During the years I have lived in Culver City, I have been impressed with what a fine job CC News has done reporting our local news. So it was a huge disappointment last week to see the unbalanced reporting on fracking by PXP at the Inglewood oil field.
Yes, it’s true that fracker-funded research at the Universities of TX and PA finds it A-OK. Huge money is hard to resist. The truth is very different.
Because news outlets are controlled by so few owners, there has been a virtual news blackout on the facts. Where did you read about the 5,000-person Stop the Frack Attack rally in Washington, D.C. 10 days ago?
We rely on CC News to be able to step away from the pack and support the interests of our very special community.
Ignoring the likelihood of leaking wells and toxic water polluting the watershed and groundwater, ignoring the toxic waste pits which will be remain on site long after PXP collects the last natural gas, ignoring the health risks to 200,000 nearby residents—maybe fracking should be banned simply because it may trigger a 7.4 earthquake (according to the US Geological Survey) on one of the most dangerous faults in S. CA. Better safe than sorry—don’t you think residents’ welfare should come before PXP’s?
If an earthquake is triggered, of course, the PXP will never be obligated to help us rebuild–they will simply claim it would have happened anyway. The costs will be far greater than the trifling money PXP is spreading around. They started last weekend. It is sheer insanity to let this go on.
If you have not read it, please read Greg Palast (American investigative reporter for the BBC), Vultures’ Picnic. It details how the oil cos. do business. You will see remarkable similarities to the situation in Culver City.
Thank you for your consideration,
J.E. Brockman