The Real Cost of Fracking by Michelle Bamberger

Author:Michelle Bamberger
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780807084946
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 2015-04-05T04:02:54+00:00

SEVEN

SHARON AND WADE

Disrespect of Farmers and Farming

Although in the United States, as in most developed countries, the population has steadily moved away from rural areas in the last fifty years,1 the fact remains that without farming we would have no food. But farming is a demanding and financially risky business that is subject to many external forces that can influence the farmer’s bottom line. The oil and gas industry generally takes the position that the financial gains that farmers reap from leasing land for gas drilling can provide needed income with little or no impact on food production. The reality is far more complex and varied. Farmers tend to have independent streaks, which is completely contrary to leasing land to the fossil fuel industry. Once the land is leased, control is ceded to the company, so that the use of prime farmland may be compromised for years. Even in the best of circumstances, access roads and truck traffic can divide pastures and affect animal well-being. In more serious cases, leaks from waste-water impoundments, well blowouts, and faulty well casings can affect animal health and reproduction, calling into question the safety of our food supply. This is the story of one colorful, strong-willed beef cattle farmer who has experienced little financial gain and many serious consequences.

In the summer of 2012, I called Wade Davidson to schedule a meeting at his home and take a tour of his farm and neighborhood. His wife, Sharon, answered the phone; she was friendly but said that I would be speaking only to Wade when I arrived, and no one else. She was sick and tired of talking about drilling issues. Their eldest son, Wade Jr., who helped out on the farm, felt the same way, and she asked that I arrive after 2 p.m., to allow time for Wade Jr. to avoid me. She explained that her husband had been telling his story over and over again, but no one was listening. The last group of people who visited stayed longer than Wade said they would. When she had returned from work that evening, she went directly to her room, without stopping to say hello to her guests. She knew this was rude, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk to them. Still, she asked about what I was doing and why.

After I explained what compelled me to speak with farmers about fracking, there was silence from the other end of the phone. Finally, I said, “OK, I hope to meet you when I come out.”

“Yes,” she said, “and I’ll give you my two cents.”

Wade Davidson was the first person I spoke with about the impacts of gas drilling on animal health. I called him on the afternoon before a Cornell Sage Chapel Christmas concert in December 2010, and thought that calling him three hours in advance would allow us plenty of time to talk, but I was wrong. It was clear after the first few minutes that Wade had plenty to tell me, too much for this one session.

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