My View: Stop fracking in Florida

Florida families and businesses are facing severe water- and air-quality issues related to climate change — and that problem will get dramatically worse if fracking continues in our state.

Many in Collier County still remember getting the letter in the mail from a Texas company warning of the potential for an explosion, gas leak or other drilling disaster in our neighborhood. We were terrified to be living in an emergency evacuation zone, and after some investigating, we discovered that the Dan A. Hughes Co. planned to drill for oil and that it could at any time use a process known as acid or hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, near our backyards. This is why all of us joined together to speak out against the proposal to drill, and possibly frack, so close to residential neighborhoods and in the cherished Everglades.

It took a concerted effort for a year and a half by local citizens to force the state to intervene. Unfortunately, although we’ve beaten back one company, many more fracking projects could endanger thousands of Florida families in the future.

Fracking, injecting toxic chemicals into the earth to release oil and gas, is often viewed as a bridge to cleaner, renewable energy sources. So why are we opposed to fracking in our backyards?

Most of us know about the climate change threats Florida faces. Our beautiful beaches, long coasts and tropical weather put us at greater risk to the negative effects of the increase in global temperatures. Experts warn that rising sea levels and retreating shorelines will lead to property damage, reduced tourism, lower yields of key crops. Severe flooding, saltwater contamination of our water supplies, increasing numbers of forest fires, and dying coral reefs threaten our economy as well as the natural beauty we love. But that doesn’t have to be the reality of living in the Sunshine State.

We spoke up to stop fracking in Collier County because we love living here and know that making smart choices matters when it comes to addressing climate change. Scientists have found that inherent in the fracking process is the release of large quantities of methane, which is at least 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a cause of climate change. Fracking will only make the threats to Florida worse.

Fracking in our state would particularly undermine jobs that are generated by tourism. Who will want to visit South Beach or Daytona Beach if our coasts are constantly under threat of flooding?

Allowing fracking in Florida not only would make climate change worse, but also would harm local residents and businesses. In Pennsylvania and many states across the country, water contamination and dangerous air pollution as a result of fracking are increasingly common. In West Virginia, Colorado, Utah and elsewhere, researchers are finding alarming levels of benzene air emissions, which are linked to neurological and respiratory problems and cancer. In Oklahoma, fracking has triggered increased earthquake activity, both in magnitude and frequency.

Unfortunately, despite these grave threats, Gov. Rick Scott continues to support future fracking projects in the state. Not only has he remained quiet on the future of the fracking permits in our neck of the woods, but he also has supported a major pipeline in North Central Florida. This massive project to transport fracked gas will cross private landowners’ property, with or without their consent, as well as environmentally sensitive areas such as Florida’s renowned natural springs.

There’s hope. As more residents learn about fracking and more science becomes available, it gives us the opportunity to pause and reconsider what direction we want for our state.

Protecting Florida’s jobs, businesses, property, public health and environmental treasures is the responsibility of every elected official.

Karen Dwyer is the co-founder of the Stonecrab Alliance, a group of local residents in Collier County who helped stop fracking near homes and the Everglades (on Facebook at on.tdo.com/1wmMHJD). Vickie Machado is the Florida organizer for Food & Water Watch (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org), which has been working to stop fracking in Florida.