Gay Nicholson wrote:
A friend of mine who grew up in Cayuga County and worked on his uncle's farm has lots of stories to tell going back to the late 1800s about gas in well water and in surface streams from the various sources of natural gas (not the Marcellus Shale) in our local geology. Evidently, this is not uncommon, but I don't know how much has to do with drilling activities, or if Chemung County to the south has any history of this. It would be good to find out more about the history of natural gas coming to the surface in our region. I remember even hearing a story about Girl Scouts creating a campfire from natural gas at the surface near a stream?! I'd like to make sure our discourse on this includes whatever we need to know about this phenomena in the region.
I've heard the same stories, growing up in Steuben and later in Tompkins County. There's a lot of methane below us, giving water well drillers headaches, and I'm not convinced these stories have any direct connection to the Marcellus Shale exploration.
I worry that while these stories are vivid, their weakness is potentially fuel that gas drilling supporters could use to discredit gas drilling opponents. To me, that danger outweighs their potential for mobilizing.
-- Simon St.Laurent http://simonstl.com/ _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
