crucified to the grid

An insidious plutocracy

of earth rapists

oblige my consumption.

They charge me monthly,

until I die.

 

photo source:Electromagnetic Fountain

Organized Crime

it is time for the state to act to protect the health and the rights of the citizens of Pennsylvania rather than looking out for big business and their bottom lines.

– Doug Shields who represents the 5th Council District in the City of Pittsburgh

image: Adbusters

more photos from the rally to restore sanity

Click to enlarge, and then click to zoom.  It’s fun!  See the myriad people and signs.

 

The National Gallery of Art

 

 

 

“Dude, can I bum a smoke?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRACKED DRY

Over the next thirty years, given the present technology, 500 billion gallons of water will be retired underground in Pennsylvania through the process known as horizontal fracturing.  This is according to email discussions I have had with Penn State’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research

500B is equivalent to 68 Harvey’s Lakes, or 263 Huntsville reservoirs, or 200 Wallenpaupacks (a relatively shallower but more expansive body of water).

This water will no longer be available for human use.  It will lurk in the shattered caverns below.   This dispersed sea will be waiting for a flaw, a break, an errant burst of pressure…

In a recent email from the Marcellus Shale Coalition titled, In the Know on H20, the industry relates:

Well, consider this: All told, the Susquehanna and its surrounding watershed convey more than 26 billion gallons of water through the Commonwealth every single day.

500B is over nineteen times this amount.   Nineteen days of water flow gone forever, Nineteen days of flow, desecrated, banished, and waiting… Can we afford it?

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The industry will tell you they are going to develop “better” technology. I question they can do it without water. I will research this more.

I will post the calculations and assumptions and caveats under separate cover.

The 500B could go lower, it could go higher.  But I suspect 5ooB is on the low side.

The 500B is Pennsylvania only! What about the amount of water being retired throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, Africa, Asia, and Europe?  How many tens of trillions?

Add to this, the global warming trend – and it will be unintentional suicide by corporate paradigm.

Photo:Times Leader

two stories of violence

Here are two recent stories of very violent incidents, involving out of state gas drilling employees. The victims include all taxpayers.

I was reluctant to post these stories for fear some readers might think I am trying to generalize about all drillers. That is not my intent here. It is merely to illustrate some grisly particulars in an already recognized trend:

In a press release from Rendell’s office in Harrisburg, state police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski reported more arrests and incidents involving drugs, assaults and illegal weapons in northern Pennsylvania, where much of the drilling into the Marcellus Shale is taking place in the state.

“More and more, it seems the police reports coming out of the northern tier include arrests because of drug use and trafficking, fights involving rig workers, DUIs and weapons being brought into the state and not registered properly,” Pawlowski said.

“We’ve even encountered situations where drilling company employees, who have been convicted of a sexual assault in another state, come here to work and do not register with our Megan’s Law website.” (see news article here)

Also,  see: Police chief: Gas drilling causing increase in crime locally

Gas industry worker charged in Pa. stabbing death
By Jason Whong November 5, 2010, 9:25 pm
pressconnects.com

CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP, TIOGA COUNTY, Pa. — A gas industry worker from Texas has been charged in the Thursday night stabbing death of a local man from whom he rented a room.

Pennsylvania State Police in Mansfield arrested Billy Holden Landry, 49, of Liverpool, Texas. He is charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault in the death of Shawn Charles Miller, 44, of Cherry Flats Road in Charleston Township, east of Wellsboro.

Police were called just before 11:30 p.m. Thursday to 158 Cherry Flats Road, where Miller rented two upstairs bedrooms to Landry and another gas industry worker.

Miller had no pulse when medics arrived, according to a criminal complaint against Landry filed in District Court in Wellsboro.

Miller was pronounced dead at the scene by the Tioga County Coroner’s Office.

Police said the men were arguing before the stabbing.

Kimberly A. Hess said she witnessed the argument at the home that her mother, Connie Everitt, shared with Miller, Everitt’s boyfriend of 13 years. Miller rented the two upstairs bedrooms in the three-bedroom home to “oil-riggers,” she said.

Hess said she spent the night on the couch and was awakened by Miller asking Landry and the other man, Mike Helton, to be quiet.

“They were drunk, and one had a girl over, and they were all just rowdy and making noise,” Hess said.

Hess said she heard a voice from upstairs taunting Miller and asking him to come upstairs.

Miller remained at the bottom of the stairs and asked them to “shut up, be quiet,” she said.

Hess said the men came downstairs, one with a knife, as Everitt tried to keep the men apart.

Everyone was “eventually pushed down on top of Shawn,” Hess said, as the fight moved toward the television.

“There was a candle that got broke, and I seen blood coming … from Shawn’s wrists, from the top of his hand, actually. And I thought it was from the candle getting broken,” she said.

