Fox, Beck promote hate, racism at rally

I noticed Art Houghland wrote another one of his babbling, hateful rants last week. He laments that criticism of Bush flips him out. Well Art, it will stop when the damage of his 8 year disaster is repaired.

I also wanted to remind Art of the Fox Noise and Glenn Beck rally to promote hate and racism (conveniently scheduled on the anniversary of MLK's “I Have a Dream” speech?) in Washington D.C. so he can attend. Art, maybe you can fill us in, how the leader of the GOP, Sarah Palin, explains her support of using the “N” word on public radio?

Carl Heck

Aspen

Director of GasLand continues to perpetuate blatantly false claims

In an Aug. 26 story (“Oozing profits: ‘GasLand' exposes nation's energy industry”), Josh Fox — director of the film Gasland — continues to perpetuate a host of blatantly false claims about American's natural gas industry, particularly the use of hydraulic fracturing technology.

Your readers should understand that hydraulic fracturing has been safely used nationwide over 1.1 million times since it first came into commercial use in 1949. It's a technology that has never contaminated groundwater, a fact reinforced by top EPA officials as recently as this year. Colorado's top oil and gas regulator, David Neslin, also confirms “there has been no verified instance of harm to groundwater caused by hydraulic fracturing in Colorado.”

And while Fox claims that “a huge array of chemicals” are used in the fracturing process, the truth is these fluids are composed almost entirely of water and sand — with a small portion of additives (0.05 percent of the mix) used to kill bacteria and reduce friction. These additives can be commonly found in one's kitchen cupboard and in every day food products, and a list of these are required by federal law to be available at every well site in the nation. And in Colorado, state regulations mandate that operators maintain a precise chemical inventory for each and every well.

How about that flaming faucet in Fort Lupton? COGCC experts gathered the data on that one, and determined that “dissolved methane in well water appears to be biogenic [naturally occurring] in origin,” adding “there are no indications of oil and gas related impacts to water well.”

The top environmental regulator in Pennsylvania has called Josh Fox a “propagandist,” saying the film is “fundamentally dishonest” and “a deliberately false presentation for dramatic effect.” And a longtime New York Times editor called the film “one-sided,” “flawed,” and “in the Michael Moore mode.” But you don't have to take their word for it. Download our point-by-point rebuttal of the film at Energyindepth.org.

Lee Fuller

Energy In Depth

Washington, DC