Buzzworms in the Backyard
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January 9-30, 2009
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Heroes, Villains, Etc: A 2008 Capsule Review of the Wacky World of Natural Gas Drilling
Heroes, Villains, Misplaced Priorities, Irony and Dubious Distinctions in the Wacky World of Natural Gas Drilling:
A 2008 Capsule Review
1) In many ways, 2008 was the Year of Irony. One of those moments occurred in early January when the Star-Telegram posted, 8 Simple Rules for a Healthier 2008. Two of them contrasted sharply- “Item #3: Learn yoga breathing. Item #5: Move away from the Metroplex.” That last suggestion, by Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, in reference to our dirty air, must have had the chamber of commerce shills gagging on their kool-aid.
http://www.star-telegram.com/408/story/387517.html
2) After a long silence on THE issue facing Fort Worth, Star-Telegram lighting rod, Bob Ray Sanders tried to be a Hero by making a video, raising questions about urban gas drilling. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. We needed answers and all we got were the same old questions.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/2008/01/mad-minute-more.ht...
3) Once again in 2008, the Star-Telegram religion columnist, Jim Jones, was a Villain again this year by failing to mention the unprecedented use of churches for conducting Barnett Shale business. Nor did any area church leaders refuse to lease minerals in the name of Creation Care. Luke 23:34 does NOT apply in this case. Email Mr. Jones here:
4) In honor of the 2008 Stock Show/Rodeo, FWCanDo unveiled a Heroic new logo for the City of Fort Worth. Mayor Moncrief was overjoyed with our suggestion. Thanks to K.C.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/2008/01/new-molly-maybe.ht...
5) In the Mixed Bag Department, UTA and the City of Arlington, Texas, decided to do a carbon footprint analysis. Only problem is, they excluded gas drilling from the initial survey. Hopefully they will revisit their footprint in 2009.
http://blog.uta.edu/sustainability?s=footprint
6) The City of Bedford, Texas, became an Unintended Hero by effectively banning gas drilling in the city that led to lawsuit threats, then a leasing frenzy, then a deal with Titan Energy, then the deal was off. Still no lawsuits.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/bedford/
7) In February, God him/her/itself became a Hero by sending an angry message to Texas Christian University to not allow a planned gas well on campus. With the help of some TCU neighbors, He/She/It did this by causing the bleachers to collapse in the stadium near the proposed pad site. TCU officials had no comment and no gas well has yet been drilled. Thank you Lord!
8) In a move that must have angered the Music Gods, XTO Energy cinched their Villain rep by drilling a gas well on the sacred ground that was once home to the legendary, Panther Hall. That had my blue eyes crying in the rain.
9) In March, US Senator, Henry Waxman, became a Hero by holding congressional hearings to investigate fracking chemicals. With the election of Obama, Waxman now wields power that can help reverse the unjust exclusion of drillers from the Clean Drinking Water Act.
http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/08-03-06/head3-gas.html
10) Blogger Hero, Steve Smith, at West and Clear, started an online petition drive to stop the drilling on Eighth Avenue, in FW. In a singular moment of insight, city council denied Chesapeake a permit to drill on the controversial site.
http://westandclear.com/2008/03/07/stop-drilling-on-eighth-avenue-sign-t...
11) Melissa Kohout became a Heroine by filing a lawsuit to rescind Chesapeake’s permit to drill at the, once beautiful, Trinity Trees site in Fort Worth. The controversial case was a model of corruption by multiple parties. In the end a judge threw out the lawsuit, despite a noble defense by lawyer, Jason Smith.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/trinity_trees/
12) A new year and a new Gas Drilling Task Foarce, same as the old one, full of conflict of interest. In a sneaky move, Villain of the Year, Mike Moncrief appointed the Chair, who did his bidding by protecting gas drillers and screwing neighborhoods.
http://westandclear.com/2008/12/10/slouching-toward-a-drilling-ordinance...
http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=9127
13) In March, lucrative gas well leases started appearing in mailboxes in east Fort Worth. $25,000 per acre with a similar royalty. Big bucks but bad karma. Lots of Heroes never took the money. The deal’s now off the table. Good riddance and no regrets.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/2008/10/lease-slowdown.htm...
