#mark ruffulo

So here's the low down. In order to extract this natural gas from the Marcellous Shale an intense chemical cocktail is used, so potent that any exposure to it is deadly. I say 'is' rather than 'would be' because many people have already experienced severe health problems in areas where well drilling takes place.

Though it is not a completely new process, first recorded in 1821, in 2005 America made the connection between fracking and big bucks which consequently led to some 26,000 wells being fracked in 16 American states by the end of 2009. But please don't dismiss this issue as something contained only to the US. In fact, to my disgust, in March of this year, Britain jumped on the sordid fracking bandwagon in a bid not to be left behind with the “expensive” renewable energy resources. Driven by money and the ideology of “progress”, the whole picture is clearly being clouded by economic figures rather than the figures they should be considering: the number of people who will incur severe health issues as a result of fracking. For more information on Britain and Ireland's fracking programme click here.

Intending to drill three to five thousand wells per year for the next 30 years in Pennsylvania and looking to make the move to New York in the imminent future, the fear amongst anti-fracking activists such as Mark Ruffulo, is that the air, water, and food supply of many Americans will become contaminated with cancerous chemicals such as radium, uranium, and radon (the leading cause of non-smoker's lung cancer). Disgusting, I know. The three things which are imperative for our survival have been, and will continue to be, severely infected if they are not stopped.

Obama has stated outright that:“[his] administration would take every possible action to safely develop this energy” - except Josh Fox, the director of the controversial Gaslands documentary, explains that there is no proof to presume that this gas extraction could possibly be done safely. Instead, it is very much a vicious cycle: the chemicals enter the ground through the fracking process, the thousands of gallons of chemicals are then disposed of - often by being sprayed into the air and leached into the water supply, and then evaporated before they return to the earth in the form of acid rain. Oh yeah, and the damage is irreversible.

Many people living in Pennsylvania are now suffering from massive health problems since the fracking process began. Amongst others, many have suffered from brain damage and momentary paralysis. Many can even light their water on fire! And no, flammable water is not as cool as it sounds. So what has been done to rectify this? Well, large quantities of uncontaminated water have had to be shipped into places such as Wyoming and the inhabitants of fracked areas have been told: “don't shower in it, don't do your laundry in it, and for God's sake, do not drink it!” What is even more scary is that since the 2005 energy act, brought in during the Bush administration, there is virtually no regulation in this industry – they don't even have to make known the chemicals used. When Josh Fox attempted to film the Congressional Hearing on Natural Gas Fracking he was arrested, and Mark Ruffulo was placed on a terror advisory list by U.S. officials after organizing screenings for a documentary about natural gas drilling. Obviously not comfortable about having their “business” broadcasted, the whole thing seems a bit too hush hush – I wonder why.