gas from ‘fracking’ worse than coal on climate – The Hill’s E2-Wire.
You can run from Global Warming, but you can’t hide from the truth of the weather we are currently experiencing. To continue to claim that Global Warming is anything other than a reality, is to look at what IS and claim it isn’t. WE need to commit to wind and solar before it’s too late. More development in, and use of, fossil fuels could spell the end of humanity. Are you really ready to die? Are you willing to sign the death warrant for your family? It appears your elected officials are.
Get out of your comfort zone, get a petition to ammend the Michigan constitution in your hand and commit to getting 10 or 12 signatures.
It’ll be good for you and good for all the rest of us too. Visit http://letsbanfracking.org/index.html to find where you can get a petition to pass around. There are several other petitions making the rounds, put out by other groups. I won’t state that they are trying to cloud the issue and keep the legitimate petition from gaining the signatures it needs to be put on the ballot. But, I will state that you need to pay close attention to what it is you really want, and what you are signing.
frackingstress 