14) Another of those little ironies happened on April 29 when a salt-water disposal well in Erath County caught fire and burned to the ground destroying trucks and equipment owned by Infinity Oil & Gas. That’s right. Salt-water burned. Big fire. Out of control. Got it?
15) Strange but True Department: Far away from the Barnett Shale, in Indonesia to be precise, a mud volcano suddenly appeared. Next thing you know, boiling mud displaced 30,000 people. The cause: Gas Drilling.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030144628.htm
16) Proving that no driller is a good driller, XTO Energy got caught killing two Golden Eagles in Wyoming and had to pay a $20,000. fine. Pocket change for a corporation whose Villanous CEO, Bib Simpson, made over $56 Million in 2007.
http://article.wn.com/view/2008/05/22/Energy_company_fined_in_deaths_of_...
17) XTO Energy likes to pretend that they are not as bad as Super Villain, Chesapeake Energy, but we know better. One of the more dramatic environmental tragedies in the country was caused by XTO. Where? In Texas, of course.
http://txsharon.blogspot.com/2008/05/texas-railroad-commission-ignores-3...
18) The hands-down, Sleaziest Villain award of ’08 went to Tommy Lee Jones. As Mick Jagger used to sing, “we used to love him but it’s all over now.” We have two reports:
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/2008/05/more-on-the-tom.ht...
http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?section=News&type=Static
19) Perennial Super Villain, Chesapeake Energy, scored high when they announced plans to shove a pipeline down the throats and front yards of the good people on Carter Avenue, in east FW. Jerry Horton and a few others fought a good fight, but, ultimately, they were forced to yield to the Chesapeake juggernaut. But wait! This story is not over yet. Horton’s next-door neighbor, Steve Doeung, is still in the ring fighting, Heroically. Stay tuned in ’09 for a progress report.
http://durangotexas.blogspot.com/2008/08/jerry-horton-gives-up-fight-aga...
http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/meadowbrook/
20) The Star-Telegram gets a lot of well-deserved criticism from me, and others. Villainous as their editorial staff is, I’d hate to see the paper fold. Their saving grace is Hero reporter, Mike Lee. Without Mike I would have cancelled my subscription back in June after the editors praised Chesapeake for … making us feel better???
21) Big Bad Villain, Chesapeake Energy, plumbed deeper levels of sleaze when they issued a coloring book for kids that featured a canine named, Chesapeake Charlie. Pegasus News Heroine, Erin Rice, had fun with this one:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008/jul/23/chesapeake-coloring-book-str...
22) As the pipeline battle on Carter Avenue heated up, it was discovered that a young US Army soldier stationed in Iraq who owns a house on Carter was adamantly against the pipeline. Olga Arbonies, a Heroine in more ways than one, wrote a widely circulated letter expressing her anger at Chesapeake:
http://westandclear.com/2008/07/28/west-meadowbrook-na-schedules-public-...
23) CREDO was founded in July of ’08 and held their first Moratorium rally in August. The, Just Say NO! mantra of FWCanDo became Just Say WHOA! By default. Co-founder, Cathy Hirt has been the Heroic guiding force behind CREDO whose work is far from done.
http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=7079
24) Always near the top of the Villain list is Chesapeake propaganda minister, Julie “Cruella” Wilson, a lady with gall to burn. Back in August she announced with pride that, “Chesapeake will be spudding Fort Worth’s first downtown well.” She went on to describe the pretty turquoise color of the rig and details about limited “ rig tours.” That’s what I call shameless gall!
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008/aug/14/chesapeake-really-super-exci...?
