JIM EMBERGER COMMENTARY
The Miramichi Leader, 19 February 2016
The Commission on Hydrofracking will soon submit its report and the government will make its decision on the future of shale gas. After five years of examining the pros and cons, what evidence has accumulated to support each side?
If a solid economic case for shale gas ever did exist, it has now evaporated. It is now common knowledge that to offset the rapid depletion of shale gas wells, producers continuously drilled more of them.
Liberal firing of Dr. Eilish Cleary a dark day in New Brunswick history
MONCTON, NB (Dec. 8, 2015) – Members of the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance are shocked and dismayed at the unprecedented action taken against Dr. Eilish Cleary.
“This has effectively put a fatal bullet into any hopes that this government had of obtaining a social license for any endeavor that impacts the health of New Brunswickers,” says spokesman Jim Emberger. “Dr. Cleary was perhaps one of the few remaining voices in government with any credibility with the citizenry.”
OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNMENT OF NEW BRUNSWICK
from the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance
Public Health needs autonomy and New Brunswicker’s need a voice they can trust
MONCTON, NB (3 December 2015) – The New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance is greatly disturbed with recent news reports speculating that Dr. Eilish Cleary’s leave of absence may be related to her work.
Yesterday, social media erupted with support and indignation when the story became public, and people immediately rushed to her defense, calling for her reinstatement.
Video of Dr. John Cherry’s ‘Shale Gas Experiment” presentation in Fredericton, November 17, 2015. See our previous post for details, written statements and press coverage of Dr. Cherry’s visit. Thanks to Rob Turgeon (Apple Hill Video), who enabled us to provide the full presentation online.
“From my hydrogeological perspective, shale gas development should be viewed as a big experiment for which we have minimal scientific basis for predicting the outcome for impacts on groundwater quality of stray gas.”
~Dr. John Cherry
In recent years, New Brunswick media have been filled with the opinions and scientific claims of both opponents and supporters of shale gas development. To provide clarity about some of these claims and to continue its efforts to bring objective science on the issue of shale gas to the citizens of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance invited respected hydrogeologist, Dr. John Cherry to Fredericton.
JIM EMBERGER COMMENTARY
The Daily Gleaner, October 31, 2015
In its letter to the New Brunswick Commission on Hydrofracturing (reference “‘Social license’ needs definition, say Tories”, by Adam Huras, Telegraph Journal, 17 October 2015, ), the Progressive Conservative party asks for an explanation on how “clear and credible information about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on health, environment, and water can be obtained without hydraulic fracturing occurring in New Brunswick.”
It’s amazing that educated people would ask such a nonsensical question. When confronting a high-risk situation only a fool would ignore the experiences of others who have faced and studied those risks.
On October 3, 2015, NBASGA member, Liane Thibodeau, presented ‘Green Energy Solutions‘ to an appreciative audience at the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick Annual General Meeting in Fredericton, NB. Thanks to Rob Turgeon (Apple Hill Video), we are able to provide the full presentation for you here.
JIM EMBERGER COMMENTARY
The Daily Gleaner October 7, 2015
For four years the shale gas industry dominated local media via coverage of the pro-shale Alward government. Industry and its allies frequented the business sections and held province-wide“information”sessions.
And yet, they couldn’t make their case.
Now these same groups have created a website to provide a supposedly uninformed public with information it somehow missed.
On August 19, 2015 a delegation of three NBASGA members traveled to Fredericton to present our case against UNGOD (UNconventional Gas and Oil Development) to the New Brunswick Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing.
Commentary by Jim Emberger
Judging from editorial page content regarding the new EPA draft report on hydrofracturing, only a few writers have read beyond the single, misleading headline repeated in the media, which said that the EPA did not find“widespread or systemic impacts on drinking water.”
The report itself offers two equally plausible explanations for that finding. It said that maybe there really aren’t widespread impacts, but that it’s just as likely that the poor quality and limited quantity of data made it impossible to judge the size of impact. The following quotes from the report cite these shortcomings.