Quoted from Tommy

I don't supposed it has anything the roughly 11,000 abandoned coal mines there does it?

Many of them were created using similar methods.

There is a town named "Centralia" that is now completely uninhabitable because the coal mine that lies beneath it, has been on fire since 1962.

METHANE IN WATER IS NOT SOMETHING THAT NATURALLY OCCURS IN NATURE!!!

You're being sold a bad bill of goods, and will most certainly be on the wrong side of history.

There are natural deposits of methane under the oceans and also under the continents.  And the methane under the the oceans does get released into the ocean water NATURALLY.  

So apparently you are on the WRONG SIDE of BOTH history and science.

I understood Tommy's post.

Quoted from Madam X

I understood Tommy's post.

Whether you understood his post or not -- Tommy's comments were wrong -- the FACT is that methane deposits occur naturally and methane can get into water and water supplies naturally.

I understood Tommy's post.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

There are natural deposits of methane under the oceans and also under the continents.  And the methane under the the oceans does get released into the ocean water NATURALLY.  

So apparently you are on the WRONG SIDE of BOTH history and science.

What is not natural, is the AMOUNT of methane being released.
Methane is a natural byproduct of cellular decomposition, and exists almost everywhere, but not in those concentrations.

The mines, "created using similar methods" - that's the key, we are talking about a different type of methane being found in wells, one that should not be present and would not normally occur.

Who has ocean water in their well, btw?

Fracked home water wells now contain Manganese, Arsenic, Barium, Sodium, Phenol,
Glycol & DEHP... all common products in Fracking Fluids.

What used to be clean clear drinking water, now comes out of the tap looking like coffee
with cream.

CBS News:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tZ--fR6ywc

Anyone remember when there was so much manganese in Schenectady water it would come out of the faucet black, at times? We were told then that itwas safe to drink, later on we found out it wasn't.

That "methane is everywhere" talking point is propaganda. I know an eensy bit about methane and well contamination, that's why I'm careful to state that I'm no kind of expert on the topic. That doesn't stop some from picking up propaganda and passing it off as critical thinking. I don't know why people want to do this, but there is no point in calling them out on it because they don't know the difference between thinking for yourself and parroting something thrown out there by those with an agenda.

In the end, fracking, once perfected, may be a viable way to extract Natural Gas in the USA.  
There are many issues still unresolved with the process... the disposal of million gallons of toxic
water laced with an "unknown" mix of chemicals.  (The chemical mix used is a proprietary secret).
Poisoned water wells...  Poisoned streams.. toxic chemical spills etc.

Another issue is gas moving to the surface, then to the atmosphere due to Fracking.  If you believe
in Climate Change or not, we can all agree that methane in the atmosphere just increases the
problem.

Snake Creek Marina  Franklin Forks, Susquehanna County, Pa.
Snake Creek Bubbling with Methane !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbIjm4Ee6-I

         The fracking dilemma is divided by those that stand to be directly impacted and those that understand these impacts, vs. those who want the resource to enrich their lives with no regard for others.  These folks who remain ignorant on the topic and immune to the impacts are the ones that cry out the left wing nut jobs are killing the State and/or Country.  Government has no statutory authority to diminish the health and welfare of its constituents without a thorough investigation as to the impacts.  There are serious legal implications for proceeding haphazardly.  Because NYS does a better job than other states in investigating these impacts is not a platform for criticism, it should be heralded.  Opinions are like A## Holes, everyone has one.  It's the self serving, uneducated ones that are the scariest.

Once Fracking technology was perfected enough to extract gas... there was no incentive to improve the process.

There is no doubt that the Shale Gas is a huge resource, but just like the BP oil well in the Gulf, if it isn't done
safely everyone pays the price.

I'm all for extracting the resource, but in a manner that is safe to the residents in the area and to the
environment.  
Just because it's POSSIBLE to be done, doesn't mean that it should be done disregarding the environmental
cost.

Fracking has huge potential, but I've heard enough that for now, it should be limited to the vast wastelands of the Dakotas...etc, far, far away from water supplies...
If the Gas/oil companies can prove though operations in those areas that fracking is safe, then fine. If not, then forget it... IMHO, the onus is on them.

There are farmers and landowners in the Southern Tier who are barely scraping by economically who would benefit financially from the approval of fracking.  They live on the land where the activity would happen, and thus have a substantial vested interest in the area remaining liveable.  So the suggestion by the one of the posters that the only people who want fracking are rich people who don't care what happens to the area is absolutely false.

The industry is constantly working to improve its technology.  It hasn't stopped working to improve the technology like one of the posters has suggested.

And, it is just plain ludicrous to NOT tap into a resource that is literally right under our feet.  The Dakotas are NOT a wasteland like some idiot has stated.   NEW YORK IS BECOMING A WASTELAND because of the lack of intelligent, competent and sensible leadership.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

There are farmers and landowners in the Southern Tier who are barely scraping by economically who would benefit financially from the approval of fracking.  They live on the land where the activity would happen, and thus have a substantial vested interest in the area remaining liveable.  

We ALL live on the land where where cracking would happen!

The actual gas well may be a half mile away but MY WATER would be undrinkable!
One farmer gains... ALL New Yorkers lose when streams and lakes are poisoned!