1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,199 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the two thousand twelve Toyota Camry. 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know from house Stuff Works 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and uh, this is stuff 5 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: you should don't very serious edition, So don't even laugh 6 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: once we're the whole episode. We're just a couple of 7 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,200 Speaker 1: fracking podcasters. But we can't do that the whole time. 8 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: I wasn't going to do it at all. Well, you know, 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: I would I find a distasteful to something. For the effort. Yeah, 10 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,880 Speaker 1: even the effort. I can barely get that out calling 11 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: it the F word. Oh yeah, yeah, right, you just 12 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: want to say it. Yeah, don't say fudging right, I 13 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: hate those people, Yeah, fudging Midwesterners. Yeah, just don't even 14 00:00:55,160 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: say anything at all. Yeah, just yeah, or say entirely unrelated. 15 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: But all it does is make people think of the 16 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: real left word, which is like loses the spirit of 17 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,759 Speaker 1: your intent, which is did not curse. Oh yeah, that's 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: definitely a way to put it. That's one problem with it. All. Right, 19 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 1: what's your intro? What's your frecking intro? Well, you know, 20 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: we did that episode on peak oil. And it was 21 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: really funny that we recorded it when we did, because 22 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: like two days after we're talking about the US running 23 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: out of oil, a report was released that basically said 24 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: the United States is predicted to be energy independent by 25 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: UM and we actually are. We probably are never going 26 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: to achieve true energy independence. That's just I mean, a 27 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: hundred percent of our supplies of oil and fossil fuels 28 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: and all that stuff created here. It's just it's never 29 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: gonna happen. But we're gonna closer and closer and closer. 30 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: And in fact, in two thousand ten, John Kerry, famous senator, 31 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,119 Speaker 1: possibly a future Secretary of State. Oh yeah, he's being 32 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: bandied about UM, he said that the United States is 33 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. And definitely natural gas 34 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: is one of the reasons one of the ways that 35 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:25,519 Speaker 1: US has suddenly experienced this huge boom in oil production. Yeah, 36 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: oil production, gas production, fuel production, clean clean burning natural gas. Uh, 37 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: but we will learn that doesn't necessarily make it clean 38 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: over its life cycle. It's a big difference. Yeah, So 39 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: I say it's as dirty as coal over its life cycle, 40 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 1: especially people who love coal. Yeah, that is one problem 41 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: I had with this fracking article is, and not just 42 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,959 Speaker 1: the article that the whole topic is. Everybody has a 43 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: slant depending on who they're working for. Like if you're 44 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: an environmentalist, you're gonna have your slant. If you're working 45 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: with the big oil companies, you're gonna have your slant. 46 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: And they all say, like, these are the facts. Yeah, 47 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: it's really annoying. Well, one of the reasons why everybody 48 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: is able to get away with saying these are the 49 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: facts is because this stuff is so new and so 50 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,799 Speaker 1: um unstudied. I guess at this point, yes, as far 51 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: as published, pure of viewed studies are concerned, and as 52 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: far as massive amounts of fracking, like it's been around 53 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: for a while. But yeah, not like it's going on today, 54 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: right exactly. Um, apparently there's in some form or fashion, 55 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: it's been around since the nineteenth century. This the concepts 56 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: of fracking. But the fracking like you just described massive 57 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: fracking operations carried out by huge energy concerns, that's a 58 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: couple of decades old. Yeah, I think Haliburton started it 59 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: in Yeah, they invented it, did they really? Dick Cheney? 60 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: I don't think Dick Cheney invented it. He's like, give 61 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: me that pipem gone to try something new. Uh uh yeah, 62 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: so they they developed the process at least, but it's 63 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: really started to take off in the last few years 64 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: and in the in the last decade or two is 65 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: when you started to see real concerns about what's going 66 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: on here. Wait a minute, what are you guys doing? 67 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: And that's where this idea that oh, it's perfectly safe, 68 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: Oh it's gonna cause a catastrophe has come about and 69 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: that's why we should probably say, like we this isn't 70 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:28,159 Speaker 1: gonna settle the issue, but um, you should keep your eyes. 71 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: I hope this raises people's awareness of this. Well yeah, 72 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 1: I just on that note, I saw a study today 73 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: that Americans have never heard of fracking and about said 74 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: they've heard of it, but don't know what it is. 75 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: So that's that's a lot. Well, let's let's teach a 76 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: few people fracking a K hydraulic fracturing or if you're 77 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: a total square, hydro fracking. You know, like that's the 78 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: kid who's who thinks he's cool, but it's really kind 79 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: of out of the loop, so he's calling it hydro fracking. Still, 80 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: we really just call it fracking. It's a UM. It's 81 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: a technique that's used to get to incredibly deep deposits 82 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: of fossil fuels, not always natural gas. But most of 83 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: our discussion will be on that, right. And I shouldn't 84 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: even say fossil fuels, because you can use fracking to 85 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: get to incredibly deep deposits of water, sure if you 86 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: wanted to UM. But the one thing in common that UM, 87 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: all of this, all of these techniques have UM is 88 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: that you go down in a vertical line and then 89 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: all of a sudden you just cut to the right 90 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: or cut to the left anywhere between six thousand and 91 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: thirteen feet down to get after shale, to get after it. 92 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: And shale UM is this type of porous rock. Yeah, 93 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: we did right a long time ago, years ago, maybe 94 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: like two oil shale UM. And it's a type of rock. 95 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: It may contain oil and may contain gas, it can 96 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: contain water, but the stuff is trapped in it because 97 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: of the trim this pressure at these debts. And with 98 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:05,600 Speaker 1: a fracking operation, you go down there, break it up, 99 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: get it out, and it comes back up. Yep. And 100 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:10,279 Speaker 1: here in the US, UM we have a lot of 101 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: the shale specifically the Marcella Shale is one of the 102 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: main fracking grounds in the in the country. And what 103 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: does it cover Pennsylvania, Ohio, parts of New York, Virginia, Maryland, 104 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: or West Virginia, Maryland. Yeah, it's huge. So that's where 105 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: a lot of this stuff is taking place right now. 106 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 1: And many more states and Europe are hot on the 107 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:35,239 Speaker 1: the scene here to get into fracking. And they think that, Um, 108 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:40,919 Speaker 1: there's about fifty two trillion cubic feet of natural gas 109 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: in the United States and about five hundred trillion of 110 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: that is in the Marcelli's region on so it's a 111 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: big deal. Yeah. New York just they were letting it 112 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: through and then um the governor kai boshed it and 113 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: for now and said, wait, maybe we should study this 114 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,799 Speaker 1: some more. Yeah, because a lot of municipalities were taking 115 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: it on their own outlaw fracking in one form or fashion. 