Republicans Sustainable?

Apparently the State Republican Committee has arrived to the party.  They finally read Agenda 21.  We can hear it now, the whole party will be called conspiracy theorists.  Those who speak the truth are usually called something...

Check it out on Arlington Voice.com.  Again, it doesn't matter what "party" you belong to, YOUR kids will be the ones who suffer.  Educate yourself, if nothing else, for them. 

On March 31, 2012, the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) adopted, as part of the Texas Republican Party platform, a resolution in “opposition to United Nations Sustainable Development and all entities involved in the implementation of such programs.” In the two-page document, the SREC outlines the threat posed to our fundamental American rights by Sustainable Development and Smart Growth programs, most notably, the right to the ownership of private property.

The resolution states that Sustainable Development is intended to “abrogate and overthrow the natural individual rights and liberties of the people,” and describes it as a “European style of socialism.” In the European model, privately held property is not viewed as an absolute right, but rather as a privilege granted by the government. The resolution further explains that the United States was conceived, and has sense prospered as a nation, due to its dedication to individual rights, including the right to own and enjoy property. It affirms that the people of Texas “subscribe entirely to the vision of freedom and property and self-government under Nature and Nature’s God.”

In the resolution, the SREC takes aim at many organizations that are coming under growing public scrutiny, including the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the Council of Governments, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with local municipalities to implement the goals of a United Nations program titled “Agenda 21.”

What property rights?

Read the letter from Calvin Tillman concerning State Representative Bonnen and Texas property rights.

...You can own and peacefully enjoy your property, as long as someone with more money doesn't want it.

More Connections

Today the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells you about a large land purchase.  Land that's being drilled on, lots of it.  Of course only the surface rights were for sale.

WHO would buy that much land?  Michael Mallick.  110 drilling sites, thousands of acres, millions of dollars.  Apple REIT Nine.  Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

We looked for some Mallick info, not surprisingly, the Fort Worth Weekly had some. 

Project developer Michael Mallick is Anglo, with offices on the west side of town. Those opposing Hicks and Mallick on the project are a few black business leaders, led by controversial real estate developer Leonard Briscoe, Sr., who went to prison in the 90s for illegal kickbacks. He contends that black developers like him are being aced out of projects in favor of white, politically connected developers like Mallick.

She points to the two Mallick Group developments on the map. The Sierra Vista development will provide about 230 new single-family homes on the site of the old Riverside Village apartment complex, plus retail sites nearby. About a mile to the east. the Masonic Home property will be transformed into about 500 homes plus 63 acres of commercial development. There will also be 16 acres set aside for natural gas drilling. Hicks helped broker a deal earlier this year that created a tax increment financing district to include both Mallick Group properties. As tax income to the city increases because of the development, the extra dollars will pay for infrastructure improvements — perhaps one of the few instances when Fort Worth has used the TIF device in the kind of blighted area it was intended for. The East Berry TIF could produce as much as $10 million for things like streets and sewers in what will be known as Masonic Heights, bounded by Wichita and East Berry streets and Mitchell Boulevard. Homes likely will sell for $140,000 to $200,000.

Oakhurst being runover

By TXDOT, the City of Fort Worth and the gas drillers.

Sounds like a bad joke, but it's true.  Just another day in paradise.

WHO is in charge??

Read about it in the Fort Worth Weekly.

Residents in the Oakhurst neighborhood feel like they’re living a scene out of Cool Hand Luke — “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” They say a disconnect between city officials, the Texas Department of Transportation, and Chesapeake Energy is causing the planned expansion of I-35 to encroach on their historic area just northeast of downtown.

The city approved a drilling permit at the northwest corner of I-35 and Northside Drive several years ago, and Chesapeake built its pad site in the path of the proposed expansion of that traffic-clogged highway. So TxDOT recently altered its longtanding plans, moving the project to the east (neighborhood) side of the freeway, to avoid 10 wellheads on the west side of I-35.

