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Author	Topic: Natural Gas Fracking Industry May Be Paying Off Scientists	Post a Reply Back to Topics

GoBlazers Champion Author Washington Posts:7,332 Points:875,650 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 2:34:12 PM Ignore GoBlazers Report Abuse Last week the University of Texas provost announced he would re-examine a report by a UT professor that said fracking was safe for groundwater after the revelation that the professor pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Texas natural gas developer. It’s the latest fusillade in the ongoing battle over the basic facts of fracking in America. Texans aren’t the only ones having their fracking conversations shaped by industry-funded research. Ohioans got their first taste last week of the latest public-relations campaign by the energy policy wing of the US Chamber of Commerce. It’s called “Shale Works for US,” and it aims to spend millions on advertising and public events to sell Ohioans on the idea that fracking is a surefire way to yank the state out of recession. Visit Wired for full article

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Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 2:34:12 PM

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Last week the University of Texas provost announced he would re-examine a report by a UT professor that said fracking was safe for groundwater after the revelation that the professor pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Texas natural gas developer. It’s the latest fusillade in the ongoing battle over the basic facts of fracking in America.

Texans aren’t the only ones having their fracking conversations shaped by industry-funded research. Ohioans got their first taste last week of the latest public-relations campaign by the energy policy wing of the US Chamber of Commerce. It’s called “Shale Works for US,” and it aims to spend millions on advertising and public events to sell Ohioans on the idea that fracking is a surefire way to yank the state out of recession.
Visit Wired for full article

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drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:8,964 Points:755,135 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Aug 1, 2012 6:12:36 AM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse And the one who would have you eat the cake paraphrase the immortal words of Paul Watson, a founder of Greenpeace: "It doesn't matter what is true, it only matters what people believe is true." thus showing that cake is a true fan of the ends justifying the means, no matter how deceitful. Be sure to let us know when there is bona fide evidence to the contrary, then someone will listen! LOL, we will wait..... [Edited by: drpepperTX at 8/1/2012 9:15:44 AM EST]
52MPG Champion Author Dayton Posts:7,277 Points:1,744,630 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 9:38:28 PM Ignore 52MPG Report Abuse Do you think?
LetemEatCake Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:5,615 Points:1,207,555 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 9:30:17 PM Ignore LetemEatCake Report Abuse The Pop from TX is always caught with his pants down! Too many people understand that a lie repeat often enough....does not make it true! LOL!
drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:8,964 Points:755,135 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 6:22:53 PM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse LOL, no teafertwo, admit it, it is well known you prefer the propaganda of fear and paranoia. Proving over and over again that despite the facts...... THE WITCH HUNTS CONTINUE: As more and more SCIENTIFIC studies are added to a growing list of studies showing the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the science denial crowd will overlook the science and continue to promote fear. Yelling "the water's on fire etc.". They'll continue to chant the thoroughly debunked claims of Josh Fox "Gasland" propaganda. And the latest from the purveyors of fear??? Insurance!!! Aha, this will be the nail in the trackers coffin! Oh wait...."Fracking-related losses have never been a covered loss under personal or commercial lines policies." - Nationwide Insurance Co. So now it's water use eh? As each aspect of the witch hunt against oil and gas production is knocked down by science these yahoos will come up with something else out of the blue. Show me one state where oil and gas comapanies use more than a tiny fraction (far less than 1%) of the total water usage. While your at it show me a state that doesn't allow golf courses to use hundreds of times more water than drilling. You cannot, case closed. You see, there is a huge amount of deceiving information spouted out to the public about hydraulic fracturing, a decades-old technology. Those who spread this misinformation are mostly preying on the public's fears, with an ultimate goal of forcing state governments to succumb to that fear and prevent or even ban hydraulic fracturing. We need to make sure that the discussion is productive, and that any rules are legitimately conceived. Fact must be sEPArated from fiction. The most common claim talking point is that hydraulic fracturing contaminates ground water. This is baseless. Have you ever noticed that the critics who make that claim never provide concrete evidence? The reason for their omission? It is obvious why. After being used more than 1.2 million times there have been no confirmed cases of hydraulic fracturing contaminating water. None. Never. Ever. As EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in April of 2012, "In no case have we made a definitive determination that the fracking process has caused chemicals to enter groundwater." The three "smoking gun" cases that the anti-shale zealots were sinking their teeth into have proven false or based on very poor science. See Pavillion WY, Dimoch, PA, and Parker County, TX. The latest fear mongering is "climate change" thru methane emission from hydraulic fracturing. Once again SCIENTIFIC investigation has shown the EPA using numbers that are overblown by 50%. Oh and the "evil Halliburton Loophole" talking point! LOL, what a joke. This is the errant claim born out of the yellow journalism of "gasland", a proven fraudulent film by Josh Fox, that hydraulic fracturing is "exempt" from the Safe Drinking Water Act, thanks to an energy bill passed by Congress in 2005. The truth??? SDWA has been the law of the land for nearly 40 years, and at no point has it ever covered hydraulic fracturing. Why??? States already tightly and effectively regulate the process. How can an industry be exempt from something that never covered you in the first place? But you hear this falsehood talking point most every time the subject comes up. It is important to rely on facts and the science, not fear-mongering talking points.
