I was totally against fracking from the beginning 2008 here on the Barnett Shale. My Facebook account was closed for posting anti-fracking opinions. Then the great freeze and power outage of 2021 happened. I was grateful for the gas heat. In spite of all my objections to fracking. Now all we can do is clean it up. These scabs pictured here (the ones from my little city) are everywhere, here is a link to maps if you want to see how extensive it is. https://www.fractracker.org/map/national/us-oil-gas/ The Red River of the South is drying up in some places and regardless of what the USGS reports here https://www.usgs.gov/programs/climate-adaptation-science-centers/managing-drought-red-river-valley it is in large part due to fracking. You can see it on Google Earth where the water is being drained for frack sites. That 3rd picture from the right is our newest site and it’s right next to a new elementary school.

What is the worst thing about it now, apart from our water being, flammable(see Gas Land the movie), the increase in earthquakes, the water being used, the increase in childhood leukemia, and the stink, is the fact that in the summer all these ponds are evaporating into our air. Every summer I wonder if this will be the one that suffocates us? The part that really pisses me off is the oil and gas industry has not had a tax burden. Investing is what they call a Tax Shelter. So while they might give you a pittance if you sold your mineral rights the company’s are the ones being enriched. You can check out his article if you’d like to see how favorable it has been https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/oil-subsidies-energy-timeline/

What to do? We can write to our representatives. Find ways to heal the scabs, and clean the water. North Richland Hills has planted prairie grasses around one of their ponds and it does seem less gross there now: as in you can’t really taste the chemicals when you’re next to the site.