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Austerity = troubles
International Monetary Fund research shows that the 173 cases of fiscal austerity in advanced countries between 1978 and 2009 were followed by economic contractions and higher unemployment (page 237 in 2012 book "End This Depression Now" by Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winner in economics).
You don't get such information from TV, or even in popular press, because austerity benefits the ultra-rich, and they control mainline media.
Marian Gyr
Empire
End the exemptions
Clean water is essential for life. Seems like an obvious statement. Yet gas companies using horizontal fracking are allowed to confiscate, squander and pollute enormous quantities of water at the expense of farmers, other businesses, the public and the environment.
Gas companies claim the process is safe and groundwater has never been contaminated in the fracking process. Not true. Water is contaminated every time a well is fracked. Five to 8 million gallons of fresh water are mixed with toxic chemicals and sand to blow apart the shale and release the gas. This water is now so toxic it can never be returned to the hydrologic cycle. Just because the contamination is intentional and part of the fracking process does not make the water any less toxic.
If it's so safe, why are gas companies exempt from the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act? If Michigan has such great regulations to protect our environment, why is the gas industry exempt from water withdrawal rules?
Gas industry subsidies and exemptions to environmental laws should be ended. Ban horizontal fracking in Michigan. Level the playing field; allow sustainable energy technologies a chance to compete.
Anne Zukowski
Charlevoix
