The horrific effects of fracking continue to grow with doctors in Pennsylvania now caught up in the web of deceit.
Hydraulic fracturing technology, known as fracking, explodes millions of gallons of toxic chemical solutions deep into the ground in order to free natural gas deposits for drilling companies to exploit for massive profit.
Over 5,000 drilling wells have been blasted across the state of Pennsylvania alone, with more added each and every week.
These toxic chemicals being pumped into the ground are making people in relative proximity to the wells sick – very, very sick – even at low levels of exposure.  Over 85% of the 750 chemicals used in fracking are known carcinogens!
While Pennsylvania law requires drilling companies to inform local doctors what chemicals are being used so that they can properly treat the victims of exposure, it also now requires doctors who are briefed to sign a confidentiality agreement to keep them from telling anyone about what exactly is making these people sick.  This includes informing their own patients as well as other healthcare professionals!
Similar fracking laws are already on the books in Ohio, Texas, and Colorado.
Shockingly, it appears that State authorities have completely rolled over on this issue and have prioritized the “proprietary secrets” of the drilling companies ahead of the needs of public health.
Despite its so called dedication to green technologies and businesses, Federal authorities have also shown no desire to reign in this horrifically damaging technology which is akin to strip mining of decades past.
Why can’t the Obama administration simply require the disclosure of exactly what is being pumped into the ground to dislodge natural gas deposits? Â No doubt if such a move were made, the public outrage and outcry would result in the swift cessation of fracking across the nation.
And those hefty campaign contributions from fracking executives and their operatives would come to a screeching halt.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: Â Pennyslvania Law Gags Doctors
appalling, but not surprising
My husband works in the fields in New Mexico. While there are companies that take precautions adhere to strict codes, this is a bit of a gold rush. There are companies here that do not have the mindset or perhaps the equipment to insure they are as safe as possible. It best to be informed on both sides of the issue. I thank you for the info and find it shocking the lengths that companies are willing to go. There are people who get their water trucked in now and others that can light their water on fire. No system is perfect and we cannot afford to just trust our ground water to anyone. In new Mexico the Feds are trying to gain access to water rights. This has never happened in the history of the u.s. We cannot afford to turn a blind eye when it comes to water or health. Carlsbad, NM is turning into one big sink hole and is riddled with fracking and oil companies. !
I agree that fracking causes harm not only to the water supply but to our health.. for the naysayers. they have not looked into it closely or they work for the companies that are poisoning our water. . I bet when they come drilling near you and the ater you drink and bathe in become toxic you will change your mind. TOXIC FRACKING!!!!
hard to drag links to this page, here are just some information not all..
http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/08/20/texas-to-investigate-health-risk-of-living-near-drilling-sites/
http://www.alternet.org/story/155189/independent_test_results_show_fracking_flowback_emissions_are_dangerous_toxic_chemicals
http://degette.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1069:degette-committee-investigation-discovers-high-volume-of-toxic-chemicals-in-fracking-fluids-used-in-http://truth-out.org/news/item/10606-special-investigation-the-earthquakes-and-toxic-waste-of-ohios-fracking-boomcolorado&catid=76:press-releases-&Itemid=227
Well for once I disagree with this article. Animals are not dropping over dead from fracking nor are people near where this is. I do agree the toxins in food and the lke are very harmful ….high fructose corn syrup being one ….just hundreds of other things much more dangerous than fracking. Do you really think these engineers and the big oil compainies don’t know what they are doing or aren’t under strick regulations and rules ? They are. End of story. Deer and antelope abide right on the gas wells and live happily ever after. I’m kind of sorry , Sarah you let me down for the first time ..:( You just don’t know .
If you were happy with every single thing I wrote, I would consider that a huge problem with my article selection. This blog’s goal has never been to preach to the choir as that is a recipe for treading water.
@Misty: most blogs have very little say over the ads that appear. They can usually opt out of categories (like politics, or religion), but not out of specific products.
But still, we both know there is a some degree of control. Or at least do as others and say, “these ads do not represent this health blog” or something to that effect so that the reader doesn’t feel like we are just being had by everyone and that profit is the real motive.
I do my best to block offensive ads but the filtering process is highly imperfect unfortunately. I have for example blocked all political and religious ads but I consistently see ads for the Obama campaign slip through. I have no idea how this happens, but it is disturbing to me as the ads are obviously incorrectly categorized precisely so they can slip through the filtering mechanisms. Food companies do the same thing .. I have opted out of all processed foods ads but some do occasionally appear as they are either intentionally or accidentally miscategorized.
