What The Frack? T. Boone Pickens Defends Fracking

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by ecorazzicontributor January 31, 2011
Categories: Video
Tags: , .
Photo: Center For American Progress Action Fund via Flickr

Leave it to The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart to get some controversial comments out of his guests. In an interview with T. Boone Pickens last week, Stewart discussed the “Pickens Plan” with the former oil man and his ideas to end U.S. dependency on OPEC oil by switching to domestic resources. No surprise there, as Pickens has been campaigning his cause for a while. But when the conversation landed on natural gas, Pickens dropped a bomb.

In asking Pickens why the U.S. was behind other countries in terms of natural gas usage, Stewart brought up safety issues during fracking as one of the possible reasons why. Pickens responded by all but denying that those safety issues even exist, saying, “I have never seen that happen… I’ve been here. I have fracked 3,000 wells in my life… I’ve never seen anything damaged.”

Certainly campaigners on the other side of the natural gas argument, like Mark Ruffalo and Josh Fox, would disagree. Fox is the director of the recent documentary Gasland, which examines the effects of fracking on the environment and local inhabitants. Ruffalo held his own panel on the subject, saying that “the gas and oil industry has a strangle hold on us.”

Granted, Pickens didn’t deny fracking damage outright: he seemed careful to say that he had never seen it himself, and didn’t argue further when Stewart responded that some might disagree with him. But it’s still a bold statement, considering the evidence to the contrary!

Check out the video below and let us know what you think:


The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
T. Boone Pickens
www.thedailyshow.com
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  • ANON

    The claims made in Gasland have been disproved over and over again! Just look at this article posted today: http://www.denverpost.com/carroll/ci_17222056

    Let’s start looking forward to energy independence in American with natural gas!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Judy-Kachelmeyer/1594503511 Judy Kachelmeyer

    I was surprised Jon Stewart didn’t go further into the dangers associated with fracking.

    • Yvonne

      Me too!! He let Gov. Rick Perry off easy too. What is up with Jon these days?

  • donna

    As always, follow the money trail. T. Boone Pickens makes money if we buy natural gas. He makes nothing on Saudi oil. And fracking is NOT safe. There are many, many concerns with it. Independence from foreign sources is a great goal, but not at the expense of our health, our land, etc. Interesting that no one like T. Boone is pushing for more solar power. Then again, there is no money to be made on Solar power. It no longer matters if you are liberal or conservative. Our liberties are in question over and over when our health, our land, and our well-being are constantly being sacrificed so that the super rich and powerful can control what they want to control. This is absolutely an example of this. Say NO to fracking.

    • David

      His ties to the natural gas industry is also why he pushes wind and solar, because he knows both need to be backed up for when it is cloudy and calm, and the usual method of back up power is natural gas. Because a natural gas electric plant be brought on line and can change load rapidly, while coal plants can’t respond as rapidly.

  • Yvonne

    Hey, if you like flammable tap water — you LOVE FRACKING. Even Texans, who definitely can’t be considered “greenies”, are against fracking. Check out the victims website in Texas: http://abcalliance.org.

    Americans need to wake up!! The oil and gas industry will kill to survive. We MUST MOVE AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS. And, bio-fuels aren’t the answer.

    We need solar, wind and geo-thermal NOW.

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