Toxic Waters

Four Water Trucks Pouring Water Everywhere

There have been many reports of ground water wells that have become toxic due to the oil and/or gas wells leaking waste water into the ground. Some of this water is from Hydraulic Fracturing better known as fracking. They pump the chemical water down in the hole, but they pump so much water into the hole that it fractures the shale rock. After they make the hole the size they want, they pump the chemical water back out of the ground and take the water that they now call toxic waste, then they inject the toxic waste deep into the ground where it stays there supposedly not bothering anyone. Then there is the water that is taken to a “Land Farm,” there they have big lined ponds where they pump all of this water, which is called produced water, into the lined ponds to let the water settle. After it has settled they spray the toxic waste water out onto the open ground to dispose of. Most of these “Land Farms” are in flood prone areas; several are beside fields that are food crops, some are used to graze cattle on. I have attached a video of some of the toxic waste trucks that are just letting it pour out onto the ground instead of containing the toxic waste. Also, I have included a video of a man who is talking about how they are suppose to be digging holes for the ash to be buried but instead they are just dropping them off or just barely digging to get rid of them. Then when there is a little water run over it it is exposed. This “ash” is where they have pumped out the toxic waste water and the “ash” is a lot of the chemicals condensed into a solid form.

Southwestern Energy

I have been doing research to try and find out if the drilling of oil/gas around Faulkner County is connected to the multiple earthquakes they have been having. In some of my research I have found out that Southwestern Energy and many other oil/gas companies use what is called Hydraulic Fracturing or as some know it as Fracking. What takes place when these companies Frack is when they have pumped out all of the oil/gas from where they have drilled at, they pump water with chemicals into the pockets left there. But what happens is they pump so much water into these pockets that it induces micro-earthquakes fracturing the shell rock so that it will connect all of the pockets together, therefore increasing the amount of oil/gas that is gathered. Josh Fox is going to speak at Hendrix college about Fracking. Hendrix has ask a representative to come from Southwestern Energy, which their head quarters are practically on Hendrix’s campus, to come and listen to the speech but for some reason they have decided not to go. Hendrix said they would save them a seat anyway. I have decided to attach a link to a blog that talks about “Arkansans for Gas Drilling Accountability” (title). This blog is very accountable and has many videos about Fracking and how it endangering our environment, there is one part in the blog that is talking about how the water wells at some peoples’ houses have become toxic and can not be used due to chemicals that have leaked into them from drilling. Arkansans for Gas Drilling Accountability

Corporations

I believe some corporations could become too powerful if allowed. If large corporations were given too much power they could change to United States as we know it. They could change the wages people are paid, the amount of hours people work, and the age of which they can start working, for instance child labor. I think large corporations need basic laws. I also believe large corporations are very important in our society. They provide many of the jobs over the whole world and they can make a mass amount of product a lot faster and cheaper than a smaller corporation. Some corporations take advantage of their size and try to buy out people and things unlike some of the smaller corporations or businesses that can not afford to do something that a large corporation can do. For instance, predatory pricing, which is illegal but do not always get caught. Predatory pricing is where a large corporation will lower a price on a certain product so low that they will be breaking even or losing money just to make a smaller competing business go broke because they can not buy in bulk or lose money on a certain product like a large corporation can. For an example, there was a case a few years back were Wal-Mart had bought a certain type of medicine in bulk and lowered the price so much that they were losing money to try and put a smaller local pharmacy out of business because they didn't want to have any competition. They ended up getting into trouble for predatory pricing.
     Walmart Lawsuit

Erin Brockovich

Erin Brockovich is a determined woman. So during the movie I have watched is her trying to prove that a large corporation has leaked toxins into the ground water of a house that is too close. Leading to the parents of the house to get cancer, they also have two daughters that are not showing signs yet. While Erin was going through the case she noticed that the paperwork for the case included medical exams and blood work that had been done on the family. She noticed that a certain toxin was in all four blood levels of the people in the house. She decided to investigate further because it just seemed extremely unordinary for medical exams and blood work to show up in the paperwork for a real estate investigation. After, she noticed the toxins in their bloodstream she went to UCLA to ask one of the medical professors how it would effect a person with a certain amount of the toxin in their blood level. Come to find out that the amount that was in their blood level was so high that it more than likely caused the cancer the parents had. She went to look at some of the water records from the corporation. Giving her reason to believe that the corporation knows about the ground water having toxins in it and they were trying to buy the real estate so they wouldn't have to deal with a mess if someone investigated and found out the truth. Therefore, meaning that large corporations in general can be known to have too much power and they tend to try and buy their way out of problems instead of just taking the precautions to keep the problems from happening. I do not know much of anything else about this movie so far, she is just getting her job back when my professor stopped the movie, but when I find out more I will blog about it. :)