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| a NY farmer preparing field for beans. |
Yesterday the National Farmers Union in Canada called for a moratorium against fracking. Jan Slomp, a dairy farmer and coordinator for the NFU in Alberta says that many farmers in her area have either experienced problems with their water wells or have neighbors whose wells have been affected by drilling.
“We are in the heart of Alberta’s oil and gas country where our ability to produce good, wholesome food is at risk of being compromised by the widespread, virtually unregulated use of this dangerous process,” Slomp told the press.
Unfortunately, she said, “not many stories of contaminated water are made public because the oil and gas companies usually force farmers to sign confidentiality agreements in return for replacement of their water wells.”
Slomp also said that the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers have acknowledged that problems exist with fracking, and have released some suggestions to prevent further problems. “However, these voluntary guidelines are no substitute for strong regulations enforced by an impartial government body,” she said.
In Quebec, most of the shale gas wells have been dug on agricultural land. I sure wish the Quebec farmers' union called the UPA would come out and also ask for a moratorium! Quebec has not declared a moratorium, contrary to what some reports have said: some fracking could still be done as early as this spring in existing wells "to attain further scientific knowledge". Yeah, right!
ReplyDeleteThree cheers for the NFU. Now if only the Farm Bureau would follow the NFU's lead!
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