Lynn Mitchell Kohn: Fracking wastes water

In the Aug. 19 Point of View “How fracking fights terrorism,” Mark Cares said fracking plays an important role in the “global war on terror” by keeping energy prices low, thus depriving groups of much-needed revenue. This claim comes as another argument for fracking, its role in combating climate change, is being discredited.

Fracking releases huge quantities of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Recently in Porter Ranch, Calif., a leak in an old gas well used for storage released thousands of pounds of methane into the atmosphere, sickening residents and forcing an evacuation of the town. Meanwhile in Oklahoma, there has been a dramatic increase in earthquakes in areas pockmarked by deep injection wells used to dispose of the vast amounts of wastewater generated by fracking.

Cares advocated expanding fracking into federal lands and reducing regulations at a time when there is increasing evidence of the risks fracking poses to public health and safety. Fracking uses millions of gallons of clean water per well at a time of droughts and shortages around the country.

Anyone elated at the prospect of no longer having to import oil and gas, should ask: Where will we import water from?

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Lynn Mitchell Kohn: Fracking wastes water."