116 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: And this has caused like a huge problem because there's 117 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: a lot of people out there who are saying, well, 118 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: wait a minute, I own land, I'm kind of happy 119 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: with this idea, and I want to get incredibly rich overnight. 120 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: Like Jed Clampett, did you know where's my where's my 121 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,679 Speaker 1: bubbling crude. Well, yeah, you gotta. You do have two sides. 122 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 1: You have some farmers that are like, this is contaminating 123 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: our land, and you have some farmers saying, I haven't 124 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: been able to farm and make money a year, so 125 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: I would love to sell my land off or least 126 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 1: my land and um make some serious money. So it's 127 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: not like every farmers like, no, I don't want this. 128 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: A lot of them do. No, it's very much divided. 129 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: And this out in like town halls around New York 130 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: and around the country wherever fracking is is possible, I guess, um, 131 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: and it is definitely dividing communities. All right, So let's 132 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: let's go a little more in depth about the process 133 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: of fracking in depth. Yeah, it's really pretty simple. Um. 134 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: It starts off like a conventional Well, so you drill deep. Um, 135 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: I think you said between six and thirteen. They said 136 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: the average is about seventy feet down and I think 137 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: chess peak energy as wells and so, um, Well, they 138 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: go to wherever the deposits are. So it just sort 139 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: of depends, Um, how do they find that? Out of wonder? Um, 140 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: what's a good site? They they detect radioactivity I believe 141 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: because this stuff is slightly radioactive. We'll get to that too, 142 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: but I think that's one of the techniques they use 143 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: as they really analyze the radioactivity and say, oh, there's 144 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: a bunch right here. Interesting. Okay, So you got your 145 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: regular well and like you said, what's called the kickoff point. 146 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: It's gonna take a left or right and become a 147 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: horizontal um line and that can span anywhere from a 148 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: thousand and six thousand feet. Then they stick something called 149 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: a well board. It's just basically a steel uh casing 150 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: like a big steel pipe, and they stick that down 151 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: in there, and then they shoot a bunch of cement 152 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: down and it comes out the bottom and goes back 153 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: and fills it up on the outside further in casing it, 154 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: and they cleared out of the middle of the well board. 155 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 1: Then they clear that out, so you've got a you know, 156 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: a pipeline, I guess. And then the actual fracking uh 157 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: part takes place. Right So I'm setting you up for 158 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 1: that part. Oh you were sure, you'd think after all 159 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: these years I would have noticed that, um. Well, So 160 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: that you've got the well board completely cemented and in place, 161 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:36,439 Speaker 1: and it's going down about a mile off from the 162 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: kickoff point, and it's right there in the in the 163 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: middle of this shale deposit. And they send down a 164 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:47,319 Speaker 1: a little tool. It's like, um, a little cable scrambler, 165 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: you know what I'm talking about. It looks kind of 166 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,079 Speaker 1: like that, yeah, Um. And it it's an explosive device. 167 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: And it blows a hole into a little holes, a 168 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: bunch of little holes in through the well board, through 169 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: the sum and into the surrounding rock, just a few 170 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,719 Speaker 1: inches each each one, will you know, be two or 171 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 1: three inches of a little mini shaft. I guess right. 172 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: So you've got you've got the horizontal well boar and 173 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: the cracks are then vertical, vertical perpendicular to it, right, 174 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: and then they plug that up and then move on 175 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,199 Speaker 1: and do it again all the way down the line 176 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: of this the horizontal kickoff point, in the horizonal kickoff point, 177 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: and they blow them up and blow them up and 178 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: blow them up. You've got all these perforations into the rock. 179 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, now you are prepared 180 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: to frack. Yeah, And I was setting you up at 181 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: this point. They pump um water. Well, they pump a 182 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: lot of stuff. It's mostly water though it's it's mostly 183 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,959 Speaker 1: water and sand and then uh what they call other 184 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 1: chemicals and um, although sometimes diesel fuels are part of this. 185 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: Apparently they stopped doing that in two thousand three. That's 186 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,839 Speaker 1: not true. Well, they were supposed to stop it. The 187 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: e PA came up the something that sounds like it 188 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,359 Speaker 1: has a lot of teeth. It's called a Memorandum of Agreement, 189 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: and they asked the oil companies to sign it and 190 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: say that they won't use diesel as part of their 191 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: fracking fluid any longer. I didn't realize that people were 192 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,959 Speaker 1: still doing Yeah. A recent congressional investigation found that thirty 193 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: two million gallons of diesel fuel has been injected UM 194 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 1: in nineteen different states between two thousand five and two 195 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: thousand nine. So it's still going on. Well, that flies 196 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: in the face of the memorandum of understanding. The memorandum understanding. Yeah, 197 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: they didn't have teeth that it. Yeah. Um, but you 198 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:36,560 Speaker 1: can get a permit to do it. That's messed up. 199 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:38,200 Speaker 1: Apparently you can get a permit, but there is no 200 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: office to process the permit at the e p A. 201 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: So it's an effective ban. But they're still doing it. Okay, 202 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: So you you've got you've got your fracking ready, you 203 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: pump your you start actually the process of fracking. What 204 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: you've just done. Everything we talked about up to the 205 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: water is preparing for fracking. Once you start pumping this 206 00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: water down