What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!
Over the past three years, the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Alliance (NBASGA) has examined peer-reviewed science, reliable independent research and anecdotal evidence on the effects of the development of the unconventional shale oil and gas industry. We’ve provided summaries of our conclusions below. www.KentSouthNSG.blogspot.ca contains links to more detailed examinations on each topic.
Public Health studies document serious health threats to populations in development areas – particularly pregnant women, children and seniors. The explosion in this unconventional method of shale gas extraction is relatively new and the effects are still emerging. Existing development areas have reported similar health findings, lending additional support to the studies. This issue alone is reason enough to call for a moratorium.
Jobs in the shale industry will not solve our employment problem. The gas industry provides fewer jobs than any other energy-related industry. Studies from places where the industry has existed for years calculate only 2 to 4 jobs per well, making little difference to the overall economies. On the other hand, investments in clean energy industries have created many varied and permanent jobs across all economic sectors and geographical areas.
Water Contamination can occur as a result of drilling, well failures, storage facility leaks, pipeline breaks, well-pad and truck accidents, natural catastrophes and illegal dumping. Exposure to methane, fracking fluid chemicals, natural toxins and radiation causes obvious health problems and impacts on drinking water supplies. It also harms agricultural lands, animals and the environment. Incidents of contamination occur everywhere extraction takes place and have been well-documented by regulatory agencies, as well as the scientific community, and reported in multiple media sources.
Air Pollution has been measured hundreds of miles from its source, so people living outside development areas can still be affected. As one researcher [name?] noted, “Water contamination is a possibility, air contamination is a certainty.” Rural areas with no industry other than gas and oil have reported some of the highest pollution levels in North America. The Lung Society blames millions of dollars in health costs on the ground-level ozone smog that accompanies this industry. Residents living near existing oil and gas fields in southern NB have already reported problems with air quality, long before full-scale development has even begun.
Wastewater and Solid Waste Disposal is a problem for which New Brunswick and the industry currently have no safe solutions. The fracking process creates millions of litres of wastewater containing chemicals, naturally occurring toxic materials, and often radioactivity. The nearest treatment facility in Debert, NS can no longer accept fracking wastewater due to public outcry. Trucking this vast amount of waste to faraway places increases the chance of spills, is expensive and so encourages illegal dumping. Treatment plants and processes have been found to be inadequate to deal with many of the substances and radioactivity in this waste.
Water Usage The fresh water required for fracking is enormous – roughly 4 million litres per frack. About 20% of that water comes back to the surface and it is too contaminated to be reused for human purposes. This and the 80% remaining in the ground are permanently lost from the water cycle. The extraction of large volumes of fresh water creates problems in dry areas during droughts or low flow times, and creates competition with farming and drinking water needs. The government of BC is being sued for allowing overuse of the province’s water.
Roads and Bridges Infrastructure will suffer severe damage from heavy truck traffic necessary to support the shale gas industry which is intensely destructive. The cost of repair is often greater than the royalties the government receives from the industry. Shattered roads and traffic congestion also impact emergency services, school buses and daily commutes, and lead to increases in motor vehicle accidents. The costs of infrastructure repair will be borne by all New Brunswick taxpayers.
Tourism naturally suffers from presence of industrial activity in tourist areas, degraded road conditions and traffic congestion, and environmental degradation. This, in turn, impacts local businesses. The Bay of Fundy, Kouchibouguac National Park and other of the province’s premier tourist attractions border oil and gas lease areas. The infrastructure required and the continuous road repair will fragment landscapes, cause silting in fishing streams, and decrease hunting and snowmobiling areas. Year after year, tourism is one of the largest contributors of taxes and jobs to New Brunswick’s economy and shale gas could permanently damage it.
Hospitals and Healthcare Systems become burdened and stressed with an influx of out of province workers who do not pay local income taxes. This industry is extremely dangerous, with a fatality rate seven times greater than the average of all industries. Elsewhere emergency room visits have increased by as much as 400%. The increased costs to the healthcare system will be borne by all New Brunswick taxpayers.
Boom and Bust Economies are the norm. An initial boom provides a spurt of economic activity, followed by an inevitable crash as the resource runs out. With shale oil and gas development, the boom period is short-lived. Wells deplete quickly, so that most are uneconomical after only 5 years. Communities are left worse off economically than they were before the boom.
Social Ills accompany boom-bust industries. Drunk driving and assault crimes generally skyrocket along with prostitution and drug use. The cost of living increases as workers arrive and compete for housing, food and other necessities. This directly affects fixed income seniors, low wage earning residents. Homelessness and poverty increase as the gap widens between those with higher paying jobs and those without.
NB Rules and Regulations will not protect or compensate for damages to health or property. They cannot protect against human error or change the laws of physics or geology. Many rules have conditions and loopholes, are incomplete, do not reflect the latest science, and do more to protect the industry than the citizenry. No rules have been adequate anywhere.
Climate Change is the most critical problem facing the world. Scientists say we must leave 2/3 of known fossil fuel reserves in the ground to avert catastrophe. The methane emissions from extraction processes, as well as the energy produced will quicken climate change. New Brunswick has already experienced severe weather events and rising sea levels.
If you have questions or wish to receive information updates, please email us at noshalegascocagne@gmail.com or call us at 506-743-6582.
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