Miller took a few steps, then fell over. “That’s when we realized he had gotten cut … right below his chest,” Hess said, as she traced a line across her abdomen with her finger.

Landry and Helton left immediately afterward, she said. “They left without their shirts on or anything. They didn’t grab their bags or nothing.”

Just after midnight, Landry went to state police in Mansfield and told the dispatcher that he wanted to speak with a trooper “about a situation he was involved in,” according to the complaint.

Landry told the dispatcher that “two females had beat him up” and that he had stabbed a man “in self-defense,” according to the complaint.
Related

When a trooper interviewed Landry, he said he was protecting himself and that “nobody should take a beating and not protect themselves.”

Police found Helton after 5 a.m. Friday in a trailer in Richmond Township, sleeping in a pair of blue jeans “stained throughout” with blood, according to the complaint.

Helton told police the blood on his pants probably came from Miller, according to the complaint.

Police were unable to say Friday night whether Helton had also been charged in the stabbing.

On Friday afternoon, Landry told police he was hit in the head with a candle and knocked to the ground during the fight and was held down as Miller punched him repeatedly in the face, according to a court document.

Landry told police he removed a knife that was sheathed on his belt and cut and stabbed at Miller, and, as he was driving his truck later, he discarded the knife, according to the complaint.

On Friday afternoon, Hess sat in her home in Wellsboro and described Miller as a nice man who treated her “like his own daughter.”

“I just hope that they get what they deserve. They need to rot in jail,” she said.

Bar fight, black eye leads to Buckeye’s arrest
BY MIichael J. Rudolf (Staff Writer)
thetimes-tribune.com
Published: November 4, 2010

TUNKHANNOCK – A 25-year-old former gas worker from Ohio was extradited to Wyoming County on Wednesday to face charges related to an Oct. 23 bar fight here.

Tunkhannock Police traveled to Ashland, Ohio, to pick up Nathan A. Milam, who is accused of beating another man with a pool cue during a fight at Beagles Pub, East Tioga Street.

According to the police complaint, Patrolman Dustin Cokely responded to a reported fight and found another man outside, bleeding heavily from his face, with his eye and nose swollen. Police learned the victim had fractures near his eye and nose.

The man told Patrolman Cokely that he was playing pool with three other people, including Mr. Milam, but did not know their names. Asked what started the fight, the man said he missed a shot, then someone hit him.

Patrolman Cokely went into the bar and spoke with several patrons, none of whom had ever seen Mr. Milam. A woman told Patrolman Cokely she saw Mr. Milam strike the victim, then run out the back door. The witness gave police a description. Patrolman Cokely said an anonymous caller contacted state police later that day to say Mr. Milam had been dropped off in Binghamton, N.Y., planning to take a bus to Ohio.

Dave Wenzel, a supervisor for a gas drilling contractor. told police he saw Mr. Milam shooting pool. A few moments later, he heard a loud crack near the pool table, and saw a man on the ground covered with blood.

Borough police picked up Mr. Milam in Ohio, where he waived extradition. He is charged with aggravated assault and simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment and is in the Wyoming County Correctional Facility in lieu of $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday in Tunkhannock.

Somewhat random thoughts on the election

The Democrats deserved it. There was no “change”. From the very beginning it was clear. If it were really change: Pelosi would have jettisoned Murtha – and O’Bama would have fired Geithner. If it were really change, the Inauguration would have been more modest.

And the notion of the Jonas Brothers hiding in the White House to surprise Malia and Sasha O’Bama on their first night there, is patently elitist.

Leadership is not trash talk or spin, photo-ops or junkets. It is first and foremost, setting example.

The Democrats and the Republicans have turned into a professional wrestling act. They attack and boast. Good versus Evil. We suck it up like adolescents. It seems we are stuck in a culture based on immaturity.

The campaign ads were despicable. They insult us all. If your solutions are so vapid or nonexistent that you have to throw mud, what kind of person are you? Certainly not a leader. None of you!

As far as the Marcellus Play, it is up to the citizens to demand a moratorium as the only sane plan. The politicos won’t do it on their own, the gravy train is too sweet.

At the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

We took mister NoFrack Sign along, hoping to raise some consciousness.  Also, we  knew there was always a possibility his image might make the national media.   At the very least, we thought him a conversation starter.

As we  walked to the National Mall, it became clear this event would include costumes, signs, and a festive sense of play.  The closer we got, the more we realized it would also to be well attended.

