The South African Civil Society Information Service

The Fracking Song: My Water's on Fire Tonight

14 May 2011

Karoo residents and New Yorkers alike are concerned about their pristine environments and water resources being destroyed by natural gas drilling through the practice commonly referred to as "fracking."

While the South African Department of Mineral Resources is still considering Shell's application to explore the Karoo for natural gas, Americans too are highly concerned about a proposed fracking initiative about 100 miles north east of New York City.

According to one report, "In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg commissioned a study on the likely impact of drilling near the Catskill mountain reservoirs that are the source of most city drinking water, and concluded fracking poses an unacceptable risk."

A recent US development is the investigative journalism probe by ProPublica, which has resulted in a damning report against fracking.

The anti-fracking song "My Water's On Fire Tonight" is a product of Studio 20 NYU in collaboration with ProPublica.

The song is based on ProPublica's investigation into the practice of hydraulic fractured gas drilling.

Meanwhile in South Africa, the Department of Mineral Resources has placed a moratorium on fracking while they undertake a study to explore the risks associated with shale gas exploration. New applications for fracking are not being accepted while Shell's application will apparently not be processed by the Department until their study has been completed.

Editor's Note: In related news, this past week the French National Assembly approved legislation that would ban fracking in France. The French Senate will vote before it becomes law. Read more about it here.

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You can find this page online at http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/370.19.