To: President Donald Trump, The Michigan State House, The Michigan State Senate, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Protect our freshwater!
Ban the theft and poisoning of our most precious natural resource, our freshwater, by banning hydraulic fracturing.
Why is this important?
Hydraulic fracturing must be banned to protect the largest source of above-ground freshwater in the world, the Great Lakes and their feeder water system inside the State of Michigan, from use by hydraulic fracturing companies seeking to drill for natural gas in Michigan shale. Every time a well is "fracked" 3 to 5 or more million(Chesapeake Energy states 5 million is average) gallons of water are poisoned and lost to us forever. Chesapeake also says, "Use of this water in natural gas and oil operations is a one-time use, and does not represent a long-term commitment of the resource. Other water users typically consume water for years, decades or even longer.
How Much Is 5 Million Gallons?The 5 million gallons of water needed to drill and fracture a typical deep shale gas or oil well is equivalent to the amount of water consumed by:
New York City in approximately seven minutes
A 1,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant in 12 hours
A golf course in 25 days
7.5 acres of corn in a season
While these represent continuing consumption, the water used for a natural gas or oil well is a one-time use."
The only problem with their information is that water used for those things is RETURNED TO THE WATER CYCLE for our use again. Their "one-time use" is a permanent loss of water. When they add frack chemicals to it, it is gone. Lost...lost....lost.