The reason the state agency is favoring the drillers over the neighborhood? Existence of the wells means that the cost of expanding the freeway on the west side may have vastly increased.

TxDOT project manager John Tillinghast said he didn’t know why city officials allowed Chesapeake to build wellheads in the highway’s path.

“We never were informed by the City of Fort Worth that this property owner wanted to develop the property,” he said. “We’ve never encountered this before.”

Oakhurst resident David Collyer said it’s just another example of the gas industry’s influence at city hall.

“The city is going to let Chesapeake have first rights, even if they have to run the highway closer to the neighborhood,” he said. “Chesapeake has got the city council in their back pocket.”

“That never came up,” Espino said. “It was my understanding that the highway would be widened away from the neighborhood. No one from city staff or TxDOT brought this up.”

“This is the reality of having drilling in your city and how it affects your land-use plans,” Bradbury said.

Just say no

To fracking.  That's what the subject of another New York Times post is about.  This time in Andes, N.Y.

If a reporter calls something "inspiring", YOU might want to pay attention.

There might be limited short-term benefits to a few, but the boom will be followed by a bust, and when it is all over “people won’t want to live here anymore.”

There was agreement that regulation wasn’t the answer, first because no regulation could prevent the disasters that come along inevitably with a project this large, and second because the state couldn’t be counted on either to pass or enforce regulations: “I can’t trust an industry that has got itself exempted from the air and clean water act.”

Unacceptable

No, not just the new rating on the Trinity River levees in Fort Worth by the Corp of Engineers, but the relationship between the Corp of Engineers and the Tarrant Regional Water District.  You know, those that have partnered with the Trinity River Vision Authority and stand to make a billion or two.  Of YOUR money.

In 2003, the same Corp reported the levees were good, needing only $10 million dollars to fix those that weren't.  WHAT happened in the past 8 years?  Not much, except the cost of the Trinity River Vision skyrocketed.

Yet another ploy in the boondoggle to try and grab more federal money.  Hey project "leaders", the feds don't have any money.  Neither do the citizens that you want to pay for the rest.

As for THE PEOPLE, it's time to get YOUR head out of the sand, and their hand out of YOUR wallet.

Read the latest fluff piece in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Don't miss the comments from THE PEOPLE.  They speak volumes.

The Army Corps of Engineers rated most of the levees along Fort Worth's Trinity River floodways unacceptable Tuesday but said the levee system is among the best-maintained in the country.

Water district board member Marty Leonard expressed confidence in the partnership between the district and the corps.

"I think we've worked so closely with them through the years and still are continuing to do that that we will not have a problem resolving any issues," Leonard said.

Leonard said she believes that many issues brought up in the inspection may be directly addressed by the Trinity River Vision, the flood-control and economic-development project that will run along the Trinity from the near north side to Gateway Park.

Guess that answers that...

Earlier today we asked, again, WHO owns the roads in Texas?

Terri Hall from TURF answers.

Rick Perry tied to Agenda 21, globalist policies.  Read it all below, YOU can't afford not to.

Property rights shredded

The Trans Texas Corridor, and P3s in general, represent an imminent threat to private property rights. While lawmakers repealed the Trans Texas Corridor from state statute only months ago due to the public backlash, the re-named corridor (‘Innovative Connectivity Plan’) and its threat to property rights lives on through P3s. Two such projects underway by a Spanish developer, Cintra, will charge Texans 75 cents per mile in tolls (nearly $13 a day while Perry claims he hasn’t raised taxes or indebted Texans to foreign creditors) to access lanes on two public interstates -- I-635 and I-820. A third project being developed by the same company for two segments on SH 130 is, perhaps, the only leg of the Trans Texas Corridor TTC-35 project that will ever be built.

Dan Shelley worked for Cintra, who had its sites set on developing the Trans Texas Corridor. Shelley lands a job as Perry’s aide, steers the $7 billion corridor P3 to his former employer Cintra, then goes back to work for Cintra. That’s how Perry does business -- pay to play.

Calling Grand Prairie....

