“Fracking” or hydraulic fracturing, involves drilling deep into bedrock, and injecting a nasty fluid into the bedrock at such a high pressure it fractures the rock (typically shale). The goal is to release natural gas contained in these rocks.

It wastes upwards of 8 million gallons of water to frack just one site: the water is mixed with sand and about 40 gallons of gross chemicals to create a “fracking fluid.” There are over 600 chemicals used in the process, including carcinogens and toxic fluids, like radium and formaldehyde.

This gunk is flushed down a drilled pipeline — a 10,000 foot pipeline — that usually runs through water tables and drinking supplies. In North America, we’re pumping hundreds of billions of gallons of this chemical nightmare into the earth. And again, we’re wasting trillions and trillions of gallons of water to do so.

Once the fracking fluid reaches the end of the pipeline, pressure builds, cracking shale rockbeds, and releasing the natural gas up into the well. Methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from this system, contaminating groundwater. Also, methane concentrations are 17 times higher near a fracking operation.

In The States alone, there have been over 1,000 cases of water contamination, and naturally, people have gotten ill and suffered sensory, respiratory, and neurological health issues.

50-70% of the toxic fracking fluid is left in the ground. Worse still, as it evaporates, it releases harmful volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, leading to acid rain, air contamination, and ground level ozone.

NDP Leader Earle McCurdy Wants the Practice Banned in NL

The NL NDP is calling for a complete ban on fracking. Two years ago, the NDP made the news for demanding a moratorium on fracking in the province. “We wanted government to wait until fracking could be proven safe and properly regulated,” party leader Earle McCurdy said.

“Since that time, there has been an explosion of research on fracking, and the evidence shows that it is even more hazardous and harder to control than people thought.” He’s referring to a comprehensive compendium of studies put together by health professionals in New York State.

The only reason to support fracking is job creation, right? But McCurdy says the promise of local jobs from fracking operations is misleading. “The track record elsewhere shows that fracking creates short-term, low-paid jobs locally. Skilled workers are brought in from away.”

Also, the equipment is built elsewhere and maintained by non-local technicians. McCurdy, concerned about how fracking could affect local water supplies, air quality, and community health, wants an outright ban on the practice. And if you agree, then get behind the politicians, like him, who share your view.