Near my home, gas companies drill deep holes into the ground, pump water down steel pipes encased in concrete, and open up channels for natural gas. When it’s done right, the natural gas flows into the pipe and we have cheaper energy.
Many complain about alleged health risks. Once, I thought them to be typical bitter, hysterical pseudo-intellectuals who gravitate to Imaginary Problems. I thought that, since the Ozone Hole and Global Warming have run their course, griping about fracking was one of the few ways left to have people pay attention to them.
I changed after our large dog took to running off. After a snowfall early this winter, I was able to follow her to a newly drilled gas well. The mastiff was drawn to some leaking fluid, which she lapped up. When I called, she looked guilty, and promptly came home with me. A few days later, I tracked her there again. After a few weeks, we saw a slight, greenish tint to her breath when the light was right. Her eyes, in the darkness, had a soft glow.
Her trips to the gas well continued. Soon, we noticed fluorescent green patches on her pad, where her head laid when she slept.
We put her in a kennel for a month during our vacation in East St. Louis, where we help the Chamber of Commerce with its “Hikers ‘n Bikers Bake Sale”. When we returned, the kennel owner apologized. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” he exclaimed. “The dog doesn’t look like the same animal.”
We were appalled when we saw our beloved family pet, and raced her to the vet. “I’ve only seen this once or twice.”, he explained. “She’s been drinking fracking water. It changes the animal’s genetic structure. Her DNA has been altered. She is no longer a dog. The fracking water has turned your beloved family pet into a very large, vicious, radioactive cat.”
So, the next time you hear someone who thinks fracking is all right, you just tell them about my dog. Or, cat. Or, whatever it has become.
And, consider what might happen if the DNA-altering fracking water would leak into a town’s water supply. The entire population could have their genetic structure so warped they would spend the rest of their lives swinging through the trees, screeching in some outlandish orang-utang gibberish.
We can’t be too careful about the possible dangers of fracking.
