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by coffeeshopgoth
1046 days ago
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True story. I have been to SA a number of times and know have seen how dry it can get down there (though with what water you have, it is beautiful). We also have a lot of farmers and ranchers picking up the oil and gas royalty income in the U.S. Weird thing/something I have never really gotten over in terms of agriculture...Not frac water, but produced formation water (which is also usually reinjected for disposal - and that is a whole other topic that is concerning), is land applied in some areas for cattle to drink. Here is the thing - it is potable for animals but not safe for human consumption, yet we will eventually eat them. Produced formation water (ancient seawater with some heavier and sometimes slightly radioactive materials) doesn't strike me as something anything living could properly filter. The practice is common in Wyoming - where a lot of beef cattle live. Not sure about TX, but wouldn't be surprised if it was acceptable practice there. |
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"We also have a lot of farmers and ranchers picking up the oil and gas royalty income in the U.S."
For many, it's probably a pragmatic decision and a guarantee of income in bad seasons. I don't think it's that different here although many farmers have objected, especially in Queensland's Darling Downs which has some of the best farming land in the country as I mentioned. These links fill in the details, it's quite tragic really:
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/australia-existi...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-14/coal-seam-gas-wells-d...
What's really annoying is that the multinationals are exporting the gas at high world prices and we have to pay parity—and even then there's a shortage here especially in the populated South-East. Locals, pay huge gas and electricity prices even though we've an abundance. It's maddening but understandable as in this so-called democracy the corporations essentially run the place.
"...it is potable for animals but not safe for human consumption, it'swe will eventually eat them."
This is quite outrageous really, especially if those chemicals include traces of aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons as they aren't necessarily broken down in animals so they're passed onto us. You'll get the concern that many here have from those links.
As you probably know, the equivalent to your formation waters here is the Great Artesian Basin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Artesian_Basin. It too is under assault, read the section on 'Environmental Concerns'.
It's all quite depressing really.