at an incredibly um pressurized state like nine 207 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:05,559 Speaker 1: thousand p s I. By contrast, you know air compressor 208 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 1: for your air tools and your garage that's like s 209 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,719 Speaker 1: i H. Nine thousand p s I is just an 210 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 1: incredibly pressurized state. Um. The water rushes down and when 211 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: it hits those perforated areas, it cracks the shale even further. Uh. 212 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: And eventually the it also the particulate matter sand or 213 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: whatever else that they added, goes into those cracks and 214 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 1: then keeps it open, keeps the cracks open after the 215 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: water they are but it's enough, because what you're talking 216 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: about is like you're getting gas out of rock rather 217 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: than yeah, just a little bit UM. And then once 218 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: the once you stop pumping the water and the pressure 219 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: pushes it back up and eventually the water's done. The 220 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 1: water that you set back down there comes back up, 221 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: and then it's followed by U or whatever else. Yeah, 222 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: and that water is waste water that is UM and 223 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 1: we will get into. This is one of the controversies. 224 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,959 Speaker 1: How that wastewater is handled is um kind of one 225 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,599 Speaker 1: of the things at the center point of the controversy. 226 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:18,319 Speaker 1: So that's that's fracking. Um. It's it's it's complex engineering wise, 227 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: but it's actually kind of simple as a concept. And 228 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,440 Speaker 1: then the whole thing lasts from preparation. I guess the 229 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 1: first drilling to the end of fracking about four months. 230 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 1: But then this well that's just been developed can produce 231 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:37,079 Speaker 1: natural gas for decades, possibly years or decades. Yeah, I 232 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 1: saw up to like forty years even sometimes. Okay, So 233 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: that's that's fracking, and that's where the story ends. That's 234 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: where the story ends. Um. So we're gonna present both 235 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: sides of the argument, like we try to do, sometimes 236 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,240 Speaker 1: more successfully than others at other times. Yeah, because if 237 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: you're an environmentalist, you probably just noticed eight things that 238 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:58,959 Speaker 1: we said that are driving you crazy right now, because 239 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: it's like, well, what about this? What about that? We're 240 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: going to address that. Well, let's let's take the pro 241 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,959 Speaker 1: fracking side, um first of all, Um, which right now 242 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: you know includes President Obama. You know, it's not like 243 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: we're not dividing this politically as best we can, like 244 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 1: he's in favor of it right now. And we also 245 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: need to point out that we had a listener mail 246 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: that point out that there was a there's an ep 247 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: A study that was commissioned in two thousand eleven that's 248 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: really the most comprehensive study ever and it will be done, 249 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: and I think it by the time this comes out, 250 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: some preliminary notes should be should be in, so we'll 251 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,479 Speaker 1: learn a lot more soon and maybe the Obama administration 252 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: will come out against it after that. But as of now, 253 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: there's not a lot of hard science, which is problematic. 254 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: It is problematic. So on the pro side, you're gonna say, 255 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: you know what, we can these horizontal wells are really 256 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: sort of efficient, and that you're not gonna have above 257 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: ground hundreds and hundreds of wells. This one well can 258 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 1: go horse only for six thousand feet and do most 259 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: of the work out of sight. Yeah. Of course, counter 260 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: that with their like tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands 261 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: of these wells fracking wells, and there's still a lot 262 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: going on above ground. There is because the whole operation. 263 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,920 Speaker 1: While once they finished drilling, they removed the drill rig. 264 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: But now you have pump trucks coming in. It takes 265 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 1: about two hundred trucks to deliver a million gallons of water. Yeah. Man, 266 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: I saw this one mini documentary on this small town 267 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: in Pennsylvania. They're like on main Street and the guy 268 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: was like, yeah, we used to sit out here at 269 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: the sidewalk cafe, and literally while they were filming this, 270 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: it's like every other every third car that passed was 271 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: a huge tanker truck through like the middle of this 272 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: like little quaint town, carrying water to the site and 273 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: removing waste water and whatever else. So if it takes 274 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: two hundred trucks to carry one million gallons of water, 275 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 1: some of these some of these operations used ten million gallons, 276 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: so two thousand trucks just to carry it there. Then 277 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,680 Speaker 1: you've got pump trucks and it, I mean, it is 278 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,760 Speaker 1: an operation. Even though compared to oil drilling above ground, 279 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: it's it's less Yeah, it's more nocuous, that's right. So um, 280 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: another pro is that natural gas is pretty great and 281 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: you're you're not gonna find a lot of people argue 282 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: with that. It burns very cleanly. It's a good solution. 283 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: But it's the like we said over its lifetime. Some 284 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: contend that because of the practices, it's not any cleaner 285 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: than coal UM in the end. Yeah, like if you 286 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: burn it itself, if in a perfect world, as emits 287 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: one third the nitrogen oxides of coal, half of the 288 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: CO two, and just one percent of the sulfur oxides, 289 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: so it is like a lot cleaner. But then again, 290 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: as part of the fracking process, you have like all 291 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: these trucks that are using all this diesel that are 292 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: coming to and from the site. Right. Another problem with 293 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: it is methane release associated with UM tapping natural gas. 294 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: Apparently as much as eight percent of the methane in 295 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 1: a natural gas well is lost, and methane is bad. 296 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: It's a really serious greenhouse gas. It's worse than CEO 297 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: two as far as creating the greenhouse effect is concerned. 