The American Petroleum Institute has produced a series of radio, print, video and web ads aimed in order to, "urge the Obama administration to keep the current ozone standards rather than implementing new ones."
Originally posted at EarthyRobot.com
The Natural Resources Defense Council discusses the top five most outrageous claims from the newest ad from API, but we will take a look at one specifically aimed at fracking safety.
An ad from Energy from Shale (sponsored in part by API), centers around the owner of a Washington, Pennsylvania coffee and bakery shop, Chicco Baccello. In the video, Laura Ross, claims that, "we all know fracking will help the town." She continues on, pondering about protecting the land and the water and states that she looked into it and that "fracking has been done safely for over 65 years". There are no supporting facts. We should just take her word for it?
According to a Ceres.Org report: Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Stress: Water Demand by the Numbers, "Fifty-six percent of the oil and gas wells in the U.S. were in regions experience short- to long-term drought as of January 7, 2014."
After discussing the county's population growth from the shale-gas industry, a local newspaper article quotes the original shop owner, Mark Kennison, as saying, "There's a lot of money coming in."
Nearly half (47%) of oil and gas wells recently hydraulically fractured in the U.S. are in regions with high or extremely high water stress. - Ceres Report
Is the greatest voice for the fracking industry a coffee shop owner with a vested financial interest in her town? Um.