Fracking and Brewers

I find it funny we are all "BA's" yet rather than come together we argue, make snide comments towards one another. If we cannot respect each other when we all have a common interest, is it any wonder how wars start?

As previously stated this could be a great topic. I myself would like to read more from folks on both sides of the fence. It's raises an interesting question.

Cheers and lets all drink some beers.

 

Haha too true. In fairness, this could be a good topic, but I think it's just one that needs a little bit heavier-handed guidance to point people in the right direction. And even then, it could all be for naught. See: drinking.

 

The real question at hand for these companies is to determine the risk/reward of adding additional water purification equipment now before a water-quality problem is detected, or waiting until there is proof that one exists. If they spend money to take additional safety measures and it turns out that fracking is relatively harmless, it was a wasted expense. If they don't and a problem comes up, it could severely halt production.

 

PA lies on a massive shale structure making it a state with an abundance of wells its one of the states at the epicenter of this whole debate. Sarcastic or not I was still curious, if you live in PA odds are good your pretty close to a well.
http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2014/06/30/fracking-study-finds-new-gas-wells-leak-more

 

If you only listen to folks that have an agenda, political or financial (really the same thing), about a differing viewpoint, how will you know that anything you are told is true?
Should I let someone that hates stouts tell me which stout to buy? Should I let a GM employee tell me which car to buy? Should I let a Democrat or a Republican tell me who to vote for?
Or should I do my own research, away from the pundits, extremists, politicians and wackos?

 

This is an important topic as it relates to beer, but what about gun control and... uhh... beer?

 

Get yourselves a quality education fellas, not just one that prepares you for a specific job.

 

Buying beer controls my gun buying . . . that's gun control for me.

 

Inject known carcinogens into the ground. Sounds like a great idea.

 

If the petroleum industry's agenda is to make money, and the "eco-wacko's" agenda is to have clean water, I'm going to have to say there certainly is a correct agenda. Why would so many regular people who live near fracking sites go to great lengths to put flammable water in their own faucets? Question everything, but think critically about motives here.

From a brewer's standpoint, if there's even the slightest chance that ground water could be contaminated, it's obvious that they would be against fracking near their groundwater source. This could be great for the movement to protect groundwater because it seems businesses protecting their interests have a lot more weight than individuals protecting their health.

 

I am a geologist and environmental consultant who works with cleaning up many of the same contaminants as fracking but in different settings and environments. I don't work for any oil/gas companies. I am OK with fracking. There are some risks but they are manageable with the right oversight and regulations. The problem is that there's a lot of hysteria and misinformation out there that is really confusing the national debate.

 

Part of my coverage area for MABN includes upper central PA. I always asked the brewers what they thought of their water and how they treated it. A few brewers in the region are working from wells; most are on municipal (also wells). No one was particularly concerned. Apparantly, a well can be "certified" to be immune from contamination. Over the border in NY, fracking has not been approved yet. Short term, extra money in the economy (clearly visable) can be good for craft beer. Long term, if the beer goes bad, there will be lots worse going on.
Have not run into any "Slurry Perry" or "Frack Pad Pale" yet...

 

Clean water is a concern for brewers. Locally a pipeline rupture caused a concern. Another place has a franchise in India, and has to use RO to clean it up. Article

 

Good, you're not biased.

 

I like this. Thanks for sharing. I'm concerned about fracking but I love it when someone who ISN'T getting rich off something tells me that I shouldn't be worried.

 

"Fracking" (actually hydraulic fracturing) is not new, people. It was first used commercially in the late 1940s. The hysteria is new, however.

 

I'm not well versed on this issue so I cannot comment directly. I will say that in the interest of thinking critically about motives, the "eco-wackos" may have motives other than the transparent "have clean water" agenda. People often take strong stances on a position for reasons other than true belief in the position they are taking, and this is done for a variety of secondary purposes (e.g., political influence, heightened visibility, etc.). Also, even if the motive seems noble, it is not necessarily "the correct one" if not based in reason or fact. An interesting example for us might be The Food Babe and her army. Her motives might be described as "wanting to have clean food," which seems reasonable. Should be assume her position is then "correct" even though her facts utilized in forming her position are often erroneous. Again, I'm not knowlegable with regard to fracking and can't comment on it directly. I would just encourage people to dig deeper when critically evaluating motives and determining the "correct agenda."

 

I feel that "eco-wackos" such as myself don't have secondary motives, and it's frustrating when people claim we do. I literally only want clean water. That's it. I'm very pro-business and pro-environment. Harmony between the two is definitely the best case scenario. I'm saying that the correct agenda for both sides is to pursue unpolluted groundwater. If companies can obtain and sell their product without harming the environment, this is best for everyone. It's hard for me to see any other scenario.

I see what you're saying about the food babe and her good intentions gone awry. If fracking is as perfectly harmless to the earth and people around it as the chemicals used for cleaning are for our beer, then I'm all for it (except the end product pollution, but that's a different subject). I just don't see much evidence for that case, although I'm definitely not an expert either. It just seems scientific "facts" are nearly impossible to come by. The truth, whatever it reveals, is the most important thing.

 

Maybe you two guys should settle this discussion on BeerAdvocate over a couple of Bud Lights at Applebee's.