25) In late August, the S-T took another hit, this time from the Texas Observer who justifiably nailed them with a scathing rebuke:
http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=2825#companytown
26) In late August, the soon-to-be-former Senator from NY, Hillary Clinton registered her concerns about gas drilling in the NY watershed. The exploitation of the Marcellus Shale brought forth a chorus of concerned political voices that is missing in Texas. The Heroic watchdog group, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, has done a commendable job of shedding light on a dark and dirty industry in the NY and PA region.
http://www.propublica.org/article/clinton-concerned-about-new-york-drill...
http://www.damascuscitizens.org/
27) The Heroic Fort Worth Weekly has established itself as the anti-Star-Telegram by avoiding the bias associated with conflict of interest, which frees up their journalists to tell it like it is. Case in point: Peter Gorman’s Pulitzer-worthy report, Peeling the Barnett Shale Onion. The thing is fracking legendary.
http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=7161
28) Reluctant Hero certainly fits the bill for SMU professor, Dr. Al Armendariz, who dropped a bombshell on Fort Worth in September with his indictment of gas drilling as the #1 source of toxic air emissions in the Metroplex. Dr. Al is an apolitical kind of guy but his report stirred up a hornet’s nest in boardrooms and city halls all over the Barnet Shale region that will have a significant impact into ’09. Keep the prof in your prayers.
http://www.fortworthgov.org/uploadedFiles/Gas_Wells/Emissions%20report%2...
29) New York filmmaker, Josh Fox, passed through Fort Worth last summer on his Heroic tour of gas drilling regions of the US. The result of his research, the upcoming film, Rage of Nature, is nearly complete. You can watch an 8-minute, rough-cut trailer of the film here:
30) As the dog days of summer and the Task Farce dragged on and on, the tipping point was reached for yours truly on 9/26/08. Despite violations of the ordinance and a few dirty tricks, City of Fort Worth staff approved a Very High Impact gas well near Scott Avenue and adjacent to Tandy Hills Natural Area. Twin Villainesses, assistant city attorney, Sarah Fullenwider and Planning Director, Susan Alanis deserve credit for going beyond the call of duty to assist Chesapeake. This one is my “Alamo.”
31) In response to Chesapeake’s actions on Scott Avenue, Mother Nature showed up to show her displeasure in the form of an Heroic, anonymous painting. As of 12/31/08, it still stands.
http://durangotexas.blogspot.com/2008/10/mother-nature-still-crying-in-f...
32) October 13th, 2008: Chesapeake cancels Shale TV, a doomed attempt at excessive propaganda. Who cares? Former respected journalist, Tracy Rowlett, turned sell-out Villain, that’s who.
http://www.fwbusinesspress.com/display.php?id=8644
33) A watershed moment in Fort Worth history occurred on October 20th when four, formidable, Heroic women from the Oil and Gas Accountability Project addressed a meeting of the FW League of Neighborhood Assoc. and spent three days touring the Barnett Shale region. There is talk of OGAP opening a field office in FW in ’09. God knows we need them.
http://www.earthworksaction.org/oil_and_gas.cfm
34) On a bright Saturday morning in late October, Chesapeake moved a giant drilling rig down narrow, Scott Avenue in east FW. Although I live a few blocks away, I showed up to support the immediate neighborhood and protest the intrusion. It was an eye opening, learning experience for me.
