Comments on: Fossil Fuels’ Damages Get Lost in the Gee Whiz Rhetoric https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2015/02/23/fossil-fuels-damages-get-lost-in-the-gee-whiz-rhetoric/ Just another WordPress site Wed, 14 Feb 2024 02:06:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: S. Thomas Bond https://www.frackcheckwv.net/2015/02/23/fossil-fuels-damages-get-lost-in-the-gee-whiz-rhetoric/#comment-161081 S. Thomas Bond Wed, 25 Feb 2015 03:37:14 +0000 http://www.frackcheckwv.net/?p=13908#comment-161081 The $630 billion figure in subsidies from the federal government probably doesn't include subsidies from the states and those forced from individual citizens by government. The benefits provided by the states in the form of lax and non-enforcement of regulations, favorable legislation, and bending constitutional property rights, such as confiscation by forced pooling are probably greater. Greater still are the anticipated contributions to the industry by people in shale drilling areas. Loss of property values on land all over the area, contaminated water in a larger portion of it, poisoned streams and mini-brownfields, endless health problems, diminished farm and forest returns with much additional labor required on farms, degraded life style, game made questionably safe, roads and traffic disrupted and more. And there's the white elephant in the room, global warming. Caused by hydrocarbon burning, Worst of all is the dimming of science caused by the carbon burning industry, limiting study of alternatives, instead of helping it. Disinformation such as influenced WVU President E. Gordon Gee, mentioned above. What is needed by society instead is a Manhattan Project-like effort to put the best brains to work on what everyone says we must eventually have, anyway. I'm thinking of progress for the future, not standing back without a viable long-range plan for the future. Tom The $630 billion figure in subsidies from the federal government probably doesn’t include subsidies from the states and those forced from individual citizens by government. The benefits provided by the states in the form of lax and non-enforcement of regulations, favorable legislation, and bending constitutional property rights, such as confiscation by forced pooling are probably greater.

Greater still are the anticipated contributions to the industry by people in shale drilling areas. Loss of property values on land all over the area, contaminated water in a larger portion of it, poisoned streams and mini-brownfields, endless health problems, diminished farm and forest returns with much additional labor required on farms, degraded life style, game made questionably safe, roads and traffic disrupted and more.

And there’s the white elephant in the room, global warming. Caused by hydrocarbon burning, Worst of all is the dimming of science caused by the carbon burning industry, limiting study of alternatives, instead of helping it. Disinformation such as influenced WVU President E. Gordon Gee, mentioned above. What is needed by society instead is a Manhattan Project-like effort to put the best brains to work on what everyone says we must eventually have, anyway.

I’m thinking of progress for the future, not standing back without a viable long-range plan for the future.

Tom

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