298 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: It's just there's typically less of it, and we usually 299 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,239 Speaker 1: produce less than we produce CEO two, so there's an 300 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: air pollution factor to it as well. Yeah, that's true. Um. 301 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:28,679 Speaker 1: We should probably point out if anyone's seen them the 302 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: documentary gas Land from two thousand ten, that was the 303 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 1: famous scene where the guy lights his tap water on fire. Impactful. Yeah, 304 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: did you see it. Yeah, and you know you can't 305 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: see that and not go holy crap, like they're letting 306 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 1: this happen. Um. As it turns out, in fairness, the 307 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 1: officials determined that it was a naturally occurring methane reserve 308 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,199 Speaker 1: at this particular homeowners well, and it was not due 309 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 1: to fracking. Right, his well hit hit like a methane reserve, 310 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:01,800 Speaker 1: So that would explain what his flaming water. But before 311 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,639 Speaker 1: that came out, I think, um, truth Land, which was 312 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,000 Speaker 1: I guess an answer to gas Land, came out. Did 313 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: you hear about that? Truth Land um was released by 314 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: Energy and Depth, which is a pro fracking group which 315 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 1: if you go into source watch, is funded by frank 316 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: by oil companies. But they released this documentary that said 317 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: nothing about the oil companies funding in and called it 318 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: truth Land. It was exposed to propaganda like right out 319 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: of the gate. But um, there's definitely this uh propaganda 320 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: war going on, um between you know, pro and con 321 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: sides speaking of prone country got any more prosum, I do, 322 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: but quickly but just because that guy and gas Land, Um, 323 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: it turned out to be a different thing. The companies 324 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,120 Speaker 1: have been fined um for negligence with methane reaching water 325 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: supplies like that has happened, right, which is not supposed 326 00:18:57,119 --> 00:19:00,199 Speaker 1: to happen. Because if you're talking about like a the 327 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 1: Marcellus region, this this, that's the typically very deep deep shale, 328 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,959 Speaker 1: like seven thousand, ten thousand feet, that's how far you 329 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: have to drill down before you hit that kickoff point. Right, 330 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: Your um groundwater reserves, your aquifers are gonna be a 331 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: few hundred to a thousand feet. So if you pass 332 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: through them and then you use your steel well board 333 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 1: and in case it and cement correctly, you're not you're 334 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 1: not going to get any release into that groundwater. And 335 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: the cracks that you're making the fractures are so deep 336 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: and small enough that they're not going to travel all 337 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: the way up thousands and thousands of feet up to 338 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: the aquifer just the pressure won't allow it. Supposedly, that's 339 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: like that, that's the that's the logic behind it now. 340 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: But there are things like coal bed methane fields that 341 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: are typically much more shallow and they're closer to aquifers, 342 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,160 Speaker 1: and those are the ones. If you're tapping those using fracking, 343 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,440 Speaker 1: you run amendous risk of of methane getting into the 344 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 1: water supply big time. But if you're doing deep shale 345 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 1: stuff as it stands now, all the evidence suggests that, No, 346 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,159 Speaker 1: it's it's if you steal your well bore correctly, you 347 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: should be fine. Right, Well, that's the listener. Mail pointed 348 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: out that, um, you know, most of the issues of 349 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:25,120 Speaker 1: the problems have been because of that concrete or incorrect Well, 350 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,919 Speaker 1: you know this and that, not the fracking itself, but 351 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,000 Speaker 1: it's the same people doing that, so it's still counts 352 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: as part of the problem with fracking. Yeah, you know, 353 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: you can't say, like, oh, the fracking segment of this 354 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: operation went well, but of course we had cracks all 355 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:42,639 Speaker 1: up and down that ruined everything. So come on, that's semantics, 356 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: all right. Um, some of them. The more last couple 357 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: of pro arguments here, Josh, are UM revenue. It's a 358 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: big one. Seventeen thousand, six hundred jobs would be created 359 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,760 Speaker 1: and a hundred million dollars in tax revenue if New 360 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:07,199 Speaker 1: York State UM lifted their fracking ban. Yeah, so a 361 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,560 Speaker 1: lot of jobs. A lot of these are former farming 362 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: communities that are somewhat depressed, and a lot of people 363 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,679 Speaker 1: want those jobs. And anytime you're reducing our dependence on 364 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: foreign oil. That's a good thing, uh in a worldview. 365 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: So those are some of the pro arguments and they're 366 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: good ones. Yeah. So um, and again we should say 367 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: like the jury is still very much out, but there 368 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: is a lot of common sense criticism of fracking operations. Um, 369 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:40,920 Speaker 1: some have already been discarded. Like a lot of people 370 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: are worried about that radio activity and um, the wastewater 371 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: that does come back up is slightly more radioactive than 372 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: it was when it went down, but not any That's, 373 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 1: as one professor put it, that's like the least of 374 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: your worries with fracking is the radio activity. Yeah. Another 375 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: one is that, um, it causes earthquakes, which is sensible. 376 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: You know, you're down there, you're drilling, you're blowing holes 377 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: into the shale thousands of feet down. How can you 378 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: not cause an earthquake. Apparently, earthquakes are associated with fracking, 379 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: but it's not the actual fracking. It's when you store 380 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: wastewater in a retention pond reservoir induced seismicity where it's 381 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,160 Speaker 1: coming from. Yeah, So there are a couple of earthquakes 382 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: that were associated with fracking, but not from the fracking process, 383 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 1: from storing the wastewater. Again semantics, but so, but the 384 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:36,159 Speaker 1: wastewater is probably the single most UM. I guess if 385 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:40,159 Speaker 1: you're an environmentalist, that's the smoking gun, Like, that's the 386 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 1: one that you can't get around if you're an energy company, 387 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,800 Speaker 1: because fracking uses tons of water, lots and lots of water, 388 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,399 Speaker 1: I mean millions of gallons of water to get to 389 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 1: these and recovers maybe between fifteen and fifty of that water. 390 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,880 Speaker 1: And then the water that is recovered is now way 391 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: more toxic than it was before. So you're taking water 392 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:10,680 Speaker 1: from a municipal water supply, drinking water people, people, water 393 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 1: people need, sending it down into the earth, and then 394 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: getting maybe fifteen fifty back, and then the stuff you 395 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 1: do get back is like, what are we gonna do 396 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,920 Speaker 1: with this? Yeah? Well they um, the oil companies will 397 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: say that they dispose of it in ways that uh 398 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 1: adequately match state regulations, UM, which may or may not 399 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: be adequate. Yeah, may or may not be in depending 400 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: on the state, the regulations are a little more lax 401 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,960 Speaker 1: than others. UM. I know a lot of the wastewater 402 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:43,159 Speaker 1: from Pennsylvania is deposited in surrounding states because I think 403 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,479 Speaker 1: they have one of the more aggressive wastewater policies. So 404 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 1: they'll just say, ironically, New York, even though they banned 405 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: fracking for now allows Pennsylvania wastewater to be dumped there. Okay, 406 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 1: so there's at least one municipality that has banned uh, 407 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,639 Speaker 1: fracking fluids, Like you can't buy or sell them or 408 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: possess them in the city, and you aren't allowed to 409 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: introduce any used fracking fluid into their waste treatment plants 410 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,439 Speaker 1: like there their city waters and allowed to treat fracking fluid. 