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:22,141 Points:1,388,765 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 3:43:27 PM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse And queenie, the texas spin doctor still thinks enough lies and balderdash makes it all right :0\ I prefer legitimate science which is open to peer review. Not self serving industry propaganda.
drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:8,964 Points:755,135 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 3:20:24 PM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse <"One expert said there's an actual psychological process at work that sometimes blinds people to science, on the fracking debate and many others. "You can literally put facts in front of people, and they will just ignore them", said Mark Lubell, the director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior at the University of California, Davis"> Has anyone seen where the University of Texas was paid off? And has anyone found a study that shows conclusively any different conclusions from the UT Study? Notice that they can't refute the findings? Here's a list of studies related to hydraulic fracturing: An Analysis of the Economic Potential for Shale Formations in Ohio, prepared by faculty and staff from Cleveland State University, Ohio State University, and Marietta College, and sponsored by the Ohio Shale Coalition, April 2012 Carnegie-Mellon Marcellus Greenhouse Gas Study: Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of Marcellus shale gas, by Jiang et al., Environ. Res. Lett. 6 (July-September 2011) The Cornell University Study: Methane and the greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas from shale formations, Howarth et al., Climatic Change, March 13, 2011 U.S. University Studies & Reports An Analysis of the Economic Potential for Shale Formations in Ohio, prepared by faculty and staff from Cleveland State University, Ohio State University, and Marietta College, and sponsored by the Ohio Shale Coalition, April 2012 Carnegie-Mellon Marcellus Greenhouse Gas Study: Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of Marcellus shale gas, by Jiang et al., Environ. Res. Lett. 6 (July-September 2011) The Cornell University Study: Methane and the greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas from shale formations, Howarth et al., Climatic Change, March 13, 2011 Rebuttal: A commentary on “The greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas in shale formations,” June 20, 2011 Rebuttal: Assessing the greenhouse impact of natural gas, Jan. 7, 2012 The Duke University Study: Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing, Osborn et al., PNAS Early Edition, May 2011, www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1100682108 Duke University Study: Geochemical evidence for possible natural migration of Marcellus Formation brine to shallow aquifers in Pennsylvania. Nathanial R. Warner, Robert B. Jackson, Thomas H. Darrah, Stephen G. Osborn, Adrian Down, Kaiguang Zhao, Alissa White, and Avner Vengosh, May 2012 Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford Shale, prepared by The University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development’s Center for Community and Business Research, May 2012 Environmental Impacts During Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling: Causes, Impacts, and Remedies, conducted by researchers at the University of Wyoming, Pennsylvania State University, and the State University of New York at Buffalo, May 15, 2012 Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources: Separating the Frack from the Fiction, prepared by the Pacific Institute, June 2012 Legal Implications of Marcellus Shale: A Video Overview — Professor Ross Pifer, director of the Agricultural Law Research and Resource Center and of the new Rural Economic Development Clinic, summarizes the legal implications of Marcellus Shale development, October 24, 2010 The Penn State Study: The Impact of Marcellus Gas Drilling On Rural Drinking Water Supplies, conducted by Pennsylvania State University and funded by the Center for Rural Pennsyvlania; revised report, Nov. 22, 2011 Revisiting the Economic Impact of the Natural Gas Activity in the Fayetteville Shale: 2008-2012, prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, May 2012 The University of Texas Energy Institute Hydraulic Fracturing Study (comments on preliminary results), updated Nov. 14, 2011 The University of Texas Energy Institute Report, “Separating Fact from Fiction in Shale Gas Development,” February 15, 2012 [Edited by: drpepperTX at 7/31/2012 6:25:07 PM EST]
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:22,141 Points:1,388,765 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 11:22:46 AM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse And the spin doctor's caught with his pants down again.
sciotosix Champion Author Dayton Posts:2,764 Points:669,050 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 8:48:51 AM Ignore sciotosix Report Abuse No surprise here.
