Midwest SOARRING Foundation co-sponsored a presentation June 8, 2013 with the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter on Fracking in Illinois. The lecture helped raise awareness among a diverse group of Illinois residents about the environmental costs of fracking.
Sandstone cliff walls of Starved Rock State Park, Utica, IL
Many were unaware that there are two types of mining processes that can occur with fracking. One process extracts sand from the earth which is then sent to fracking sites throughout the world. This process is occurring in Illinois just outside of Starved Rock State Park near Ottawa, Illinois. The actual frack mining involves mixing sand, water, and chemicals at high pressure into a wellbore to create fractures. Drilling a well a mile deep with numerous veins is common to extract gas and petroleum.
The audience was astonished to learn that two to 7 million gallons of fresh water per vein are required, and one frac well alone can have seven or eight veins. It was easy to understand that a tremendous amount of precious, fresh water is wasted in the process, not to mention the toxic slurry of chemicals that is left above ground, and earthquakes that can result from the destabilization of the ground due to the deep drilling.
Joseph Standing Bear Schranz believes it is all of our duty to safeguard the environment for the next seven generations. He states, “We are all accountable to the future.”
