Fracking

Hat-tip to CWFNC for e-mailing this link. The ugly starts on page 37:

AN ACT TO: (1) ESTABLISH AN OIL AND GAS BOARD WITH JURISDICTION AND AUTHORITY OVER MATTERS RELATED TO OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE, INCLUDING THE USE OF HORIZONTAL DRILLING AND HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

Before I proceed, let me go ahead and say this up here so you can see it on the front page: This bill needs to be Vetoed with extreme prejudice as soon as it makes contact with Bev's desk. Here's one reason:

It's kind of hard to regulate something if you don't know what it is:

This weekend, as part of a story on ALEC's political activity, The New York Times noted that the group recently adopted "model legislation" on fracking chemical disclosure, based on a bill passed in Texas last year. According to The Times, the model bill was "sponsored within ALEC" by ExxonMobil, which runs a major oil and gas operation through its subsidiary, XTO Energy.

We generally dedicate front-page acreage to North Carolina-specific articles. But since Republicans in the General Assembly are so hot-to-trot on fracking, and they also appear to be more than happy to embrace ALEC's pre-fab "legislation For Dummies" (TM), I'm afraid this story does comply.

A good editorial in the N&O today calls on the General Assembly to think more carefully about the risks and benefits of fracking. In the process, the editorial mentions that even some Republicans are leery of the fracking push. Is that true? I must have missed the memo.

Details below.

This letter in the Chapel Hill News says all that needs saying about the sad state of affairs in North Carolina.

Imagine the following scenario.

A group of terrorists gains control over parts of North Carolina and plans to pump enormous gallons of water into drilled holes. The water is filled with toxins which will poison the water from being safely consumed or used for agricultural purposes.

Given the record of GOP leaders in North Carolina, it's hard to imagine they actually give a damn about what regular people think, regular people like Nick Davis who spoke at the Chatham public hearing last night.

“The fossil fuel industries are like drug dealers, Davis said. “They don’t want us to quit. They don’t want us to get well. They don’t want us to find sustainability. I charge our legislators and the governor to find some courage and tell them to go home.”