If you've been paying attention, you know Fracking isn't very good for our water supply since it uses water and other nasty chemicals to help fracture shale and other underground rock formations in order to release natural gas that is stored there in order to mine it for energy use in the US and Abroad. (H/T to CLCV's Daily Green)
It's a fun little way to get natural resources from our environment that's "Safe" and is not supposed to do any harm what-so-ever to the ecology around us.
Heard that before?
Well, now we have some further evidence to show that Fracking also does harm to trees and plants because of the waste water that is used in the fracking process.
Fracking Wastewater Poisonous To Plants & Trees: US Forest Service
The study by Mary Beth Adams, published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, found that the injection of about 75,000 gallons of fracking fluids in a quarter-acre of the Monongahela National Forest caused the following:
During application, severe damage and mortality of ground vegetation was observed, followed about 10 d later by premature leaf drop by the overstory trees. Two years after fluid application, 56% of the trees within the fluid application area were dead. Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. was the tree species with the highest mortality, and Acer rubrum L. was the least affected, although all tree species present on the site showed damage symptoms and mortality...
Surface soil concentrations of sodium and chloride increased 50-fold as a result of the land application of hydrofracturing fluids and declined over time.
So, is this enough for you? Can this be put any clearer?
Washington, DC — A new study has found that wastewater from natural gas hydrofracturing in a West Virginia national forest quickly wiped out all ground plants, killed more than half of the trees and caused radical changes in soil chemistry. These results argue for much tighter control over disposal of these “fracking fluids,” contends Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
Source
But hey, who could have foreseen that flammable water could do so much damage to living things like trees and bushes, shrubs and grasses? That's crazy talk!
Who would want to preserve scenic views like this in the West Virginia National Forest?
And thanks to the Food and Water Watch, there is something you can do:
Tell the Department of Energy to stop pushing its biased position on fracking and letting the oil and gas industry run the debate.