Should We Worry About Fracking? Some Say No, Many Say
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
COMMUNITY ullerto♥ n bsCAeLENrDAvR Paege 13r -15 FUFLLERTON’S INDEPENDENT NEWS • Est.1978 (printed oOn 20% recycled paper) • YEAR 36 #16 • EARLY OCTOBER 2014 Submissions: [email protected] • Contact: (714) 525-6402 • Read Online at : www.fullertonobserver.com 5K Walk & Fair for Coyote Hills! Friends of Coyote Hills is hosting it's second annual walkathon on Saturday, November 8th, to benefit conservation efforts of West Coyote Hills in Fullerton. The event begins at 9:30am and ends at 1pm at the Laguna Lake Equestrian Center. Admission is $25/adults; $15/teens; and free for kids 12 and under. For more information and to register visit: www.coyotehillswalkathon.org "Walk for Coyote Hills 2014" is a family-friendly event that features a 5K walk along Laguna Lake and the Fullerton Loop. Stop by the 'Naturalist Stations' along the trail to learn about our ecosystem and history! After the walk, peruse the 'Natural Sciences Festival' featuring Sea and Sage Audubon Society, Southern California Bluebird Club, Animal Protection and Rescue League, Reptile Rescue of Orange County, The Cavity Conservation Initiative, Amigos de Bolsa Chica, Animal Health Foundation and more. Fifth graders from Richman Elementary will teach us about water conservation. The event begins from Laguna Lake OBSERVER AROUND THE WORLD AT THE CLIMATE CHANGE MARCH Equestrian Center located on I stood at the corner of 57th Street and A grasroots affair organized by environ - white lab coats. “The ‘Debate’ is Over, the Lakeview across from Laguna Lake 6th Avenue in New York City and pho - mental, labor, and social justice issue facts are in the evidence is clear.” Park (off Euclid) in Fullerton. tographed dozens of the over 300,000 cli - groups, children and adults from dozens of At the time I shot these photographs – mate change marchers who came from as different states took to the streets. The just before 4pm on Sunday, Sept. 21st, the far away as Rome to hammer home the signs ranged from witty “Society also used march had been underway since 10:30am idea that something needs to change. As to think the earth was flat” to direct: “No and new groups were still waiting to enter. 7 . A 7 S the march threaded through midtown liquefied fracked gas.” New York City’s The New York Times reported that earlier in D . 5 C I D 1 U A Manhattan for over seven hours, people esteemed Natural History Museum towed the afternoon the march came to standstill E . N P T D O O carried signs, banged drums, and chanted a sign calling to “cut ties to funders of cli - because the 2.2 mile route was completely E R R N T G A O R slogans designed to garner the attention of mate science misinformation.” I think my full. T A S -Pamela Mason Wagner, D I E T E L N S world leaders in advance of next week’s UN favorite sign was scrawled on a giant rolling M R former Fullerton resident now living in L A O P R T U summit meeting on climate change. black board pushed by scientists wearing P NYC for 33 years E S F P Should We Worry About Fracking? West Nile Virus Some Say No, Many Say Yes UPDATE by Heather Sutherland The panel assembled to answer these con - 159 people in Orange County (14 in Fullerton) sought medical The stated purpose of the symposium held cerns included a representative from the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal attention, some ending up in hos - at Cal State Fullerton on September 23 was to pital stays, due to West Nile Virus T Resources; a CSUF assistant professor of provide local policymakers and the public with as of Sept. 23. Four have died. N hydrogeology; a geophysicist from USGS; the E scientific information about the environmen - L director of Strategic Initiatives from South OC Vector Control crews have L D tal and potential health and safety impacts of A been out eradicating mosquito I Coast Air Quality Management District; a C S oil extraction in North Orange County. In 2 E breeding sources in public areas, S E professional consultant; CSUF assistant pro - 0 R I that, it fell short. There simply wasn’t a bal - E but according to General Manager 4 R T fessor Health Science ; and an oil industry rep - V 6 R anced voice on the panel. Mike Hearst, “people must do their - R T E resentative from LINN Energy, the company E 5 Although not presented by the panel there is V part in their own back yards.” S N 2 currently fracking and acidizing wells in Brea. D B E plenty of legitimate research from groups like 5 Go to www.ocvcd.org for com - A - Fracking involves injecting a high-pressure R O the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center 4 plete instructions on