I saw firsthand just how much fracking destroys the earth | Rebecca Solnit
![I saw firsthand just how much fracking destroys the earth | Rebecca Solnit](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/de1611d2498bcc4657b4f78f98ba0a8275a1207a/0_0_4928_2957/master/4928.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=b25c1f42989b0b04350485a008bc1c77)
We’ve been making short-term decisions about our planet for a long time. The consequences are horrific to behold
The slashing rain turned the dirt roads into muddy creeks, the bus’s wipers shoved the torrent back and forth across the windshield, and Don Schreiber handled the wheel like Sandra Bullock in Speed as he wisecracked from under a big gray moustache. The vehicle swerved and slid in the storm, lightning flashed on the horizon, thunder shook the air. Whether the old yellow bus would make it back to the ranch house, get stuck or slide and flip depended on his driving.
Don, in his white Stetson and a blue and white checked western shirt, was our tour guide on this land in northwestern New Mexico that he knew intimately and had dedicated his retirement to protecting. When he and his wife Jane Schreiber bought the ranchland about 200 miles north-west of Santa Fe in 1999 to retire to, they – like many westerners – found that they owned the land, but not the subsurface rights. The fracking boom came, and gas companies began gouging holes for gas wells, laying pipelines and cutting roads across the fragile desert soil. Big trucks rolled across the land night and day to service the wells that studded the landscape. At the well we stopped at, the pressure gauge was broken.
Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell’s Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility
Continue reading...Date: |
Filter
-
GameSpot - Tech
Marvel Rivals Trailer Shows Just How Much Of A Sticky Menace Spider-Man Really Is
Marvel Rivals developer NetEase has shown off a new trailer for its upcoming PvP shooter game, teasing more of Spider-Man's unique offense. Swinging into action to face off against fellow heroes and villains in the Timestream Entanglement crisis, ... -
GameSpot - Tech
Blumhouse Made Another Movie About How AI Will Destroy Us All
We've lost track of how many movies have been made about an AI-powered house that inevitably turns on the family that lives there. But this summer, Blumhouse and Sony are putting out another film with that exact premise called Afraid. This time, ... -
GameSpot - Tech
Here's How Much Money Deadpool & Wolverine Is Expected To Make In Opening Weekend
Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26, and the film is expected to start very strong at the box office. But just what kind of numbers are expected? Multiple box office tracking services have published their reports and are expecting ... -
CBS News - Top stories
How much would a $70,000 home equity loan cost per month?
Are you thinking about borrowing $70,000 with a home equity loan? Here's what your payments would be. -
The New York Times - Lifestyle
How to Dress for a Heat Wave: Tips for Staying Cool
As temperatures rise, a reader wonders how to dress for sweaty summers while maintaining a sense of style. -
MarketWatch - Business
This July 4, here’s how much money you need to declare ‘financial independence’
About 160 million of us are still working for The Man. -
CNBC - Business
How much you need to save each month to retire with $1.46 million on a $50,000 salary
If you earn $50,000 a year, it's still possible to retire with over $1 million, per CNBC's calculations. How much to save monthly starting at ages 21, 25 & 30. -
Inc. - Business
After 53 Years, Nike Just Had the Single Worst Day in Its History. Here's How It Happened
There are key lessons both for Nike and for businesses of any size -- including yours. -
The New York Times - Lifestyle
How Can I Tell My Elderly Mother That She Can’t Live With Me?
A reader still picking up the pieces after a recent divorce is wrestling with guilt for not wanting to take his mother in, knowing she wouldn’t hesitate to help him. -
CBS News - Top stories
California's Thompson Fire forces evacuations, destroys homes
The Thompson Fire has forced evacuations in Butte County, California, as firefighters try to contain flames that spread across 3,000 acres. CBS News Sacramento's Rachel Wulff reports from Oroville.California
More from The Guardian
-
The Guardian - World
Biden tells campaign staff: ‘No one is pushing me out ... I’m not leaving’; second House Democrat urges him to quit race – live
Biden and Harris reiterate to DNC that they are in the 2024 race together; Raúl Grijalva of Arizona says now is an ‘opportunity to look elsewhere’. White House denies Biden is weighing his candidacyWho could replace Joe Biden? Here are six ...Joe Biden -
The Guardian - World
Hurricane Beryl draws close to Jamaica after leaving ‘Armageddon-like’ trail in Grenada
Residents urged to shelter and those in flood-prone areas to prepare to evacuate after at least seven deaths in region. Why Hurricane Beryl foretells a scary storm seasonHurricane Beryl has drawn close to Jamaica after leaving an “Armageddon-like” ... -
The Guardian - World
Britain will not rejoin EU in my lifetime, says Starmer
Labour leader also says he cannot foresee circumstances where UK would re-enter single market or customs union. Keir Starmer has insisted the UK will not rejoin either the EU, the single market or the customs union within his lifetime, in his ...European Union -
The Guardian - World
About 90% of people in Gaza displaced since war began, says UN agency
Many have moved more than once, with estimated 1.9m Palestinians relocating since Israel’s invasion, says OCHA. About 90% of the population of the Gaza Strip have been displaced at least once since the war between Israel and Hamas began, according ... -
The Guardian - World
Gretchen Whitmer wants to meet far-right plotters who tried to kill her, book reveals
Exclusive: Michigan governor and potential Biden replacement writes in memoir True Gretch of desire for ‘face-to-face’ talks. Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan widely spoken of as a possible Democratic candidate for president should Joe ...