Recently the natural gas business has been booming in the US due to a new "mining" technique which allow companies to access natural gas deposits that were inaccessible before. This new technique is called fracking, and it is in desperate need of federal regulation.

The fracking process involves drilling a very deep welling, and then pumping a mixture of water, sand, and some unknown mixture of chemicals into the well. The pressure from this mixture breaks up shale formations in the ground, releasing natural gas for capture.

What's the problem? The problem is that the natural gas companies refuse to release the information about what chemicals they are pumping into the ground - they contend however that they use concrete to secure the well so that none of the chemicals seep into the ground water. However I am very concerned about this because all profit seeking corporations cut corners to cut costs.

I think fracking should be legal - it provides jobs and helps the economy - but I think it needs to be regulated so that it is safe for the environment. There has already been more than one incident where the chemicals have seeped into the ground water - and those land owners can no longer use their well water - indefinitely! They now have no water in their house. How do you clean contaminated ground water? Safety regulations need to be put in place. 

More information about this topic can be found here

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-12-19/new-concerns-over-hydr...