Radioactive Drinking Water May Be Coming to Michigan
No, unfortunately, it's not a new kind of energy drink. If Michigan follows the path of Pennsylvania in loose enforcement of massive hydrofracking operations across the state, we may also be at risk of radiation levels literally 2,122 times the standard in our drinking water.
The New York Times expose on the lax regulations on fracking and their impacts is lengthy, but it is a must-read.
Welcome to “this century’s gold rush” --- hydrofracking for natural gas. (Check out the excellent interactive diagram from the nytimes explaining the process and hazards of hydrofracking). At this point, it is a completely unsustainable practice without strong and robust regulations. While many believe that natural gas will help slow climate change because natural gas burns more cleanly than coal, the practice of hydrofracking is wrought with challenges and potentially catastrophic consequences to our fresh drinking water. As John H. Quigley, former secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is quoted as saying in today's New York Times, "We're burning the furniture to heat the house....In shifting away from coal and toward natural gas, we're trying for cleaner air, but we're producing massive amounts of toxic wastewater with salts and naturally occurring radioactive materials, and it's not clear we have a plan for properly handling this waste."
The unsustainable nature of this practice does not have to be taken as an inevitability. We have plenty of stellar examples in Michigan of wise, sustainable business practices. Grand Rapids is our shining example having been named “the most sustainable mid-sized city in the United States” in 2010 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Companies like Herman Miller and Irwin Seating certainly understand the triple bottom line --- the interconnectivity between people, planet and profi --- and have constructed their business plans accordingly.
A practice is deemed unsustainable when it undermines the health of the very systems upon which it depends and, therefore, cannot be continued or sustained over time. Think of it this way: spending more money then you earn or eating too much without exercising will result in negative consequences for your economic and physical health.
As the fracking effort moves forward in Michigan, we must be absolutely certain we do not follow the road taken in Pennsylvania in which their rivers are dumping grounds for unfiltered radioactive waste. Sustainable business, by following the examples of some our business leaders here in Michigan, is possible. What is impossible is sustaining our health if we cannot turn on our taps without fear of poisoning ourselves with each sip.
