“Fracking” is one of those words I never expected to be part of polite speech, nor that it would have a vibrant life in Toronto the Good.
But times change, and for better or worse, fracking is now part of our life in this city.
“Fracking” is the short form of “hydraulic fracturing,” the technical term for freeing natural gas from the ground through a controversial process that grows more worrisome the more one learns.
Since the beginning of November, half the natural gas used in the GTA has come from fracking that takes place in Pennsylvania. Before Nov. 1, natural gas for the GTA came from Alberta, but Transcanada Corp. reversed the flow direction in some pipes to give us Pennsylvania natural gas, a product 30 per cent less expensive to the company but likely not to the consumer. Many people concerned about global warming and the environment have thought that of all the fossil fuels, natural gas is the most benign. That’s not a claim that can be made of fracked gas.
The production process involves drilling a hole a kilometre or two into the ground, then inserting a pipe bomb of ball bearings and explosives. On detonation, small perforations are made in the pipe. A mixture of water and chemicals — slick water — is piped down and put under a pressure enormous enough to shatter the shale around the pipe so the gas is freed from the rock. The gas is then captured. Many such holes are drilled in close proximity. The process uses copious amounts of water.
In the United States, fracking operations are exempt from federal safe drinking water standards, so companies do not have to account for the chemicals in the slick water. Studies have shown drinking water is badly affected by the operations because the slick water often gets out of the holes, and there’s considerable concern about unfavourable impacts on aquifers.
The Marcellus Shale, from which the Toronto gas comes, stretches across New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Fracking is entirely prohibited in France, and drilling by Exxon Mobil in Germany was halted by local opposition. Fracking set off earth tremors in Poland, and in Ohio, fracking is thought to have caused an earthquake with a Richter measurement of more than 4.0.
Fracking has been studied by Ontario and by other provinces in Canada, with suggestions as to shale locations where natural gas is abundant, such as Collingwood. But proposals for commercial exploitation have yet to happen here — perhaps because we have more stringent regulations on water quality and chemicals.
In the GTA, half of us now use fracked gas. A syndicate headed up by Enbridge Inc. — the same company that is pushing the Northern Gateway pipeline project carrying oil through northern British Columbia — is completing plans to bring in fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale for the rest of us, so we’ll all subsist on fracked gas. Enbridge sponsors the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, the very successful fundraising venture for Princess Margaret Hospital, but a growing number of riders are wondering whether it makes sense to align cancer prevention with such a company.
Electricity consumers have a choice. Rather than dealing just with Toronto Hydro, consumers can buy from Bullfrog Power, which supplies as much electricity generated from sustainable sources to the Toronto Hydro system as Bullfrog customers consume.
We don’t have that choice with fracked gas. Our consumption of natural gas means we’re part of the problem faced by those people concerned with aquifers and drinking water in Pennsylvania.
A city council wanting a green city, one on the leading edge of environment concerns, would be talking about alternatives to fracked gas.
Another reason why all those distractions at the great grey clam are a problem for all of us.
Post City Magazines’ columnist John Sewell is a former mayor of Toronto and the author of a number of urban planning books, including The Shape of Suburbs.
