When a product or corporation takes a hit in public opinion, one of the steps that will be taken is to change their name or roll out a rebranding campaign. Led by their front group, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), frackers are rebranding fracking. Or to put it another way, they are putting a pretty red bow on a pile of poop.
How much are they spending on this fracking rebranding campaign? They won’t say. It’s proprietary, hush hush, in the same fashion as the super-double secret ingredients in the chemicals used in fracking.
With the blessings of the Heritage Foundation, a right wing think tank, the fracking ad campaign feature actors , including a little girl, saying “ Fracking’s a good word”, “Fracking Rocks” and “Fracking: Rock Solid for PA” .
The astroturf industry group, United Shale Advocates has the ad up on their youtube channel titled Rock Solid Facts. Not surprising, the ad is a rerun of the same pile of talking point poop the industry has been promoting all along.
A few years ago, the industry shied away from the word “Fracking”. They thought it was obscene.
People agreed, fracking is obscene.
Today they are embracing the obscene word as much as they have embraced the obscene practice of drilling, fracking and extraction of fossil fuels, while neglecting to mention the consequences this has on real people.
FRACKING ROCKS?
So, fracking is a good word and it rocks?
Calvin Tillman, the former mayor of Dish, Texas who was forced to leave his town to protect the health of his family after fracking and associated industrial activities created an unlivable situation and doesn’t think Fracking is a good word when it rocked his family.
Deborah Rogers of Fort Worth, Texas, who experienced nausea and severe headaches and nosebleeds, as well as asphyxiation of goats and chickens, after toxic fracking chemicals were found on her property and doesn’t think Fracking is a good word when it rocked her life.
The Ruggiero family of Wise County, Texas, who suffered debilitating health problems and significant losses in property value due to air and water contamination from a spill left unreported by a nearby fracking operation and doesn’t think Fracking is a good word when it rocked his family.
And there are at least 243 families in Pennsylvania whose lives have been rocked by fracking and don’t think fracking is a good word. The List of the Harmed highlights 6,154 families from all over the country who have been rocked by fracking and fossil fuel industrialization.
In February 2014, a Chevron natural gas well exploded in Bobtown, PA. The ensuing fire burned for 5 days and killed one worker. 
Nearby residents were evacuated.
Chevron rocked the community with a coupon for a free large SUPREME pizza and a 2-liter bottle of soda.
Areas in Youngstown OH, Azel TX, Oklahoma City OK, Conway AR have been rocked with earthquakes associated with frack liquid injection wells and fracking. It’s unknown if residents of these communities received a free pizza.
As another industry front group, America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) says “Think About It”.
Many who have had their world rocked by fracking have thought about it, and don’t think Fracking’s a good word, no matter how many pretty red bows are put on it.
©2014 by Dory Hippauf
Jay Sweeney says
Nice article. Good job Dory!
Yes, Fracking is not a good word when it Rocks our World in the worst , possible ways….
Thanks, for listing how much it’s negatively rocking our World…..
BAN FRACKING/GAS Drilling NOW…..
Schlumerger popularized the term “hydraulic fracturing,” which they, being French, referred to as a “frac.” Catch is you cannot conjugate “frac” in English, since the past tense comes out as “fraced” (as in faced) and the gerund or present participle as “fracing” (like lacing).
So the industry added an extra “c” to make it “fraccing” and “fracced” - all by way of trying to avoid the phonetically correct English word “frack” which is a Battle Star Galactica euphemism for you-know-what . . . As in “your water has been fracced.” Or “we’re the fraccers and we’re going to fracc your neighborhood real good.”
Great read. I would like to officially report that the people in Texas did NOT receive their free fracking pizza! We got fracked again. 😉
Amy says
*fracing.
What are your credible sources?
Credible sources - Do you see the blue text in the blog post?
These are called hyperlinks, clicking on them will take you to another website where the referenced info can be found.
As my post is not a research paper or study I felt footnotes were a bit much and the use of hyperlinks would be understood. Sorry you don’t understand hyperlinks.