411 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,399 Speaker 1: So and some of this water, like the wastewater, some 412 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: of it is reused for other fracking operations. Some of 413 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: it is just treat makes sense, Yeah, economically, it just 414 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:24,719 Speaker 1: makes sense to get as much back as you can 415 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,640 Speaker 1: and then use it again. And she's the same water 416 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,280 Speaker 1: as much as possible. Yeah, that'd be a good idea. 417 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: Some is treated, you're gonna say, in like a wastewater plant. Um. Others, 418 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: like a lot of the stuff that comes back up 419 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: includes like ancient salt beds, salt from ancient seabeds, yeah, um. 420 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 1: And they use those on the to like clear off 421 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: snow and ice on roadways. But they're starting to outlaw 422 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:53,360 Speaker 1: that as well. It's basically like the fracking industry went 423 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: unregulated for a very long time. Like it was unregulated 424 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: in that it was a drilling technique as as the 425 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: EPA was concerned, and it wasn't until this environmental um 426 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:08,520 Speaker 1: group leaf sued. I guess the e p A over 427 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: some fracking techniques in the late nineties in Alabama before 428 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:18,199 Speaker 1: the EPA finally started to regulate fracking. Wow, I'm sorry, 429 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: but I got a little, a little into it for 430 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: a second. No, I love it. Um. We were talking 431 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: about waste water. Some of that water also spills. Uh. 432 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 1: In June two thousand eleven, there was a well blowout 433 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: in Clearwater County, Pennsylvania. It's a gas explosion, sixteen hours 434 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,359 Speaker 1: of uncontrolled spill about a million gallons of toxic waste 435 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: into a creek in Mohannon State Park. Um. I saw 436 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 1: this one documentary they interviewed of a guy that used 437 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,360 Speaker 1: to one of the blue collar guys used to work 438 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 1: at the operation and he was like, yeah, you know, 439 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 1: some of them are heavily regulated and get visited by 440 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: inspectors and he went, but many thousands are not. And 441 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: he said, I worked at one of those and he said, 442 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: in the at the frack path, it was on top 443 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 1: of a like a mountain area. That's where the bar is. Yeah, 444 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:06,959 Speaker 1: I got so. But he said, you would look at 445 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: this mountain on the side of it, and he said 446 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,960 Speaker 1: it would looked like it was bleeding like this red 447 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: oozy water just tumbling down into like the forest below. 448 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,720 Speaker 1: And he said, but yeah, some of them regulated, some 449 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: of them are or inspected, And I think it's probably 450 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 1: one of the same issues as uh the mountaintop uh 451 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: coal removal, is that you've got like a handful of 452 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 1: inspectors for these like thousands and thousands of operations, which 453 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,639 Speaker 1: is not good. No, wasn't there and wasn't there a 454 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,920 Speaker 1: spill of just not even wastewater bills, straight up fracking 455 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,680 Speaker 1: fluid like all the additives, which by the way, are 456 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,959 Speaker 1: for a very long time. UM energy companies said that 457 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,680 Speaker 1: they're fracking fluid mixtures were proprietor proprietary and they wouldn't 458 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,119 Speaker 1: reveal what was in there. The PA finally said, no, 459 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,480 Speaker 1: you have to. We need a hundred percent transparency. So now, 460 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 1: well not a percent though, because there's still some uh 461 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: that is true. And dude, I saw that too, and 462 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: I was like, great, finally released the chemicals that you're 463 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: you're putting in there. And then they said that there's 464 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 1: a bit of a loophole in that some of them 465 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 1: can be still be listed as trade secrets. Well, it's 466 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: like trans fat, like you can list you can put 467 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,239 Speaker 1: trans fats in your food still and say that has 468 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: zero grams of trans fat as long as it has 469 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 1: half a half a gram or less per serving of 470 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: trans fats. But you can still play that big zero 471 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: on there. It's very tricky. So some of the some 472 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,600 Speaker 1: of the state's outlawed um or some of the states 473 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:37,360 Speaker 1: said all right, you have to tell us at least 474 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,200 Speaker 1: what your little trade secrets are, and we won't release them. 475 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,639 Speaker 1: And then some states like Colorado believe it or not, 476 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: just said you don't even have to tell us what 477 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 1: your trade secret is. So well, the ones that have 478 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:51,560 Speaker 1: been released, it it's very there's some unusual stuff in there. 479 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 1: Walnut holes, table salt, well that doesn't sound harmless, lemon 480 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:01,720 Speaker 1: juice that sounds great, laundry detergent, anti freeze, Okay, it's 481 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:06,600 Speaker 1: getting worse. Uh moosifiers. Apparently the price of this uh 482 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 1: uh i' what is it called I want to say Guar, 483 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: but it's not Guar, you knowir the band, But it's 484 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 1: like gar. It is like Gar, but instead of a W, 485 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: it's just a single us Amosifi are using ice cream, 486 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: and apparently cracking operations have driven the price of this up. 487 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: So much of the ice cream industry is like, what 488 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,399 Speaker 1: the heck man? Like we we you just lowered our 489 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,440 Speaker 1: profit margin significantly. Is that why Ben and Jerry's is 490 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,160 Speaker 1: so expensive now? Ben and Jerry's is expensive because it's 491 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 1: so delicious. It is delicious. Chubby Hubby, that's a good one. 492 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: It's my favorite one New York superfudge chunk that white 493 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: chocolate in there. I like the offerings, the seasonal offerings 494 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,040 Speaker 1: to like I had some pumpkin cheesecake the other day 495 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,200 Speaker 1: that was really good. I have not tried that. It's delicious. 496 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: You know what else as good as there? Um it's 497 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: a blueberry graham Greek yogurt and we had that as 498 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 1: a very good too. But we can conside checked the 499 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 1: food the drop of a half. We've been doing good 500 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:08,480 Speaker 1: this when we've been talking about nothing but fracking. That's true, 501 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: So they will um. Depending on what website you go to, 502 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,480 Speaker 1: you will if you're worried about chemical additives. You will 503 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: see stats from people like Caliber and they say it 504 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 1: only makes up like point five percent of this mixture. 