TED Community » Ernesto Villasenor

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Addressing low-income, inner city disparities (social justice, environmental justice, food justice, health disparities, public education, racial inequalities).

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• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 22 2013: Mike, even if we keep an eye on fracking operations and jot down the issues, disasters, and accidents that are occurring with fracking (or unconventional gas extraction, whatever it may be), the exemptions that the industry is saved from being brought to justice would not help us bring about the right regulation for the technology itself.
  
  In this case, as in much of the unconventional gas extraction that is occurring elsewhere, we cannot wait for the technology to better itself. We cannot wait to provide solutions to the issue: in fact, we need to implement regulations that would prevent from issues to occur in the first place.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 22 2013: I couldn't have said it better. But, how can we help shift this governing body mindset to one that actually cares about their members of society? Up until when will we have to shift this mindset?
  
  If recent events tell us anything, using the Keystone Pipeline spill in Arkansas and BP, it seems like it's going to take much more than that to actually get massive change going on.
  
  Obama's energy policy is a fluke, exempting the industry from major environmental and public health regulations.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: I invite you to visit the Marcellus Shale region in the Tri-State area of the Northeast US, speak with the residents there, speak with those who have been affected. Speak with the industrialists and learn about the technology. Then come back and contribute to this conversation.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: Haha. You're funny. I'll spend my time educating and emancipating those who actually care and know about unconventional gas extraction rather than argue with a one-minded individual who has brought up nothing but fallacious arguments. Good day.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: I'm very well-versed in how the website functions, as much as I know that being the fact that the site is open to anyone to contribute, it does not necessarily mean that all credites references are reliable or industry-neutral references.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: Really? Wikipedia as a primary source?
  
  The acquisition of my knowledge comes from working under world renowned professors, highly credible leaders in their field.
  
  The tech has been around 10 years or so with little regulation. Any harms created by fracking-whether directly or indirectly- are caused by fracking and were not present prior to the implementation of such tech in the area.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: It's funny how you use the Tesla example on this one. It only involves one individual and one discovery.
  
  Fracking involves communities and tens of thousands of people being affected, all for a short-term energy gain that is not sustainable in any way whatsoever. Is it worth it? I don't think so.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: Loose term or not, as discussed before in this thread, I do not think that a lengthy paper on the harms caused by hydraulic fracturing- environmental, sociopolitical, health, etc.- is needed on this. There are communities, citizens, areas of land that are heavily affected and are being disenfranchised by the fracking industry.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: Thank you for your input and feedback, Richard. One of the things that communities in NY State and elsewhere in the country are doing is developing penal codes that would ban fracking in their municipalities, as I've seen in numerous cases throughout the state (I'm a student at RPI in Troy). The moratorium that is in place can only withstand so much with the amount of power the industry has at every level of the government, but I do hope that the communities that will be most affected here in the state are prepared for it (even though the moratorium does not allow for fracking to occur, the state is still accepting the waste from the Tri-State region, where it is most active).
  
  You bring up an excellent point with the last two questions you mentioned. Is it really worth it? If anything, going to unconventional extraction methods for energy have posed more harm than good for what, only a few years' worth of energy supply? Nonetheless, even if we are extracting natural gas and all out here in the area, we still have to account for the harm done in the area with respect to mining, which is something the fracking industry is not taking into account for. It really is a complete mess to say the least.

• A reply on Conversation: Are the short-term gains of hydrofracking worth the short & long term burdens of environmental/social injustice, as stated by the industry?

  Apr 16 2013: Some of the harms associated directly with fracking include the seismic activity in some of the areas where it is present, with a notable case in Texas. And all of the associations attributed to fracking are properly linked to environmental harm as hydraulic fracturing includes of multiple processes, all which have a level of environmental degradation. The effects that come out in terms of health disparities and what not are ripple effects from the activity that induces them, as in this case, fracking.
  
  You bring a very good point, the insurance aspect of the work, and this has been an issue not only with fracking itself, but with other activities such as offshore oil drilling, the sands in the Keystone Pipeline. It is one of the things that has been discussed at different legislative levels throughout the US, and there isn't much information on this available online as far as I am aware. But it's a very good point, and this then goes on to the risk assessment associated with unconventional gas extraction, which is a whole different topic as to how the industry assesses the risks, how the community assesses it, etc etc.