But, there are other problems.
Some farmers and owners of corporate farms who have large water resources often
sell that water to the energy companies; they can get more money for the water
and leave their fields barren than they can get for growing crops and selling
them to wholesalers and distributors.
Another reality may be
driving food prices higher.
Fossil fuel mining and agriculture have always
co-existed. But, that is changing.
Beneath about 200,000 square miles of North Dakota,
Montana, and Saskatchewan, lying between 4,500 and 7,500 feet below the surface
of the earth, is the Bakken Shale. Oil in the shale was discovered in
1953; however, because the shale is only 13 to 140 feet thick, using
conventional drilling methods were marginally profitable until five years ago
with the development of horizontal fracking.
The Bakken Shale lies directly below one of the most
fertile wheat fields in the United States. North Dakota farmers produce almost
three-fourths of all amber durum harvested in the United States. High in
protein and one of the strongest of all wheat, amber durum is a base for most
of the world's food production. It is used for all pastas, pizza crusts,
couscous, and numerous kinds of breads. Red durum, a variety, is used to feed
cattle. North Dakota farmers in late Summer harvest about 50
million bushels (about 1.4 million tons) of amber durum, almost
three-fourths of all amber durum produced in the United
States. About one-third of the production is exported, primarily
to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Destruction of the wheat fields, from a
combination of global warming and fracking, will cause production to decline,
prices to rise, and famine to increase.
Energy company landmen, buying
land and negotiating min eral rights leases,
became as pesky as aphids in the wheat fields. However, the landmen didn't have to do much sweet talking with
the farmers, many of whom were hugging bankruptcy during the Great Recession. The farmers yielded parts of
their land to the energy companies in exchange for immediate income and
the promise of future royalties. By November 2012 there were 7,791
wells in North Dakota .
In 2006, oil
production in the North Dakota fields was about 92 million gallons. Energy
companies are expected to mine more than 15.2 billion gallons this year.
Drilling for oil also yields natural gas; there are about two trillion barrels of natural
gas in the shale.
In Pennsylvania, 17,000
acres have already been lost to the development of natural gas fracking. That
land is not likely to be productive for several years because of "compaction
and landscape reshaping," according to a study by the Penn
State Extension Office. U.S. Geological Survey scientists conclude
there is a "low probability that the disturbed land will revert back to
a natural state in the near future."
The presence of natural gas drilling companies has
also led to decreased milk and cheese
production. Penn State researchers
Riley Adams and Dr. Timothy Kelsey concluded: " Changes
in dairy cow numbers also seem to be associated with the level of Marcellus
shale drilling activity." Counties with 150 or more Marcellus shale wells on
average experi enced an 18.7 percent decrease
in dairy cows, compared to only a 1.2 percent average decrease in
counties with no Marcellus wells."
Beneath some of the nation's
richest agricultural land in drought-ravaged central California lies the
Monterrey Shale, a 1,750 square mile formation that holds
about two-thirds of the country's estimated shale oil reserves, about 15.4
billion barrels (647 trillion gallons). The
landmen have already arrived to buy leases and set up what is likely to be the
biggest oil and gas boom in the country.
More than 200 different crops
are grown in the central valley, including about 70
percent of the world's supply of almonds, most of the grape production and 90
percent of all domestic wine sold in the United States. The Sun-Maid farm
cooperative, headquartered in the Central Valley, is one of the world's largest
producers of raisins and
dried fruits.
When the politicians unleashed Big Energy to frack the nation and extract gas, they parroted industry claims that extensive drilling would improve the economy, lower natural gas prices, and help make the United States energy independent from having to import foreign oil. What is happening is that the companies have purchased far too much land, are in heavy debt with the banks, and have a glut of natural gas that has forced the prices to the lowest level in almost 10 years.
The solution is that these
patriotic corporations, to reduce the glut and force domestic residential
prices back up as the mined gas becomes less available, are developing
extensive plans to export natural gas to countries that will pay significantly
higher prices than what is currently charged in the American market.
There is one problem. The
United States can't import water.
[Dr. Brasch's current book is Fracking Pennsylvania,
which looks at the impact of fracking upon public health, worker safety, the
environment, and agriculture. The book--available at local bookstores and
amazon. com--also looks at the financial collusion between politicians and Big
Energy.]
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