If Lubbock Starts ‘Fracking’ for Oil, We’ll All Get Syphilis?
The controversy over hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) continues to heat up here in Lubbock. Some people are all for it and some are very much against it. You can read the 'for' and 'against' arguments here.
New York is also considering a proposal right now for fracking to unearth some natural gas.
Environmentalists hate fracking because it involves pumping millions of gallons of water underground, water that's filled with chemicals. And it's still not clear what the long-term air and water pollution effects are OR the health problems it could cause.
But in case those arguments don't work, they've taken a new approach in their efforts to get New York NOT to frack and drill for natural gas: They say that FRACKING CAUSES SYPHILIS.
Not directly. But they're arguing that in other areas that have had gas and oil booms, it's led to a huge influx of male workers from other state...and very few females. Meaning the men turn to each other for 'companionship' and give each other STDs.
It's a weak argument, but definitely one that grabs people's attention. There's no official word on when the state will decide whether or not to start fracking and drilling.