What the frack? US natural gas drilling method contaminates water?

I try to include positive things in my blog but I have a responsibililty to comment when things are not as they may seem.  I can't help but believe this is one of those situations.  Protection comes from education and action.  Whatever your opinion, please take the time to make it an informed one. The honest answer is I haven't yet made a determination for myself but the items in this chart can't be good for our water and environment. - Billy

A controversial new method of natural-gas drilling, embraced rapidly across the US, has contaminated water supplies with radioactive waste, according to an investigation by the New York Times. The paper said internal documents from the Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators showed that the dangers to the public from the drilling method – hydraulic fracturing – were greater than previously understood.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses huge volumes of water, chemicals and sand injected into rock at high pressure to release natural gas. Its development has unleashed a natural gas boom in the US and around the world. But the NYT said the waste water contained dangerously high levels of radioactivity. It was being sent to treatment plants that were not designed to deal with or being discharged into rivers that supply drinking water.

The NYT said its main findings included:
• More than 1.3bn gallons of waste water was produced by Pennsylvania wells over the past three years, far more than has been previously disclosed. Most of this water – enough to cover Manhattan in three inches – was sent to treatment plants not equipped to remove many of the toxic materials in drilling waste.

• At least 12 sewage treatment plants in three states accepted gas industry waste water and discharged waste that was only partly treated into rivers, lakes and streams.

• Of more than 179 wells producing waste water with high levels of radiation, at least 116 reported levels of radium or other radioactive materials 100 times as high as the levels set by federal drinking-water standards. At least 15 wells produced waste water carrying more than 1,000 times the amount of radioactive elements considered acceptable.

The investigation comes amid growing concern about the potential dangers of natural gas drilling as it spreads from western states to the more densely populated north-east. The investigative website ProPublica has published an extensive series on the threats to water supplies from hydraulic fracturing. It has also raised doubts about whether natural gas can indeed offer a solution to climate change, noting that the mining process is extremely energy and water intensive.

The dangers of natural gas drilling were also the subject of a gritty documentary, Gasland, which was nominated for an Academy Award. The film's director , Josh Fox, told the Guardian: "All these things are starting to add up in a very clear picture of a massive failure to protect public health."

Hartwick Pines to Host Three Snowshoe-Lacing Workshops

Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling is hosting three two-day snowshoe-lacing workshops Feb. 26 and 27. This is your chance to lace your own pair of snowshoes. All three workshops will be held at the Michigan Forest Visitor Center at Hartwick Pines. The workshop fee is $180, which includes all materials and equipment needed to make one pair of Ojibwe-style snowshoes with a pointed toe and pointed heel. Class size is limited and reservations are required. To make a reservation, call Theresa Neal at 906-492-3415. For more information about the workshops, including photos, go online to www.michigan.gov/dnrevisitorcenters and click on Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

What is a Michigan Man?

Most people who know me are aware that after high school I attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  I loved every moment I spent at U of M and given the opportunity would choose to be a Wolverine every time.  (No offense to my Spartan or Buckeye friends).

I learned so much and am very proud of my accomplishments in college.  I was privileged to work directly for some of the legendary coaches like Bo Schembechler, Red Berenson, and John Urbanckek, all true Michigan men.

Over the years I have often been asked what qualifies one as a Michigan Man.  The recent search for a football coach exposed some interesting viewpoints by many although most reporters have no idea what they are talking about in this regard (or others for that matter).

For me the answer is simple...it isn't a tenure or a position or even some grand accomplishment...it is a thought process, one I have seldom seen as blatantly as I did at Michigan.  It is a whole-hearted belief that the program is above all else and that no person is more important than the team. 

It is the knowledge that doing something the right way - with class and devotion - is more important than the final outcome.  It is knowing that you can lay your head on the pillow each night knowing you did your best for yourself, your team, and your program without compromise and that you are proud of each person associated with you.  It is never about me first...it is always about:

The Team. The Team. The Team. 

It is a lesson I grasp tightly.  I hope each day I live my life this way.  I hope I pull, push, drag, carry, lead, coax - whatever it takes - each person in my life toward this mindset.  The irony is that it is exactly the value set my parents instilled in me and I saw Bo instill into many.  I am so thankful to have been taught this lesson and to have seen how to share it with others.  Go Blue!