As an academic community, I think we are all aware of the need to understand both sides of an issue. One imminent activity in this area is the deep shale drilling for gas and oil. We now have a test well in Clearcreek Township of Ashland County and two wells in Knox County. The newspapers have had articles lately touting the safety and benefits of this process as identified by the gas and oil industry. I think it is important that people also understand the risks and problems that can occur with deep shale drilling from the perspective of the people living amidst this industrial activity. Stewards of the Land, a local group, is sponsoring a free showing of the movie “Split Estate,” at 3 p.m., March 31, at the Ohio Theater in Loudonville. “Split Estate” documents a tragedy in the making, as citizens in the path of the new drilling boom in the Rocky Mountain West struggle against the erosion of their civil liberties, their communities and their health. Exempt from federal protections like the Clean Water Act, the oil and gas industry has left this idyllic landscape and its rural communities pockmarked with abandoned homes and mounting public health concerns.

While currently we have limited exposure to the deep shale drilling in this area, if the initial wells produce well, we will be living with many more around us. Bradford County, PA, currently has 1008 wells. It can take up to 10 million gallons of water to laterally hydraulically fracture the shale in one well one time (many wells are “fracked” multiple times). Just one concern should be where this amount of water will come from. Since 20 percent of the water pressured into the well returns to the surface bringing with it not only the chemicals initially added but also radioactivity and heavy metals, of further concern should be the disposal of this byproduct from the extraction process. To understand the ramifications of the deep shale drilling in our area for our community and our health, I hope you will attend the March 31st showing of “Split Estate” in Loudonville.

Sincerely,

Professor Alinde Moore