And Lewisville, and Flower Mound, and....are YOU next?

In January, we told you the gas drillers were coming.

Today, you get a heads up from a South Grand Prairie Watchdog.

Beware.

People in Grand Prairie need to look into RULE 37 that lets the gas company take your mineral rights without any compensation. BEWARE if you receive a letter from the Railroad Commission. If you do not file protest within the short period of time the RRC will give the gas company the ok to suck the minerals out from under your property. South Grand Prairie is currently under siege by the gas company and these letters are showing up. You MUST fight for your rights.

In addition to filing the protest, you'll have to drive to Austin to contest it.

And they are coming for you too, Lewisville.  Consider yourself warned.

Check out the Rule 37 cases in Flower Mound.  And learn a thing or two about WHO is connected, here.

There's a reason

They call him the Watchdog.

See Don Young watching out for YOU concerning seismic testing  in Fort Worth here and concerning the Trinity Trees here.

Lone Star sends thanks to DY and all the other Watchdogs out there!!  Keep up the good work!

WHO does Fort Worth belong to?

YOU decide.

Click here to see how many gas wells have been drilled in North Texas. 

Don't worry, the industry and their political friends say it's safe and everyone is going to make money...

PAYING Attention

Not all are sheep asleep.  At least a few are standing up for YOU.  Too bad a forced pool is the only kind of pool Fort Worth has.

Read the letters in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Gas leases

"Protecting property owners' mineral rights," my foot. (See: Wednesday commentary)

The Railroad Commission's Rule 37 is confiscatory and antithetical to the principles under which this nation was founded. The separate Mineral Interest Pooling Act, if twisted in the way Glenn Johnson and Chesapeake Energy are trying to distort it, will be even worse.

What about the mineral rights of the victims of these predators? A Rule 37 exception just takes their minerals with no compensation whatever.

And in the present economy, is failure to sign a lease going to prevent production of someone's minerals? No!

Why? Because the sales price of gas is too low to recover drilling costs now, and nobody wants to sell their gas in a glutted market anyway. All the investor publications say so.

Chesapeake is filing cases with the Railroad Commission not to facilitate production but to consolidate all the land in a unit cheaply and hold it for speculation.

They are not completing wells and gathering pipelines now. They are posturing on the drilling pads and drilling a few hundred feet and calling that a good-faith effort to produce in order to hold their existing leases.

When the market once again supports profitable drilling and production, perhaps those unleased mineral owners will see a reason to lease.

-- Jerry J. Lobdill, Fort Worth

Anyone who believes Chesapeake Energy is just a benevolent organization that wants everyone to participate in the production of this wonderful Barnett Shale is what I call a fool.

Chesapeake is neither a benevolent nor a philanthropic organization bent on giving money away without any strings attached.

The fact is that the precedent for "force pooling" unleased mineral interests is already outlined in what is commonly referred to as the "Finley Resources" decision from the Railroad Commission (Oil and Gas Docket No. 09-0252373).

Within that decision the Railroad Commission has ruled that if Chesapeake wants to force pool unleased mineral owners it may do so in this way: (1) the owners of unleased tracts within the unit are pooled as owners of a one-fifth royalty and four-fifths working interest, proportionately reduced; (2) the mineral owner's share of expenses, subject to a zero risk penalty, are payable only from the four-fifths of production rather than from their entire mineral interest.

This latest attempt by Chesapeake is to simply reverse the Finley decision with one that is -- again -- in its interest only.

Fools do seem to abound these days.

-- Louis McBee, Fort Worth

Saltwater Disposal Hell

Oops, Well.  The word is well.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports on the city council meeting about extending the moratorium for Saltwater disposal wells in Fort Worth for gas drilling. 

Since 2002, urban gas drilling has seeped into almost every corner of Fort Worth, Tarrant County and surrounding counties to the north, south and west. But we still don't have a good way to deal with the 3.5 million gallons or so of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing at each of those wells or the "produced water" that comes up out of the hole afterward.