 

 

 

“I Screwed You All.  But Thanks for Blaming it on the Black Guy”

 

 

We were unable to get near the stage or jumbo-trons so we carried our sign along Constitution Avenue.  We were greeted by many call outs from New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia people.  We spoke with folks who were active in the fight, and we were formally interviewed by an area weekly.  People were constantly taking pictures of the sign and asking what it meant.  Many thought it was a reference to the television show Battle Star Galactica which, we were told, uses the word “frack” as a euphemism for the word  “f*ck”.   One guy even shouted out  “Yea, that’s right, stop using fake curse words!”

 

A Sierra Club member from New York State.

 

A mother and daughter from New Jersey.

A young man who inquired about the sign.

The crux of the matter.

 

 

Let freedom ring!

 

 

 

 

Polluter Harmony

Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end. ~Sid Caesar

MARC 1 PIPELINE – The end of the Endless Mountains?

Here is an urgent article from RDA. The comment period ends October 25th.:

MARC 1 PIPELINE
The end of the Endless Mountains?

Central New York Oil and Gas L.L.C., a subsidiary of Inergy L.P., has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for certification to build a pipeline named MARC 1 through Sullivan County. This would connect interstate gas transmission pipelines running east-west across the state though the counties of Lycoming, Clinton, Tioga, Bradford, Susquehanna, and others.

Permission for this line must be granted by FERC. If granted, pipeline construction that includes the right of eminent domain becomes a reality in the heart of the Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains. This large pipeline also guarantees “development zones” along its path, and thousands of gas wells with thousands more gathering lines will be constructed to meet up with MARC 1.

This project means an end to the Pennsylvania Wilds and Endless Mountains as we know them. Individual property owner’s rights, ecosystems, sustainable tourism revenue and jobs, and the quality of life for those who live in, travel through, and visit this region are at stake.

For example, one landowner along the route expressed concern over the fate of a 300-year-old tree. “Don’t worry,” a company representative told him. “We’ll pay you for the wood.”

RDA and other advocacy groups have thus far been unsuccessful in obtaining large numbers of people who care enough to make their voices heard. Join with us as we meet that challenge and speak out with a growing voice of outrage.

Comment period on permission for the pipeline ends on October 25th. We continually hear from RDA members asking, “What can I do?” Do this.

1. Contact FERC and express your concern over the environmental impact this pipeline will have on Pennsylvania’s ecosystems. (FERC’s involvement is only in the area of environmental risk assessment and only for this interstate line)
2. Forward this message to your friends and family and ask them to do the same

When contacting FERC, refer to Docket # :    CP10-480-000

Visit the FERC website by clicking here, then click on the orange e-Comment link.

You will be asked for your name and email and a capcha verification. Submitting that information will generate a message to your inbox providing a link to the comment section. You will need the Docket # to submit your comment.

If preferred, you may phone your comments to (202) 502-8258.

Request that this permit BE DENIED due to the impact that construction of this pipeline will have on the environment and ecosystems in Pennsylvania’s northern tier. You do not need to be an expert on the subject or to say more than that.

PLEASE – MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY.

UPDATE: Please follow the directions above.  They make you jump through hoops to file a comment but do persevere.

fracadelia

The amount of gas drilling vehicle violations in the Northern Tier were no surprise to many.  “Operation FracNET“ was a three day, five county State Police enforcement initiative that inspected 1,135 trucks with a reported focus on  residual waste trucks.  The results:  959 citations, 208 trucks placed out of service, 64 drivers taken out of service.   “The most common problems involved faulty brakes, exterior lighting issues and hauling permit violations.”  Glad to see the industry has been on top of things. 

By any management metric, these are sadly laughable results.  The three day enforcement was a brief and thin view into the daily complex operations of the gas play .  Do the same compliance rates exist throughout this industrial system? 

It is chaos.  It is bedlam.   Trucks upon trucks of traffic, blasting here, drilling there, fracking there, and there.  A thousand critical details go by each day without sufficient oversight. 

This  State Police initiative is welcome and appreciated.  It certainly makes a case for the lack of control the industry has on its transportation sector.  One can only extrapolate this dismal record to other aspects of  management’s purview.

Please note, there have been previous initiates with much the same disheartening results. Guess we taught them a thing or two. They won’t dare violate the law again…
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The corporation is not a person, it is a machine, it reads only numbers. It is fueled by numbers. It is run by numbers. It will die by numbers.

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This severance tax debate is comical. Some legislators applaud it as a hedge against environmental calamity. It is like getting a cancer injection and crying out  “Hooray! I have medical insurance!”

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“The gas industry wants the Senate to give them all  Pennsylvania properties which now have no gas leases.”   

– Clearville’s Blog

Clearville says:  Contact PA Senators before October 12, 2012, the gas industry wants properties with NO GAS LEASES!

STOP FORCED POOLING!
 

Senate emails:

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“If you love the Creator, you’ll love His Creation”

– Jonathan Meritt