YaBassa Champion Author Michigan Posts:2,445 Points:520,025 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 8:25:56 AM Ignore YaBassa Report Abuse "Chase is a piece in what environmental and academic watchdogs call a growing puzzle of industry-funded fracking research with poor disclosure and dubious objectivity."
greywolves Champion Author Las Vegas Posts:8,686 Points:2,431,150 Joined:Dec 2004	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 8:25:00 AM Ignore greywolves Report Abuse say it ain't so. just taking a page out of the big tabacco playbook: buy studies, denigrate science, cast doubt, delay and devil take the hindmost
unipanini All-Star Author New York Posts:903 Points:264,575 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 5:22:27 AM Ignore unipanini Report Abuse gross and unsurprising
SBlouch Champion Author San Antonio Posts:8,745 Points:1,862,190 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 12:30:38 AM Ignore SBlouch Report Abuse Probably are doing it so they get the results they want. If the reports are wrong, we will not have to worry about the price of gas, but we will have to worry about water which is undrinkable and not safe. One needs water to live.
Eugenian Champion Author Oregon Posts:1,878 Points:365,055 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Jul 31, 2012 12:00:13 AM Ignore Eugenian Report Abuse slimeballs
Amplion Champion Author Oregon Posts:6,783 Points:1,867,985 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 11:54:50 PM Ignore Amplion Report Abuse BAN FRACKING
1WI All-Star Author Appleton Posts:818 Points:274,255 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 11:01:51 PM Ignore 1WI Report Abuse Frackers
cheapchickKY Champion Author Lexington Posts:4,032 Points:799,215 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 9:27:27 PM Ignore cheapchickKY Report Abuse Gee, and somebody got caught.
tatker Champion Author Asheville Posts:1,982 Points:562,755 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 9:08:14 PM Ignore tatker Report Abuse Frack
JohnofGB Champion Author Flint Posts:5,436 Points:1,099,120 Joined:Feb 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 9:06:36 PM Ignore JohnofGB Report Abuse This appears to be unfounded and not true.
LetemEatCake Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:5,615 Points:1,207,555 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 8:57:51 PM Ignore LetemEatCake Report Abuse Well said Martin...when I pointed out that UT was taking big bucks from Big Gas/Oil months ago....Pop from TX nearly had a heart attack! Called me everything but white...which I'm not. LMAO! Humblepie....what do the unions have to do with the topic of Natural Gas? On the other hand, I guess that is not as bad as Romney nearly starting a war with the Brits.
Jeff1944 Champion Author South Dakota Posts:4,244 Points:1,077,320 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 8:47:36 PM Ignore Jeff1944 Report Abuse Really, paying off the scientiests. I thought it was wage payments.
andy1024 Champion Author Allentown Posts:1,712 Points:450,200 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 8:28:11 PM Ignore andy1024 Report Abuse Then they should be called employees, not scientists.
fracknsave Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:1,666 Points:58,000 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 7:36:29 PM Ignore fracknsave Report Abuse PDQ, I don't think natural gas should be funding fracking studies any more than the universal worldwide university funding the manufacturing of climate change data see(ing) as how they only seem to have been saved by the bell by a half dozen substantial solar flares since January. [Edited by: fracknsave at 7/30/2012 10:37:10 PM EST]
PDQBlues Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,089 Points:1,451,250 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 6:48:56 PM Ignore PDQBlues Report Abuse Not only "may be" is the fracking corporations paying off scientists, like the tobacco industry, they are.
aquarinut Champion Author British Columbia Posts:1,628 Points:437,605 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 6:40:55 PM Ignore aquarinut Report Abuse Sounds like a greenpeace funded article.
dh0770 Champion Author Colorado Posts:6,987 Points:672,460 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 6:33:06 PM Ignore dh0770 Report Abuse How much did Gore payoff the writer of this?
danindenver Champion Author Denver Posts:5,500 Points:1,241,180 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 6:29:51 PM Ignore danindenver Report Abuse Whom do we trust? Not the government, that's for sure. I can look at the studies and tell you that fracking is not a problem. Where do I get my payoff?