The standard way is to inject it back into another hole dug into a formation even deeper than the mile-deep, gas-rich Barnett Shale. But some people call that pollution -- gas well wastewater has a salt content about three times that of seawater. Some scientists have even blamed deep injection wells for minor earthquakes in North Texas.

Our favorite part of the report?  A comment from a citizen living near a drill site.  

I married a Texan, moved here a few years ago. I have a BS degree in zoology and a certificate in Environmental Engineering Technology. I come from Alberta, known for natural gas drilling as well as oil patch drilling. What I have seen here is a joke, an environmental disaster.

They put a well in right at the edge of our property, 5 1/2 acres south of Fort Worth. I have been watching the construction, drilling and operation. Of course we get money from the company, very little actually. It is not even worth the smell, noise and damage they have done to our land. After everyone from Mansfield ISD to Tarrant County take their cuts, we get pocket change. Now we have bottom feeding lawyers and ambulance chasers sending us collection notices on taxes from every Tom, Dick and Harry out there that wants a cut.

I watched the construction and they took about every big shortcut they could. There is NO Environmental oversight what so ever. During the injection, they built a large Tailing Pond at the edge of our property. They did not use a liner, not bentonite nor plastic, in it's construction. The water was dumped in there to soak into the soil and evaporate. Afterwards it has been filled in, to hide the evidence I would guess. We have lost over 25 old growth oak trees in the space of 1 1/2 years. They have poisoned our ground water.

The fracing does occur too deep to affect the trees, that part is true. But when you do not line a tailing pond you will taint the ground water available to the plant life.

It would cost thousands to prove it, so why worry for the companies.

They are not paying the $$ to the little guys when they disrupt your life, destroy your peace and quiet and kill your trees. Where is the money going? I would look in government. Crooked bunch do nothing reprobates. Oh wait here comes another tax notice.

Hey, Media!

Enough with the fluff already - WHERE YOU at?

If you live in Texas, read the letter from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  YOU can't afford not to. 

Brutal tactics

Mike Norman's Thursday column speaks mildly of the gangster-like tactics of the oil and gas operators in Fort Worth and other communities in the Barnett Shale. (See: "Don't understand oil and gas? What's wrong?")

The industry many times ceased negotiations after the July 2008 crash of the gas boon. Industry representatives, now with partial but not fully developable lease tracts, are back in neighborhoods offering not only paltry bonuses, but leases with reduced royalty shares, unfair charge-backs against royalties, pre-waiver of all activities they deem necessary to operate, and pre-agreement to support variances to city and other governmental rules or laws, including setbacks and pipeline easements. Want that on your property?

The landmen have been bold and say if you do not sign this one-sided, inequitably paid lease then they will file a Rule 37 against your property and will take your gas minerals anyway. Envision a gun held to a property owner's head.

These are brutal tactics supported by the Texas Railroad Commission. The fact that a Chesapeake spokesperson used the word "generosity" is nothing but a perverse statement. Chesapeake and the others need to be exposed by the media for what they really are.

-- Gary Hogan, Fort Worth

Mary's Creek

The Fort Worth Business Press gives you the heads up about the Fort Worth Water Department meeting concerning Mary's Creek. 

From the article it doesn't sound like much has changed, no matter how much the residents protest.  YOU should pay attention.  YOU could be next.

And speaking of water and sewage...check out Durango's question for the day. 

The Fort Worth Water Department will host an open house on July 21 to discuss plans to purchase a site for the future Mary’s Creek Water Reclamation Facility. The open house will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. at Western Hills Baptist Church at 8500 Chapin Road.

The event will feature no special presentation, but citizens with questions about the project can ask water department officials about the plans.

Work on the Mary’s Creek Water Reclamation Facility began in 2009 with a Site Selection Study that included a Community Advisory Committee. The committee recommended criteria for selecting the site.

Crooked is...as crooked does

Just when you think the laws concerning YOUR property can't get any more stupid, they do. WHY? Arrogance and greed.

