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PatrickforO

(15,425 posts)
Fri Mar 11, 2016, 06:34 AM Mar 2016

I'm sorry, but we need to begin managing ourselves as a species.

Climate change caused in part by carbon emissions poses an existential threat to us. This means that if we don't address it, many of us, our children or grandchildren could end up being killed because of it. Air and water are two of the most important resources we have, and fracking is known to put high levels of methane gas in the atmosphere, and dangerous chemicals in our water tables.

The other thing I take issue with you here is that the US is now an OIL EXPORTER. What that means is that we aren't just fracking as a national economic defense against dependency on oil from politically volatile regions (the middle east, Venezuela). Nope. Now we're raping the continent's natural resources so that Noble, Anadarko and others can increase sales revenue and thus profit.

Yes, when we stop fracking, the price of oil will go up. However, what you fail to mention, so I will for you, is that necessity breeds invention. As oil goes up, more and more entrepreneurial effort will be spent on energy alternatives, and as these become more efficient to produce, their costs will go down. Will we be inconvenienced? Yes. Will it adversely affect our economy in the short term. Yes.

And, hill, we must ask ourselves if we have the courage to delay gratification so our species may reach a higher goal. Or will we continue to be mired in the glorified individual greed that is capitalism.

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