SalukiCO Sophomore Author Colorado Springs Posts:199 Points:242,545 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 6:24:11 PM Ignore SalukiCO Report Abuse Not a shock. These energy companies will stop at nothing.
bandannaman Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,849 Points:365,610 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 6:04:21 PM Ignore bandannaman Report Abuse Who do we trust?
doeslayersr Champion Author Illinois Posts:9,133 Points:874,930 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 6:04:10 PM Ignore doeslayersr Report Abuse Whatever. The typical activity of the leftists. Discredit and destroy what you do not agree with or cannot control. A page right out of the Big O playbook.
buckets42 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,690 Points:329,550 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 5:52:43 PM Ignore buckets42 Report Abuse And the liberals may be paying off them as well.
tgusa Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:2,476 Points:439,875 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 5:34:46 PM Ignore tgusa Report Abuse follow the $$$
graceman Champion Author Baltimore Posts:4,968 Points:1,158,725 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 5:28:10 PM Ignore graceman Report Abuse Gee just think bribery, who would have guessed?
Meowmy Champion Author Florida Posts:1,293 Points:349,605 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 5:22:40 PM Ignore Meowmy Report Abuse Gee, ya think!?
MidNJ Champion Author New Jersey Posts:7,568 Points:1,174,430 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 5:17:15 PM Ignore MidNJ Report Abuse For decades the cigarette companies made billion of dollars by paying off "scientists" to tout the lie that cigarettes do not cause lung cancer or heart disease. Wait a minute, the cigarette companies are still making billions because many still believe the lie that - cigarettes are not a health hazzard. Yes, money talks, but unfortunately it also speaks with forked tongue.
BuckyTJones Champion Author Salt Lake City Posts:4,932 Points:967,950 Joined:Mar 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 5:07:50 PM Ignore BuckyTJones Report Abuse Around and around we go, where it stops, who knows? All facts are tainted with opinions.
RONALD777 Champion Author Houston Posts:2,452 Points:366,655 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 4:58:03 PM Ignore RONALD777 Report Abuse Scientists have bills to pay just like the rest of us.
gaswatchON Veteran Author Ontario Posts:463 Points:118,405 Joined:May 2012	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 4:26:47 PM Ignore gaswatchON Report Abuse GREEDY! GREEDY! GREEDY! Put them in jail!
djwhit Champion Author Ohio Posts:3,027 Points:1,211,380 Joined:Jul 2009	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 4:25:53 PM Ignore djwhit Report Abuse GO NATURAL GAS..........
bisonjim Champion Author Florida Posts:1,070 Points:209,155 Joined:May 2012	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 4:06:04 PM Ignore bisonjim Report Abuse What happened to integrity? Guess everything has a price.
playtimeCLE Champion Author Cleveland Posts:8,575 Points:1,547,300 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 3:18:35 PM Ignore playtimeCLE Report Abuse The oil industry is as crooked as any industry.
uglytom Champion Author Florida Posts:7,464 Points:1,542,015 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 3:18:02 PM Ignore uglytom Report Abuse Not just one man!
jodybull All-Star Author El Paso Posts:767 Points:140,880 Joined:May 2012	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 3:17:37 PM Ignore jodybull Report Abuse Oh, where oh where is the purity of science that we once knew! Yeah, right.
Lugi1967 Champion Author Ohio Posts:4,803 Points:1,005,170 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 3:10:02 PM Ignore Lugi1967 Report Abuse One mans greed
drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:8,964 Points:755,135 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 3:07:08 PM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse The University of Texas released a statement ?Aside from the issue of disclosure, which has been widely reported, we have received no evidence that the research itself is flawed,? Doolittle said. ?That will be for the independent review to decide.? And they are correct, after all, the findings are corroborated by the last two studies done by Duke University and Penn State. Once again, there has not been a case of hydraulic fracturing itself causing water contamination. Plain and simple, Groat should have disclosed, on that there's no disagreement. But does it affect the study of the many scientists that participated in the study? No.
fowlcan Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:2,125 Points:687,290 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 2:43:34 PM Ignore fowlcan Report Abuse I do not think this thought is entirely out of line.
Martinman Champion Author Mississippi Posts:14,749 Points:2,095,780 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 2:43:31 PM Ignore Martinman Report Abuse Say it ain't so! I mean, our resident Texas troll - after having perennially bashed all the other university research programs around the country as being bought-off - already unilaterally professed the University of Texas program as being the one FREE of corporate or industry influence. Funny, I have yet to hear of an anthropology, biology, ecology, geology, or other similar university departments having been accused of this (other than by TT of course).
ktbaeohana Champion Author Las Vegas Posts:2,316 Points:423,950 Joined:Mar 2010	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 2:43:19 PM Ignore ktbaeohana Report Abuse watch and see. money talk.
humblepie Champion Author Toledo Posts:34,333 Points:2,374,295 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Jul 30, 2012 2:37:25 PM Ignore humblepie Report Abuse right, like obama paid off the unions for voting for him