Read about the latest gas drilling move in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. We're just glad this one wasn't written by Smith.

Arguing before the three-member Texas Railroad Commission on behalf of Chesapeake Energy on Monday, Johnson said, "The commission has had problems because people in the Tarrant County area don't understand oil and gas and unfairly criticize the commission."

So, whatever is wrong is our fault? Maybe some of us just look at natural gas drilling differently.

Chesapeake wants to "force pool" properties for drilling in the Glen Garden neighborhood of southeast Fort Worth, south of Cobb Park and west of the Glen Garden Golf and Country Club. It would require property owners to take part in urban natural gas drilling, whether they like it or not.

Regardless of what happens in this case, he told the commission, the well will be drilled. And, "our well will drain all the gas."

To do that, the company wants to pursue a second route to forced pooling, the Mineral Interest Pooling Act, or MIPA. Chesapeake would force unleased property owners to take, and pay for, ownership shares (what's called a working interest) in the well.

On to something...

A Letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram makes our point. 

WHO is looking out for the citizens and their rights?  Your "leaders"?  The "news"?  Guess again.  It's THE PEOPLE. 

Remember that come May.

Gas drilling

The city of Fort Worth has issued permits for gas drilling without confirming legal ownership of property owners. By doing this, it allows gas companies to submit waivers with applications for drilling permits that are signed by anyone who is listed with the Tarrant Appraisal District. Finding a person's name on TAD is not the same as locating the legal property owner.

In an effort to drill on the Westridge site in West Fort Worth, a site that is 100 percent surrounded by residences, Chesapeake submitted waivers that were not legal.

Of the eight waivers required for protected uses, five were not valid at the time the application was filed on Feb. 10.

The current gas drilling ordinance is poorly written and is vague in many areas. If not for concerned residents, the city would have granted this permit. Given the ratio described above in this one application, one can only imagine how many drilling permits have been granted in Fort Worth that should not have been.

The council wants to wait until after City Council elections to amend the gas drilling ordinance. I wonder why?

-- Sheila M. Purdy, Fort Worth

What's the Catch, Part 2

We recently told you about Senate Bill 18 and the twist. Now the FW Weekly tells you about it. And they talked to some of our favorite people to do so.

If you own property (or ever will) in Texas, YOU can't afford to miss it.

In recent years, government agencies and private companies have used eminent domain powers to force North Texas property owners like Mitchell to sell their land for what amounts to private development — natural gas pipelines, gas rigs, privately owned toll roads, Trinity River Vision-type projects, or just the expansion of a shopping mall.

FORCE...there's that word again.

SB 18 sails through Sentate

What does that mean to YOU?

If they want YOUR property, YOU could be next.

Read more at TexasTurf.org

Does NOT protect landowners from eminent domain for private gain

(Austin, TX - February 9, 2011) Today, the Texas Senate passed Governor Rick Perry's fast-tracked 'emergency' eminent domain bill, SB 18. The grassroots don't think the bill goes far enough because it still fails to protect landowners from Kelo abuses (ie - blight, economic development, foreign-owned toll roads). It looks great in parts of subsection "b" only to undo it with all the exceptions under subsection "c." The bill continues the authority of private entities to benefit from eminent domain in the name of a laundry list of various "public uses." (See the bill's loophole-laden language below)

Sen. Leticia Van De Putte questioned some of the vague language in the bill and asked, "Doesn't this open it up to lawsuits?" to which she got no assurances that it wouldn't.

Josh Fox wants to talk...

WHO's listening?
Any real journalists out there?

Seems the industry wants to talk, to anyone but Josh.

Last week we told you about Josh Fox and Gasland being nominated for an Academy Award and the industry trying to discredit all.  How can you discredit the truth?  We all watched as Josh drove across the country interviewing people and testing water samples.  How much more real can you get? WHY would anybody make that up? There are no benefits to your water being ruined.  NONE.  Was the prestigious Academy appalled that their selection was attacked?  One can only hope.  Read Josh's Open Letter to Journalists on TXSharon. YOU can't afford to miss it.

