We are calling for a ban on shale gas fracking in the municipality of London, Ontario. Since this London ban would not protect either the city's Great Lakes water supplies, or the farmlands around our region, we also are calling on the municipal government to support a province-wide ban on shale gas fracking.
The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing poses many threats to our health and environment. Even with strict regulatory oversight, toxic fracking fluid is bound to be released around shale gas wells -- either through above-ground spills, or as these chemicals are injected into wells, or after some of the fracking waste by-products are removed from the wells to be taken elsewhere. We also cannot guarantee that methane and radium will not be released into surrounding waters during fracking. It is inevitable that methane, a greenhouse gas, would leak out of these wells; and shale fracking always would require vast amounts of fresh water. In addition, there would be risks of explosions or earthquakes, and we can expect air pollution around drilling sites -- along with increased truck traffic and industrialization, as well as deforestation.
Although new regulations can reduce some of the impacts from fracking, the process always will be too dangerous and wasteful. We also should not expect oil and gas companies to continuously respect any regulatory standards that would undercut their profit margins, and the municipality also should not have to pay to monitor and enforce standards for fracking operations.
There are much better options. We should be prioritizing sustainable and clean conservation and alternative energy projects.
For more information, visit http://stopfrackingontario.org
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