Clean water is one of the most important needs of our bodies; so it is a sad fact that clean drinking water can no longer be a guarantee, if it ever was. Most tap water in the United States today is not safe for drinking, due to the high levels of pollution and/or toxic wastes.
An investigation by Earthworks led to the call for the closing of the Hydraulic Fracturing Loophole that is in our water today. According to this article, hydraulic fracturing is a drilling technique that was developed by Halliburton. “Millions of gallons of fresh water, along with sand, and cancer-causing toxic chemicals are injected under high pressure miles down drilling holes to fracture the limestone shale, and release the oil and gas trapped within.” In 2005, at the urging of Dick Cheney who is a former Halliburton CEO, Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Halliburton earns about 1.5 billion dollars annually from hydraulic fracturing, while ignoring its consequences.
Sources: “Cheney Helped Halliburton Hide Secrets About Dangerous Chemicals In Your Drinking Water”. http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/node/3195
Student Researcher: Cecele Senorine
Faculty Instructor: Elliot Cohen
Indian River State College