505 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 1: But what they don't say is that can still equal 506 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 1: like three hundred millions I'm sorry, three hundred tons of 507 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: chemical additives. Is that for a single operation? That's for 508 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,479 Speaker 1: for four million gallons of water used in a fracking 509 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: operation would equal about three hundred tons of these additives 510 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: chemical additives. So there's a lot of this stuff. It 511 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 1: may be only a point five percent to two percent, 512 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: but um, there's still a lot of like many tons 513 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: of harmful chemicals. And again, what are you doing with it? 514 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:49,120 Speaker 1: I mean, like what do you do with it afterwards? 515 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 1: If you could reuse it? Awesome, I have very few 516 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,160 Speaker 1: problems with it. Um, But it's taking water from a 517 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: water supply, and it's in Texas. Fracking operations have been 518 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: shown to actually have exacerbated droughts in the area. Um. Yeah, 519 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,160 Speaker 1: around the Marcellus region. There's apparently plenty of water, like 520 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: for example, in Pennsylvania in a single day, Uh, the 521 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,640 Speaker 1: whole state uses about nine point five billion gallons of 522 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: water every day. The natural gas development fracking uses about 523 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: one point nine million gallons of the nine point five 524 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 1: billion every day, one point nine million to nine point 525 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,360 Speaker 1: five billion, So it's insignificant. But in an area that's 526 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:36,000 Speaker 1: already water stressed, that's a problem taking all that water 527 00:30:36,040 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: and using it for fracking, wasting it, and then what 528 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 1: do you do with it afterwards. Yeah, Well, at least 529 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,120 Speaker 1: Texas has um apparently that's like the leading state as 530 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: far as having capabilities to have many more disposal wells 531 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: is what they're called there um. But in places like 532 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: Pennsylvania where the Marcella shale is, they don't have nearly 533 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: the kind of disposal wells at this point yet, which 534 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: leads to more um retreatment or treatment of the water 535 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,880 Speaker 1: and dumping it in places like New York. When I 536 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,479 Speaker 1: say they're dumping it, I mean I don't think they're like, 537 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,560 Speaker 1: you know, putting a big tube out in the middle 538 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 1: of a field in New York and just letting it 539 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: run out everywhere. They better not be doing that. They 540 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 1: probably aren't. Um. I saw one stat where there is 541 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: one serious environmental concern for every one and fifty wells, 542 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 1: which if you multiply that over hundreds of thousands of 543 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: wells the reason a lot of people point out and 544 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: say it's not so dangerous. It's like, where the where's 545 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: the hard science on the effect right now? And this 546 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: guy was like, well, we're not seeing it quite yet. 547 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: Like come back in ten years at the rate that 548 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,520 Speaker 1: we're going, uh, and you'll you'll see some problems. One 549 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,720 Speaker 1: for every hundred and fifty operations h one serious environmental 550 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,960 Speaker 1: concern could be spill, could be leaching into the soil. 551 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,680 Speaker 1: Kind of depends. Um. And my whole thing is, if 552 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,800 Speaker 1: it's really no big deal and it's totally safe and 553 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: it's just not going to impact anyone in any way, Um, 554 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 1: then why do you exclude it from the Safe Water 555 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,480 Speaker 1: Drinking Act in two thousand five? Like why do you 556 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:13,400 Speaker 1: take congressional measures measures to have the language of what 557 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:16,640 Speaker 1: a pollutant is changed? Which is what happened in two 558 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: thousand five? Well, the Safe Water Drinking Act, um, the 559 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: Energy Policy Act of two thousand five. Um. And then 560 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 1: this is not political. This this happened. You can go 561 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:32,640 Speaker 1: look it up, settled down. Dick Cheney did push for 562 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:36,240 Speaker 1: these measures to go through. They went through the loophole. 563 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:40,360 Speaker 1: The Haliburton loophole is what it's called um and I 564 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 1: will even give you the section if you go to 565 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,480 Speaker 1: page one or two. Section two. It covers hydraulic fracturing 566 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:49,360 Speaker 1: and it excludes in the Safe Water Drinking Act the 567 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 1: underground injection of fluids or propping agents other than diesel fuels. 568 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:55,480 Speaker 1: That's the one that they still said, like, you can't 569 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 1: do pursue it too. Hydraulic fracturing related to oil, gas 570 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:05,440 Speaker 1: or geothermal production activities. So basically, uh, you need to 571 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:11,000 Speaker 1: keep your water safe unless it's hydraulic fracturing, fracturing, fractling, 572 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:16,520 Speaker 1: hydro fracking. Furthermore, in the Clean Water Act, they change 573 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: the definition of pollutant to not include water, gas, or 574 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:23,360 Speaker 1: other material which is injected into a well to facilitate 575 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,720 Speaker 1: production of oil or gas. So if it's so clean 576 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:28,960 Speaker 1: and no big deal, where are they going in and 577 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: changing the term for pollutant and saying exclude fracking from 578 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: Safe Water Drinking Act? You know, it's a great question. 579 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 1: And what was the guy behind pushing this? A former 580 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 1: Haliburton executive. It's like, I'm no smart guy, but I'm 581 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: no dummy either, you know, well, I think you know, 582 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,320 Speaker 1: check the jury still out. As we said on this 583 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,239 Speaker 1: and we're waiting for this hard science to come in. 584 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: But I feel like you should always be wary of 585 00:33:55,960 --> 00:34:00,440 Speaker 1: any group or industry or anyone on either side that 586 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: engages in a disinformation campaign that tries to sway the 587 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: public using underhanded tactics. That should always raise red flags 588 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:11,919 Speaker 1: to you. And they're both doing it right now, which 589 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:16,560 Speaker 1: is what's maddening for sure. UM and you anytime somebody's 590 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:18,880 Speaker 1: selling you something and you find out that like they're 591 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:23,680 Speaker 1: they're being underhanded, you should wonder about everything they're doing 592 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 1: across the board, Like with UM Energy and Development releasing 593 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,640 Speaker 1: truth Land that was misinformation. That was a misinformation campaign. 