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Originally Posted by dyna mo
Dick Cheney's company did not invent fracking. George Mitchell via his company, Mitchell Energy, invented fracking.
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Hair splitting time again?
From Halliburton.com:
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At the forefront of this revolution is a technology known as hydraulic fracturing, a well stimulation practice first pioneered by Halliburton in the 1940s.
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From the American Society of Mechanical Engineering:
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According to a 2010 fracking history by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the idea of non-explosive alternatives to nitroglycerin took root in the 1930s. Experiments through the next decade paved the way for the first industrial-scale commercial uses of the modern patented ?Hydrafrac? process in 1949, with Halliburton holding an exclusive license in the early years.
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George Mitchell, who died recently at 94, is often credited as the Father of Fracking, since his company made the hydrafrac process economically feasible.
The larger, significantly more important issue than who invented fracking, is regulation.
You support fracking, so I take it you may be aware of what is known as the "Halliburton Loophole"; for the benefit of those unaware, from Scientific American:
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In 2005 Congress?at the behest of then Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of gas driller Halliburton?exempted fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
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From the New York Times:
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Among the many dubious provisions in the 2005 energy bill was one dubbed the Halliburton loophole, which was inserted at the behest of ? you guessed it ? then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a former chief executive of Halliburton.
It stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. Invented by Halliburton in the 1940s, it involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, some of them toxic, into underground rock formations to blast them open and release natural gas.
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This bill exempted fluids used in the natural gas extraction process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) from protections under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and CERCLA.
It created a loophole that exempts companies drilling for natural gas from disclosing the chemicals involved in fracking operations that would normally be required under federal clean water laws ? see exemptions for hydraulic fracturing under United States federal law.
The loophole is commonly known as the "Halliburton loophole" since former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney was reportedly instrumental in its passage.
The proposed Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act would repeal these exemptions.
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Even George Mitchell, shortly before he died, indicated that more regulation of fracking is required:
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?The administration is trying to tighten up controls,? he told me. ?I think it?s a good idea. They should have very strict controls. The Department of Energy should do it.?
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So why did Mitchell think fracking needs to be better controlled? ?Because if they don?t do it right there could be trouble,? he said. There?s no excuse not to get it right. ?There are good techniques to make it safe that should be followed properly,? he said. But, the smaller, independent drillers, ?are wild.?
?It?s tough to control these independents. If they do something wrong and dangerous, they should punish them,? Mitchell said. All of them ?know how to set up a proper well and do the proper technology.? But a few bad actors could ruin the entire industry.
Mitchell dismissed any concern that the costs to drillers of abiding by a barrage of fracking regulations would be egregious. After all, any extra costs associated with best practices?assuming all producers follow them?would be passed on in the price of natural gas.
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For those who want to learn more about the dangers of fracking, what the controversy is about, and what can be done about it, I recommend checking out "Gasland: The Movie", and the website:
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/take-...hting-fracking
ADG