Tour a Fracking Site

My great-grandfather was a Pennsylvania coal miner in a beautiful little town called Shamokin. It was a hard, dirty and dangerous job. My grandfather died young. My father told me stories about how, as a really young boy, he would go collect coal for the stove so his family could cook meals and keep warm. It was a messy and time consuming process. Mornings were cold and the coal stove would have to be stoked to heat the house. Today we cook, heat, light our homes and move about in vehicles powered largely by oil and gas. Children are no longer sent to do the daily, dirty job of collecting coal and life expectancy is much longer due to the use of oil and gas. Our homes are warm when we wake in the winter and cool in the summer.

On Monday, September 10th I had the opportunity to tour two different types of oil and gas extraction sites. The process for the two types of extraction were explained in depth.

So were the different processes for keeping people and the environment safe.

The industry is responsible for upwards of 100,000 jobs in our state, which in turn supports local business. The taxes from oil and gas fund everything from schools to new fire stations.

Proposition 112 will be on the November ballot. The setbacks it would mandate would devastate the industry, our state, and our community.

Learning about the industry and its processes will help voters make more informed - and less fearful - decisions. Industry tours are offered to the public. I highly recommend taking one. I would be happy to help make the arrangements for those interested. If you are interested, please click here to send me a message and let me know.