594 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:36,600 Speaker 1: They didn't say who released it, and there's yeah exactly, 595 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:39,040 Speaker 1: And if you go onto the Energy and Development website 596 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: in particular, it reads really defensive, real defensive, like the 597 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:45,960 Speaker 1: text of it does. I can't believe that they let 598 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,040 Speaker 1: whatever whatever PR company put that together release it like that, 599 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:52,759 Speaker 1: because it's it's like like, why are you asking you know, 600 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,520 Speaker 1: almost like I'll bet you didn't know that. I'll bet 601 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,040 Speaker 1: you didn't know that natural gas could blow up your 602 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:01,239 Speaker 1: whole family if we wanted it to. Did happen to UM? 603 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,840 Speaker 1: Well tell him first about the studies in This month 604 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,799 Speaker 1: represents the third month in a row where a major 605 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 1: public university has taken a real black eye from being 606 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:17,479 Speaker 1: exposed for being in bed with UM the fracking community. Yeah, 607 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:21,760 Speaker 1: University of Texas study said that UM fracking is safe, 608 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 1: and um, it's really no big deal. Well, I don't 609 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 1: know if they said that. They said it was safe, 610 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,040 Speaker 1: I don't want to paraphrase. Uh. And then they got 611 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:34,239 Speaker 1: some independent reviews of Professor groats um study and they said, oh, 612 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,360 Speaker 1: you know what, he's on the board of a natural 613 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 1: gas drilling company and received more than a million and 614 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,400 Speaker 1: a half dollars in compensation and he didn't mention that 615 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:46,759 Speaker 1: anywhere in his study. But what he did do is, 616 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:50,280 Speaker 1: uh quit his job at the University of Texas afterward 617 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:54,320 Speaker 1: and kind of retreat quietly into his corner full of money. 618 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:57,600 Speaker 1: And the department head over him was forced to resign 619 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:00,040 Speaker 1: to But the thing was, it wasn't just that he 620 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:04,440 Speaker 1: didn't he didn't report that conflict of interest. He said that, Um, 621 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: there there was like flaws in the science. It was 622 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,080 Speaker 1: a bad article, it was a bad study, and they 623 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,360 Speaker 1: retracted it. And that's a big deal to retract the 624 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,919 Speaker 1: scientific study. We're they're saying, like, we want that back. 625 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:21,479 Speaker 1: Pretend we never said anything. UM. Penn State I tried 626 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 1: to open a shale development UM school, I guess UM, 627 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: and they couldn't because all the professors wouldn't wouldn't join, Like, 628 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:33,920 Speaker 1: they couldn't get anybody to be a part of it. 629 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 1: And then there was one more I think that was 630 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,680 Speaker 1: part of this little three months sweep that our buddy 631 00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 1: Wade Goodwin over MPR was reporting. Yeah, the Shale Resources 632 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: Institute at the State University of New York at Buffalo 633 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:52,640 Speaker 1: was closed after UM people wanted to know who was 634 00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:55,960 Speaker 1: funding its work and whether it's work was truly independent 635 00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:01,040 Speaker 1: into studying fracking. So they closed this whole cool down 636 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:03,879 Speaker 1: because they found out that it was basically funded by 637 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:07,879 Speaker 1: energy companies and that people were working for them rather 638 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 1: than the public good. Wow. So there are plenty more 639 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:14,799 Speaker 1: anecdotal stories that we could not get to UM. If 640 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:19,200 Speaker 1: you type in fracking timeline, there's a great UH timeline 641 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:24,920 Speaker 1: oddly enough of UH of incidences and accidents. UM, and 642 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,360 Speaker 1: you're you know, I realized that there's no way to 643 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,640 Speaker 1: get oil and petroleum out of the earth without there 644 00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:33,280 Speaker 1: being accidents at some point. It's just one of the 645 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:37,400 Speaker 1: dangers and unfortunate side effects. It's gonna happen. But um, 646 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,759 Speaker 1: there are a lot of them out there. Wells exploding 647 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: U two thousand nine, a fracking waste water impoundment caught 648 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:47,680 Speaker 1: fire exploded in develop, Pennsylvania. Soil tests conducted at the 649 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:54,560 Speaker 1: site found arsenic at six thousand times of permissible level UM. 650 00:37:54,719 --> 00:37:58,000 Speaker 1: November to December two thousand seven, twenty two water wells 651 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 1: in Bainbridge, Ohio intaminated with drilling chemicals. One explodes, a 652 00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:06,960 Speaker 1: lot of methane explosions. One family was killed. Pretty flammable, 653 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,040 Speaker 1: like when they lit their pilot light in their house. 654 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:12,800 Speaker 1: Killed the family. So and what was it doing to 655 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,520 Speaker 1: their brains leading up to that, just huffing it all 656 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:18,000 Speaker 1: the time. Who knows that the levels were so high 657 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,880 Speaker 1: it blew up their house. I mean, how long was 658 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,400 Speaker 1: it acumulating? Well, anecdotally, you'll see interviews with people talking 659 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: it's just like Aaron Brockovich, like I went to drink 660 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,520 Speaker 1: my water after they started this operation and it had 661 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:35,239 Speaker 1: a little, uh, petroleum like residue on top, and it 662 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:39,719 Speaker 1: tasted awful, and uh like they say don't even bathe 663 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:41,720 Speaker 1: in it, and like this is what I'm supposed to drink. 664 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:44,439 Speaker 1: I want to say, I want to really make sure 665 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:48,920 Speaker 1: everyone one gets this. If you ask me, natural gas 666 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:53,799 Speaker 1: is a really great fuel, Like it really does it, Chuck. 667 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:58,480 Speaker 1: If we could convert the nation's transportation sector to natural 668 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:05,440 Speaker 1: gas only UM cars and trucks, we would reduce UM 669 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:09,840 Speaker 1: CEO two emissions by no, I'm sorry, we reduced CEO 670 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:15,759 Speaker 1: carbon monoxide emissions, which makes small O T and UM 671 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:19,759 Speaker 1: nitrous oxides by It really is a good idea, and 672 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:25,400 Speaker 1: it probably will be this excellent bridge fuel between coal 673 00:39:25,719 --> 00:39:29,040 Speaker 1: and oil and whatever renewable we come up with, wind 674 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:34,640 Speaker 1: solar in the future, and we could become energy independent 675 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:38,520 Speaker 1: thanks to natural gas. And if fracking is the best 676 00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:40,960 Speaker 1: way to do it, that's awesome. But we have to 677 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:43,880 Speaker 1: hold the people who are doing this feet to the fire, 678 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 1: to do it as safely as possible, to cut down 679 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:51,080 Speaker 1: on these incidents that you're talking about, to not pollute water, 680 00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:55,280 Speaker 1: but to get it out as as reasonably inefficiently as possible, 681 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:57,680 Speaker 1: but also as safely as possible, because if we don't 682 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:01,359 Speaker 1: say you have to do this Martley and safely, they're 683 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:03,520 Speaker 1: going to do it as cheaply as possible, because it's 684 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:07,600 Speaker 1: a mandate of their corporate charters maximized profits, not maximized 685 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:10,040 Speaker 1: public safety, which is why it's important for people to 686 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,759 Speaker 1: be talking about this. It's not inherently bad, it just 687 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:15,839 Speaker 1: has to be done correctly. It seems like to me 688 00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:19,840 Speaker 1: after researching this agreed um, And didn't he find a 689 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,960 Speaker 1: new uh fracking method that does not use the chemicals 690 