Fracking Letter to the Editor

The Columbus Dispatch declined to publish this:

"Your article on May 8 about the proposed legislation oil and gas drilling on State parks was very timely. It showed that the quarrel is about a small potential gain in the Budget. But there is also the concern for the health and safety consequences of drilling. Pennsylvania is the current focus of development and many accidents have occurred, including a gas-well blowout in Moshannon State Forest. Right now Ohio is on the fringe of drilling. But there has already been an explosion in Geauga County; a house was blown off of its foundation and drinking water was contaminated. Adding to the problem is a new technique called horizontal fracking, which allows one well to do the job of twenty (and cause twenty times the damage when an accident occurs). Because of its greater efficiency, horizontal fracking is called a game changer by drilling advocates. My fear is that the game will change from shuffleboard to demolition derby."