Other resources not hyperlinked include Range Resources, Marcellus Shale Coalition, United Shale Advocates, America’s Natural Gas Association, Chevron, Department of Environmental Protection, Energy Information Agency, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake energy, Energy In Depth and other front/astroturf groups.
Other Credible Sources that I have used: - by the way you may have to cut/paste the url address if clicking doesn’t work. The URL address begins with http be sure to copy/paste the entire url or it won’t work. Also if you do take the time to follow these sources, usually there is blue text within the studies or articles, these are hyperlinks too. Clicking on them will take you to yet another page. Amazing isn’t it?
Introduction to the Marcellus Shale | An introduction to the geological characteristics and considerations of the Marcellus Shale, as well as its cultural history and major topics of scientific interest.| Paleontological Research Institution
http://cce.cornell.edu/EnergyClimateChange/NaturalGasDev/Documents/PRI%20Papers/Marcellus_issue1.pdf
Wet-Dry Gas | Marcellus Center for Outreach & research (MCOR) | Penn State
http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/resources/maps.php
What’s The Difference Between Wet And Dry Natural Gas? | StateImpact NPR | http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/natural-gas-prices/
Utica – The Shale Revolution Coming to Ohio | Independent Petroleum Association of America | http://oilindependents.org/utica-the-shale-revolution-coming-to-ohio/
Ohio’s $500 Billion Oil Dream Fades as Utica Turns Gassy | By Mike Lee and Edward Klump | Bloomberg | Apr 15, 2013
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-15/ohio-s-500-billion-oil-dream-fades-as-utica-turns-gassy.html
U.S. Natural Gas Exports Could Change Market | By Randy Leonard | Roll Call Sept. 9, 2014 http://www.rollcall.com/news/us_natural_gas_exports_could_change_market-236112-1.html
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) | Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) | August 2014 http://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/indus-act/lng.asp
Falling LNG Prices May Hinder U.S. Export Plans | By Nick Cunningham | OilPrice.com July 14, 2014 | http://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Falling-LNG-Prices-May-Hinder-U.S.-Export-Plans.html
Renewing the Globe? Europe Leads the Way in Energy Alternatives | by Ethan Goffman | ProQuest April 2012 http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/europe_renew/review.php
Don’t Let China Dominate | When it comes to renewable energy, China is trumping the U.S. | US News Sept. 18, 2014 http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2014/09/18/china-is-besting-the-us-on-renewable-energy
World’s Largest Solar Power Plant Online In United Arab Emirates |by Peter Murray | SingularityHub April 2014 http://singularityhub.com/2013/04/02/worlds-largest-solar-power-plant-online-in-united-arab-emirates/
The Middle East Turns To Solar Energy | by Natalie Robehmed | Forbes September 2013 http://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2013/09/03/the-middle-east-turns-to-solar-energy/
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources | Marcellus Shale | http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/econresource/oilandgas/marcellus/marcellus_faq/marcellus_shale/index.htm
Understanding Drilling Technology | A discussion of the technologies associated with unconventional natural
gas drilling and how it compares to more familiar conventional drilling techniques. | Paleontological Research Institution http://www.museumoftheearth.org/files/marcellus/Marcellus_issue6.pdf
A Brief History of Hydraulic Fracturing | EEC Environmental http://www.eecworld.com/services/258-a-brief-history-of-hydraulic-fracturing
Get out the net. You got you a frack troll on this blog post….. Be careful. Being in that close of contact to stupidity is dangerous. Please gut the troll and bury it along with all the rest of the trolls you have debunked in the past. Don’t worry. Nothing will ever grow in that burial plot of trolls. Apparently, their ilk cannot reproduce.
Prononced like “facing” ? Where u lern Speke engleesh ? Fracklahoma ?
Fish Creek Neighbor says
Fracking has rocked my world ~ and not in a good way.
Kevin O'Neill says
Great piece Dory. Reminds me of “Brown 25”, one of the cheery sponsors on “The Groove Tube” (1974):
http://youtu.be/008BPUdQ1XA “Another fine product from Uranus.”
Kevin O'Neill says
It’s not fracking anymore, it’s…
Brown 25 (from Uranus): http://youtu.be/008BPUdQ1XA