35) Right before Thanksgiving, Corporate Villian, Chesapeake Energy created an uproar at a public hearing to discuss possible changes to the drilling ordinance. While I despise their arrogance, I give them points for monkey-wrenching. By hook or by crook, they got people out. In the end they got a big Christmas present form city council.
http://www.fwweekly.com/blotch.asp?id=339
36) Chesapeake CEO, Aubrey McClendon, is an Earth-raping evildoer as well as a Satanic Villian Suprema. So, it was gratifying to read in early December that he sold all the shares in his company to save his useless ass. With customary arrogance, he vows the mother of all comebacks. The voodoo doll I got from Santa is ready to go.
http://www.star-telegram.com/100/story/974872.html
37) The River Reporter, a real newspaper in New York, Heroically published the ingredients found in fracking fluid. We now have proof that, there is much more to fracking than sand and water. We were also reminded that gas drillers are big fat liars playing games with public health and safety.
http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/08-12-04/fracking.pdf
38) A Hero named Muntadhir Al-Zaidi emerged on the international stage in December when he hurled his shoes at Presidential Villain, George W. Bush. In my FWCanDo reports I have steadfastly avoided political partisanship, but there is no denying that Bush and Super-Villain, Dick Cheney, are largely responsible for out of control drilling and their last-minute actions before leaving office confirm that assertion.
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i45143
39) Environmental Hero, Tim DeChristopher, claimed the national stage in late December when he disrupted an auction of oil and gas leases on federal lands. The actions of this 27-year-old Utah activist remind me that we need more young soldiers in the war against those who exploit our natural world only for what they can take to the bank. I tip my hat to all the budding, young monkey-wrenchers out there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/us/21drilling.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=utah&...
40) There were lots more Villains in 2008 that deserve mention. > > Former Fort Worth Mayor Ken Barr earned himself a ringside seat as Satan’s lapdog in the Ninth Circle of Villain Hell for his contemptible shilling for Chesapeake. His behavior at Task Force meetings was that of a petulant child. His fellow TF mates (with notable exceptions) are only one level above him. > > The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce greedy support of drilling was no surprise but should be remembered. > > There is a long, long list of churches, charities and civic organizations that didn’t mind eating out of the Dirty Energy trough in 2008, but the American Cancer Society deserves the Doctor Faustus Award for accepting cash from the same people who knowingly expose our children to cancer-causing chemicals. > > The Texas Railroad Commissioners win the Tony Soprano Villain award for jeopardizing public health and safety in exchange for dirty money. > > T-Boone Pickens is still trying to pull the wool over American eyes with his gas-drilling scheme disguised as wind power. He wins the Villain of Oz award
41) On the Hero side of the ticket, District 8 City Councilmember; Kathleen Hicks held her own against a bullying, misogynistic Mayor Moncrief, a clueless city council and racist-tinged Chesapeake lobbying. > > The Minority Task Force members, Gary Hogan, Susan De Los Santos, Wendy Vann Roach, Marty Craddock and Jim Bradbury did an admirable job, although I still contend that a mass resignation would have increased their impact. > > My hat is off to all the Heroes who tried to talk some sense into city council in 3 minutes or less. > > Kudos to the Eastside activist crew (you know who you are) that earned their stripes again this year. > > Local activist, Jerry Lobdill, polished his Heroic credentials by participating in a national panel discussion on the dangers of pipelines. > > The persistent Heroes in Flower Mound who walked the walk for their community deserve special mention. > > Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe and other journalists at the Denton Record Chronicle deserve Heroic staus for their reporting on NORM and their recent, Behind the Shale expose. > > TXSharon’s, Bluedaze blog is a national treasure and she is the conscience of Wise County. > > Parker County is very fortunate to have Kathy Chruscielski and her PARCHED organization keeping tabs on the dirty energy companies that plague the county. Together, these two Heroines did some impressive myth busting of the Villainous, Barnett Shale Energy Education Council (BSEEC):
http://txsharon.blogspot.com/2008/12/barnett-shale-education-councils-my...
On a personal note, I’d like to thank the millions of FWCanDo supporters who endured nearly 200 emails from me in 2008. That, alone, is a Heroic task. I know you don’t read them all, but at least you haven’t told me to get lost. Besides, all those messages are the fault of my own personal Hero, the late, Edward Abbey, who sits on my shoulder telling me what to share with you. His words are a daily inspiration, especially these:
"To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death."
~Ed Abbey
DY
01/01/2009