GASLAND exposes the disaster being caused across the U.S. by the largest domestic natural gas drilling campaign history and how the contentious Halliburton-developed drilling technology called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking threatens the water supply of millions.

There are major watershed areas providing water to millions of Americans that are at risk here, including the watershed areas for New York City and Philadelphia. The catastrophe has been widely covered not only in GASLAND, but also by hundreds of news stories, films and TV segments. This is a moment of crisis that cannot be understated.

In addition to Josh's letter, below we have a copy of an email exchange between a small town Mayor, a big city Council Member, local activists and a Victim of the Shale.  The exchange brings up some interesting questions.  We thought it'd be more fun for you to guess WHO said WHAT, so we removed the names.  Have fun kids!

__________________________________________________

We invited Ed to debate Josh since he's been going out of his way to bash Gasland, taking out full page ads and talking to every reporter who'd give him 2 minutes of time. Ed declined after 'thinking about it' for 3 days. Then a  local Councilman decided to chime in. Below is some excerpts from the emails, purely for your entertainment.

__________________________________________________

I already challenged Josh twice to come down here to debate. He hasn't responded.

XXXX

__________________________________________________

Councilman XXXX,

I appreciate your message regarding a debate with Josh. We have requested Mr. Ireland debate with Josh, and he has declined. Mr. Ireland runs an industry funded organization, and frequently speaks in public regarding the Barnett Shale, and has been critical of the Oscar Nominated "Gasland". Therefore, it would be only fitting for him and Josh to have an fair and open debate about the merits of the movie. It is likely that many people would come to see the Fox/Ireland debate. However, in your case I am not sure what gives a councilman from Arlington the idea that he has some qualifications to debate with Josh or anyone else for that matter on natural gas exploration; or why anyone would want to see it. I have heard your name a few times, and do get cc'd in on hundreds of emails daily, some of which are to you, but we have never met,and therefore I know nothing about you. So naturally I am curious as to what background you would have that would make this something that people would want to see? The proposed debate with Mr. Ireland was going to be sponsored by ShaleTest.org; however, it simply would not be worth it for us to sponsor a debate with you. However, I do not speak for Josh, and am sure that he would debate with you whenever he is back in TX if he has time, that is between you and him, but you might want to careful what you wish for. The industry propaganda is nothing more than a smear campaign, and Josh has responded in depth to each of their claims. There have been several industry reps who have taken a run at debating Josh, and have looked more like paid liars, than a legitimate source of information. I would not wish to see another public official look foolish in front of his citizens, but as Shakespeare said, "The school of ignorance is the most expensive, but some will learn in no other".

X

__________________________________________________

Gosh, X. You are correct. I'm probably just not smart enough. Pardon me for even thinking I could be in the same room with ya'll.

XXXX

__________________________________________________

XXXX,
you have mentioned to me that you have spent the last three years researching this and have honestly not found drilling to be a detriment to public health. You also said you paid a professional in the business.

While I've been reading Txsharon's blog for years now, I've been digging hard and fast on my own and have saved over 375 pages of research, dialog and links that I have emailed folks on to "spread the love" (info acquired which is exactly the opposite of what you claim to have found).

So I ask you to swap data with me. I will forward you my "book" if you forward me your emails and links that have lead you to believe we all are safe being so near to drilling.

Sincerely,

XX

__________________________________________________

XX:

We have most likely read the same stuff, followed the same links, listened to the same gurus, naysayers, and prognosticaters. Our differences reside in our weltanschauung: we simply see the world differently. Therein lies the beauty of the forum/debate we are considering. Take out all the empiricism and facts and "irrefutable proof" on both sides of this argument, and you distill down to you and me, et al. THAT's what we need to get to if progress is to be made beyond stalemate.