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,280 Speaker 1: at all. Yeah, it's called jelled fracking. Uses a liquid 691 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:31,160 Speaker 1: propane and um it when it when you pump it 692 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:34,160 Speaker 1: down in there, it doesn't come back up. It turns 693 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:37,759 Speaker 1: into vapor which escapes back up as a vapor which 694 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:41,920 Speaker 1: you can capture and reuse, resell, or burn a fuel 695 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:45,200 Speaker 1: for to power the site. That sounds pretty good. No 696 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:48,160 Speaker 1: waste water. Jelled fracking doesn't even water at all. And 697 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:50,879 Speaker 1: are people using this yet or is it? It's um, 698 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 1: they're patenting it. It's been used about a thousand times 699 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:58,000 Speaker 1: since two thousand eight. I should probably say I invented it, 700 00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:01,240 Speaker 1: so I have an enormous financial stake in see, I 701 00:41:01,239 --> 00:41:07,439 Speaker 1: I admit my financial interests. Josh Jell's right, but um, yeah, 702 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:09,840 Speaker 1: I ran across that today. It seemed like a pretty 703 00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:13,320 Speaker 1: good jam jelled fracking. Yeah. That. One of the issues 704 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:15,799 Speaker 1: with that though, is like it probably requires some sort 705 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:20,200 Speaker 1: of uh redoing of your current systems, which probably would 706 00:41:20,239 --> 00:41:22,279 Speaker 1: incur costs that companies don't want. I'm just guessing. But 707 00:41:22,719 --> 00:41:25,719 Speaker 1: plus you have to sacrifice like eight thousand cats just 708 00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:28,279 Speaker 1: to get the machine to start working. Who cares? This 709 00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:31,840 Speaker 1: is inhabited by a god that loves cats. Sacrifice. Just 710 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,000 Speaker 1: leave my cats alone and you can have the rest 711 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:39,160 Speaker 1: you got anything else? Now fracking has been done. Yeah, 712 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:40,719 Speaker 1: We've been asked about this one for a while. So 713 00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:43,879 Speaker 1: if you want to learn more about fracking, you can 714 00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:46,239 Speaker 1: type that word f R A C K I n 715 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:48,759 Speaker 1: G into the search part. How still works dot com? 716 00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:54,160 Speaker 1: And I said search parts. So it's time for listener mail, Josh. 717 00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:57,319 Speaker 1: Before we do listener mail, Yes, um our TV show 718 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:01,960 Speaker 1: is going on the debut UH last week, hopefully to 719 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:05,840 Speaker 1: great numbers, and we would like to remind everyone to 720 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:08,560 Speaker 1: watch each and every week on Science Channel at ten pm. Yeah, 721 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:11,399 Speaker 1: following uh Idiot Abroad which is our lead end, which 722 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:15,320 Speaker 1: is great, and it's on Science Channel on Saturday's ten pm. 723 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,120 Speaker 1: What else are you doing on Saturday night? Ten p m. Nothing. 724 00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:20,960 Speaker 1: That's why you should watch our show because you'll like it. Yeah, 725 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:23,160 Speaker 1: if you're out DVR, and if you don't have a 726 00:42:23,239 --> 00:42:25,600 Speaker 1: DVR and you don't have TV or cable, you can 727 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:29,480 Speaker 1: get these on iTunes for I think of Buck ninety nine. Yeah, 728 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:33,160 Speaker 1: day after the premiere, so Sundays, that's right, So go 729 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,560 Speaker 1: to iTunes and the search for stuff you should know 730 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:38,040 Speaker 1: on the television side of things. And let me thank 731 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:40,640 Speaker 1: you for your support. Yes, that's off to you, guys. 732 00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:45,000 Speaker 1: All right, listener mail, Yes, I'm gonna call this caving sucks. 733 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:50,120 Speaker 1: This is from Michelle Marianni. Guys, I'm a Canadian speech 734 00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:53,640 Speaker 1: pathologists currently living in Manhattan. Last month, I went to 735 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:56,000 Speaker 1: my honeymoon and belize insideed going a guid a cave tour. 736 00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:59,160 Speaker 1: I imagine a large opening in a rock, beautiful sparkling 737 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,839 Speaker 1: waterfall and lights and rainbows coming from the ceiling, kind 738 00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:04,239 Speaker 1: of like you were talking about, Chuck. But what it 739 00:43:04,239 --> 00:43:06,040 Speaker 1: really turned out to be was five hours. It's total 740 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:09,040 Speaker 1: darkness except for the headlight of course, high pressure water 741 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:13,960 Speaker 1: rushing over jagged moving rocks. I swam, stumbled, crabbed, walked 742 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:15,960 Speaker 1: for two and a half hours to reach a series 743 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:19,839 Speaker 1: of seven waterfalls that I then climbed. Someday I look 744 00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:22,080 Speaker 1: back and laugh, but at the time I was screaming 745 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:25,000 Speaker 1: to Jesus to save me. Luckily, my group thought I 746 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:28,520 Speaker 1: was hilarious and enjoyed my jokes, but I kept my 747 00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:31,320 Speaker 1: tears on the inside. The guys were very well trained, 748 00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:34,040 Speaker 1: also very relaxed, and I never felt like we were 749 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:38,200 Speaker 1: in too much danger. Um At first, I really tried 750 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:41,400 Speaker 1: really hard enough to touch the precious centuries old stalag 751 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:44,319 Speaker 1: tights as I stumbled through, but by hour or four 752 00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:46,799 Speaker 1: I was grabbing it anything I could as I was 753 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:48,960 Speaker 1: going down, trying not to have my eyes stabbed out 754 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,240 Speaker 1: by jagged rocks. I can't believe I let random tourists. 755 00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:54,760 Speaker 1: They let random tourists of these caves with no special 756 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:57,600 Speaker 1: training or a fitness test. Living in New York City, 757 00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:01,239 Speaker 1: I've had some crazy experiences, so just inadvertently get taught 758 00:44:01,239 --> 00:44:03,880 Speaker 1: in the middle of a shootout and being quasi attacked 759 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,920 Speaker 1: by a gentleman on PCP. But caving was the scariest 760 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:10,200 Speaker 1: thing that has ever happened to me. Um. Had I 761 00:44:10,239 --> 00:44:13,479 Speaker 1: listened to this podcast before my honeymoon, I never would 762 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:16,439 Speaker 1: have gone in disaster it would have been avoided. Thank 763 00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:19,840 Speaker 1: you for the delightful podcast. So much love, Michelle Marianni. 764 00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:26,000 Speaker 1: Thanks a lot, Michelle. Sorry about the PCP guy. Um, yeah, 765 00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:28,920 Speaker 1: that's really something. Maybe that requires its own email as well. 766 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:31,719 Speaker 1: It's always PCP. I wonder how many times it really is. 767 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:35,840 Speaker 1: Everyone's always like they were crazed out on PCP. Maybe 768 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:40,759 Speaker 1: it was just ambient. They were eating a stick of 769 00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:44,120 Speaker 1: butter and coming for me. Um. Well, let's see if 770 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:47,560 Speaker 1: you have a commentary about how something that we thought 771 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,560 Speaker 1: was awesome actually sucks in real life. We want to 772 00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:53,879 Speaker 1: hear about that. Um. And if you have any kind 773 00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:56,880 Speaker 1: of fracking operation in your neighborhood, we'd love to hear 774 00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:59,920 Speaker 1: about that as well. Pro con whatever. Um, you can 775 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,320 Speaker 1: and tweet to us at s Y s K podcast. 776 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,319 Speaker 1: You can join us on Facebook dot com slash Stuff 777 00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:07,280 Speaker 1: you Should Know, and you can send us an email 778 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:15,759 Speaker 1: to Stuff Podcast at Discovery dot com. For more on 779 00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:18,560 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, visit how Stuff works 780 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:28,120 Speaker 1: dot com. M brought to you by the two thousand 781 00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:29,360 Speaker 1: twelve Toyota Camera