On September 21, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) committed yet another embarrassing blunder, this time on a Democrat fundraising visit to Colorado. As reported by the Energy Depth site, she misinterpreted a heat readout from an infrared camera sensor as “toxic fumes.” She tweeted that “What we’re seeing is appalling. Companies are building fracking sites on public lands, across the street from schools + homes. Their toxic emissions are invisible. This camera sees them.”
That wasn’t the extent of her error. Fracking isn’t even being conducted on the site she examined.
Public debates on key issues are healthy affairs. However, when blatantly incorrect or intentionally misleading information is employed, it is a major disservice to the nation. That has been occurring with extraordinary frequency in the discussion over fracking.
Opponents to the energy extraction process known as hydrofracking have based their position on six objections this activity, which has extraordinarily enriched many states, created vast employment opportunities, helped the environment by providing a clean source of fuel, and given the United States a desperately needed boost towards energy independence.
First, they describe a threat to potable water, mostly based on potential spills and other possible accidents resulting from hurricanes and other problems. Independent research and experience indicates otherwise, fortunately. A far more realistic threat to our drinking water comes from leaked and spilled oil and antifreeze from vehicles on our roadways. If we were to follow the extremist’s criteria, we would be forced to close down not only fracking in those states where it occurs but also a major portion of the roads throughout America. The extremists describe myths about radioactivity that have been completely proven to be false.
Second, fracking is criticized because many of the jobs created are not long-range permanent. That is quite true. But many states are desperately in need of employment, and local governments are in desperate need of revenue. The employment opportunities, seen regionally, are not that short-term. The major local revenue they produce will allow urgently required local needs to be addressed. Look at it this way: If you were to win a million dollars in the lottery, the income would also be considered a one-shot, but it would certainly address your financial problems.
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Fourth, critics maintain if the process was done safely, it wouldn’t be profitable. If every extremist, over-the-top concern of every industrial process were to be subjected to what the extremists considered “safe,” there wouldn’t be a single profitable venture in the nation.
Fifth, it’s pointed out that some earthquake readings have been detected in areas where fracking takes place. There is some merit in a strictly technical sense. But not only have the readings been well within the not-even noticeable range, they are fairly characteristic of many activities. If there is a new water line being emplaced in your community, for example, the digging produces readings that could also be considered “earthquakes.”
Sixth, concern is expressed over the release of methane. Methane is a natural substance also produced by cows and other mammals when they release gas by farting. Unless a law is successfully passed against farting, methane is here to stay.
There have been numerous falsehoods created by those with a political or financial interest in keeping the U.S. from being freed from reliance on foreign oil. One story circulated about how several workers were killed working on a fracking job. It turns out they were driving a truck on an icy road, skidded, and sadly lost their lives. Another famous myth was that in a town near a fracking site fire came out of a local facet. That turned out to be false, as well.
The problems presented by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, and those on the left who share her agenda, extend far beyond fracking. They are poisoning America’s public discourse, unnecessarily dividing the nation with false information, and creating division over crises that are either extensively exaggerated or not even existing at all.
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