Fracking’s Just a Bad Dream
A walk in these mountains, Green, green valleys,
Used to fill my heart with pride.
Now fracking towers, Poison power,
You can hear creation cry:
Fracking’s just a bad dream. It’s just a bad dream.
Teeth in the limestone, Two miles down,
Every inch a thousand years.
Some things better Left underground.
They have ears but cannot hear:
Fracking’s just a bad dream It’s just a bad dream
I love this country, It’s not always easy;
Just don’t go the way you planned.
I hate how we cheat her, How we Wall Street her.
No way to treat the promised land.
Just one way out of a bad dream: See through the lies.
Come to the daylight now and Open up your eyes.
Tell your neighbors, what it means: It ain’t cheap if it ain’t clean.
Sons and daughters, Don’t lace your water.
Fracking’s just a bad dream It’s just a bad dream
Words & music ©Doug Hendren and Nancy Beall 2015 What’s it about? Hydraulic fracturing (“Fracking”) is a method of drilling deep underground (a mile or two down), turning and drilling a mile or more horizontally, and causing deep shale deposits to shatter, releasing gas and oil. Very large amounts of water (millions of gallons per well) and toxic chemicals are forced down under pressure, some of which returns to the surface mixed with radioactive materials, benzene, heavy metals and numerous other poisons. Fracking takes place deeper than our aquifers and other water sources. Under normal circumstances, these poisons very rarely get mixed with water used by humans and animals. With fracking, however, contamination of well water and surface water is quite common (see below). Once a water source is contaminated, there is no practical and economical way to make it safe to drink again. Ever. The entire “fracking revolution” is based upon two myths. First, its advertised safety has been proven false by a growing number of studies published in peer-review scientific and medical journals (see below). Second, the claim of natural gas from fracking to be a “clean bridge fuel” is demonstrably false. With current methods, so much methane (CH4) escapes (“fugitive emissions”) that it is no better than coal, and maybe even worse in terms of climate change. So, what’ll it be? Will we educate ourselves and our lawmakers, and put an end to this nonsense? Or will we continue jeopardizing the natural world for one more fix of fossil fuels? Any child can tell you that we can’t drink money! INFORMATION Fracking America. How many wells? Watch this animation. Fracking Hell: The Untold Story Link TV, video 17 minutes Dr. Anthony Ingraffea Facts on Fracking. Full lecture, 1:45 Study: Chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects in water near fracking hotspots. Well water contamination from fracking found in four states. Fracking’s Terrifying Water Usage Trends Spell Disaster. Fracking the Farm: Scientists Worry about Chemical Exposure to Livestock and Agriculture. Fracking Literally Makes People Sick, New Study Finds Fracking boom accompanied by rise in silent, deadly carcinogen in homes (radon gas). Gasland, film by Josh Fox Duke Study Links Fracking to Water Contamination… The Nation: The Gospel According to Wendell Berry EPA finds nearly 700 chemicals used in fracking.