how to take O R E mix of water, sand and chemicals underground 1 for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, Food T control of your yard by removing 7 U H to break up rock formations containing oil and T & Water Watch and more on the negative C natural gas, both of which are present in North all sources of standing water. And if N affects to our air, water, and environment if we I R you need help call Vector Control continue down the path we’re on. But, these Orange County wells. O at 714-971-2421. voices were excluded from the panel. One of the panelists addressed the correla - tion between seismic activity and fracking stat - Every 10 to 12 days crews have Many hold out hope that our local leaders been treating the storm channel didn’t walk away from this symposium think - ing there was no evidence that nearby oil extraction activities were the cause of the 5.1 that winds through Fullerton with ing fracking doesn’t pose any substantial risk. a substance that kills mosquito The audience of over 400 hundred came earthquake in La Habra in March 2014. However, he indicated “the factors governing larve and when there is enough with concerns about increased earthquake risk water present, larve-eating fish are and impacts to air and water from oil compa - this [causal] relationship are complex and not well understood.” This did little to alleviate added. ny extraction processes including hydraulic The plan to fog the harder hit fracturing – commonly called “fracking” cur - community concerns. The fracking process produces a lot of waste - neighborhoods in Santa Ana in the 4 rently happening in Fullerton, Brea, Yorba early mornings was put on hold 3 water which is disposed of by injecting under - 8 Linda, La Habra, La Habra Heights, and N 2 because the substance requires cer - R 9 1 ground. Some panelists agreed that while O 5 E Placentia. In fact, those cities partnered with A tain weather conditions to be effec - 0 T wastewater injection was responsible for earth - V 7 C the university to help organize the forum. tive. The fogging agent is sum - R R X quakes elsewhere in the country, it was unlike - N E In addition to the current impacts of frack - E O ithrin, a synthesized version of O ly a factor here. One panelist said that in L S B T ing operations, another concern involves the R material extracted from chrysan - L B O Oklahoma, the number of earthquakes caused E P future ramp up of fracking, acidizing, and U L themum flowers, and is safe for O by fracking is well-established, but that the L F wastewater processes in the hundreds of old oil U people and animals but deadly to F wells in Fullerton and surrounding cities. Continued on page 17 flying insects, said Hearst. Page 2FULLERTON OBSERVER COMMUNITY OPINIONS EARLY OCTOBER 2014 funded in today’s budget cuts, I am Some Facts Regarding Measure J by Maureen Mason thrilled to see that my local community ullerton college wants to invest in the arts to main - F I am a long-time resident of Fullerton outdated buildings. The buildings that are tain their excellence. The entire commu - bserver and full-time community college teacher targeted for demolition simply cannot be nity benefits from the Fullerton College O in another local district. I read Bob retrofitted to meet these growing needs. music and theater programs as their pro - Stevenson’s Community Opinion on the The withdrawal of our troops from for - ductions are consistently of the highest The Fullerton Observer Community NOCCCD Bond Measure and feel com - eign soils has dramatically increased the Newspaper, founded by Ralph and Natalie quality and the ticket prices the best Kennedy and a group of friends in 1978, is pelled to respond as it contains many fac - number of veterans who choose to take entertainment bargains around. staffed by local citizen volunteers who create, tual errors. advantage of the GI Bill. The One of the best ideas publish, and distribute the paper throughout First of all, bond measures cannot cover Fullerton College Veterans Many buildings were in the Measure J blue - our community. salaries or anything related to personnel. Center, which in the past has This venture is a not-for-profit one with upgraded and new print is construction of They can only be used for facilities, pri - done a fine job serving veter - the building which Mr. all ad and subscription revenues plowed back marily buildings. As a result of the first ans’ needs, is nowhere near ones built as a result into maintaining and improving our inde - of the bond passed Stevenson characterizes pendent, non-partisan, non-sectarian com - bond’s passage 12 years ago, many build - large enough or sufficiently as a “Welcome Center.” munity newspaper.