XXXX

__________________________________________________

Mr. XXXX:

I find it difficult to believe you have read all the same stuff, followed all the same links, listened to all the same people, and have simply come to a different conclusion. If you have, then it only makes it that much more confusing to understand how you're drawing different conclusions. I also know for a fact that you have not seen all of the videos, pictures, and other documentation that I have about natural gas well development. If you have, then you would know that there are dozens upon dozens of affected families and homeowners out there, some of which have the actual documentation of ground water contamination, polluted air, and contaminated soil. Some of them I know personally, as do you, because they reside in Arlington.

You would also be aware of the fact that my property and house (no longer our home) once appraised as high as $340,000 is now officially on the county tax rolls with a value less than $78,000. This is not my opinion, but rather the result of a county tax appraisal hearing during which the 5 member board (voting 5-0) was provided with hundreds of pages, pictures, videos, aerial photos, environmental testing results from more than 3 separate labs. Not sure how you missed it, as it was front page news, and covered by the local news stations. You would also know that this is not an isolated incident, as many of the provided pieces of documentation are of and related to other properties and other operators. The provided documentation clearly shows there are many risks involved with natural gas well development. I would say, and many agree, including many in the Industry, that the closer these operations are to people and their schools, homes, churches and other places where people congregate that risks are greater with every foot. I suppose it's debatable as to what those risks are, but to say that there absolutely no risks is untrue.

You should also be well aware of the fact that the TCEQ has taken enforcement actions against this particular operator 4 times, and are now under investigation by the Attorney General.

All that said, have you ever noticed that the ONLY people who are claiming natural gas well development is safe or disputing anything in 'Gasland' are the very same people causing the damage and/or benefiting financially from this process?

I would point out to you that Ed Ireland was asked to participate in a debate with Josh Fox because Mr. Ireland has been going well out of his way trying to discredit 'Gasland', but having nothing more than Industry created propaganda to rely on. He's taken out full page ads bashing 'Gasland', and has been quite accommodating to every reporter, but only regurgitating the false and distorted 'facts' fed to him by Industry-the very same people who fully fund his 'non-profit' and pay his salary. Mr. X and I were simply looking to provide Mr. Ireland an opportunity to put his money where his mouth is, and he has declined. I would have thought Mr. Ireland would have relished the opportunity to debate Josh, if everything that Josh has done and said can be so easily disproved and having quite a lot of evidence proving his own claims. Interestingly enough, Mr. Ireland needed a few days to check with his handlers, ultimately concluding that the debate would only serve to further promote 'Gasland' and bring that much more attention to it. I would have thought the debate would have been a wonderful opportunity for Mr. Ireland to promote the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council.

I have been to the Arlington City Council a few times, so I'm well aware of what your position is on natural gas well development. I have made the invitation a number of times, but will extend the same invitation to you and Mr. Ireland as well; My family and I reside at XXXXXXX. You are more than welcome to come out and see the place yourself at any time. I will be happy to show you around. I'll show you the well heads that are 300 feet outside our backdoor that have had Bradenhead pressure issues that the operator knew about but did nothing to correct until threatened with a seal order by the TRRC. I show you where there's a methane leak, not 50 away from the well heads where some unknown bright red fluid emits and the bubbles ignite. I'll show you the leaking tank battery, where more than 9,000 gallons of produced water was spilled and covered up as opposed to cleaning it up. I'll point out which of the four tanks overflowed and gushed condensate for more than 12 hours before the operator found the time to come out and fix it. I'll show you the 30 foot high flare that was incorrectly installed, that belched out fire and smoke for weeks before the operator was embarrassed into fixing it. I'll show you around the work pad, our former horse pasture that has yet to produce so much as weeds after three separate grass seedings. I'll show you the more than 700 foot long and 20 foot wide swath of land the operator tore up to install their pipeline-and not much grows there, either. Lastly, I'll take you over to the mineral right owner's place, who exempted 50 acres out of more than 300 around his own home from pipelines and drilling-but 200 feet for the rest of us. Any time that's convenient for you, please let me know.

Gas Drilling and the Dallas Cowboys

Read about it on Change.org.