Having no ads is not an option as this blog would not be possible without ad revenue.
Why can’t you have a blog without ad revenue? So many are free; wordpress, blogger, et al. There are so many ways to control ad content, or to post disclaimers and such. It can’t all be about the money. If there was a vegan blog, which there are, there would never be an ad for bacon or turkey. Never. And there should never be a post for sugary drinks on a site that is about health. Now one can adopt the “personal choices” approach to justify these things, but it still speaks of disingenuity.
So Misty, should Sarah spend all her time, take time away from her family, to do something for free that benefits countless people? Sarah makes money from ads, that is how she gets paid, and how she continues to have time to post information for people like us. She has stated, on NUMEROUS occasions, that she does what she can to control ad content. If you benefit from the information on this blog without paying one cent, then you should be thankful that there are ads at all to keep this site going.
And by the way, you’re making way too much of this. Ignore the ads, like most people do.
Joy, as she said there is profit involved with this – so that means that she takes the time to make money for her family – that is what we all do nothing wrong with that. But a blog for free is done by thousands of people across the country – if not millions, so it is not a stretch that if you really care about the health and well being of others, then posting a free blog would be a big issue.
Is that were we have come to as a $ociety If i had something that could help countless people, I would share it for free.
And again – you can do a blog for free – complete with pic and videos even – all for free.
Misty the blog is FREE to read because Sarah accepts ads. I would rather overlook a few ads to get this wonderful information, than pay to be a member. I don’t have time to look up all the information myself. I rely on Sarah (and other bloggers) to point me in the right direction. If Sarah does not make money from the blog, then she quits blogging. Then, no more free information. I don’t understand why you can not grasp this fact. If you want to start your own FREE blog with no ads, to help countless people, then please do so. And on your own blog, you can completely control the content. Then you can get the pleasure of having people with too much time on their hands critique what you do, and denigrate your integrity.
Oh snap… thanks Joy for saying exactly what we all are thinking! Anyone who really knows Sarah because they follow this blog, knows what kind of diet she promotes and what is just “blog noise” from the ads. I think Misty is miffed that she doesn’t have this kind of following, poor thing.
Joy – i don’t mean free for you and me. i mean that you me and sarah can start and run a blog for free – as so many thousands do. Blogger.com is a free site that you can do what sarah is doing.
it is not time consuming to cut and paste an article about fracking or write a paragraph about which celebrity is brushing their teeth. It takes all of five minutes or less to link a video about popcorn – there is zero over head cost to do that and there is no sweat or manual labor – you can’t even get Carpal tunnel syndrome with the short topic posts.
Ten minutes a day to post a few things and that’s it – she doesn’t even have to engage in the back and forth – she can go out with her kids on a picnic – – the only emails she has to “concern” herself with is the one with the checks from the ads
Again she is not criminal – just not as genuine as one may think – beth asked her what she really knew about the fracking issue, is she really doing anything about them – did she get an answer from sarah (maybe she’s out for the afternoon?)- My money says the answer is no – just so long as we go back and forth on her site – that is all that matters, the traffic (also known as ratings).
I am just calling a spade a spade and it is my right to go elswhere or stay right here and give my idiotic opinions…
As Sarah has said… occasionally an ad slips through that is from a disallowed category. It happens. I’m not sure what shows up on vegan blogs as I don’t tend to visit any, but I’m sure that there would be similar cases where something slips through that shouldn’t!
I see nothing wrong with earning money from blogging. It’s how some people earn a living! Of course anyone who wants can do a blog for free… but for those who make a living from blogging (or earns a substantial part of their living from blogging), well they really can’t, can they? Heck if I could earn my living from blogging I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Fiona – in the spirit of beating a dead horse… You can absolutly prevent what ads are on your website – period end of story – we have the technology for it and we also have legal recourse if someone posts an ad on someone elses blog.
Is she getting paid for those random ads? Is she accepting and cashing those checks? That is the question. You can be naive and gullible – i am not.
I never said there was anything wrong with making money, but it is false to claim that you can’t prevent certain ads – again, is she getting paid for these accidental ads – it’s not as random as you think and as she is letting on. And no vegan blogs do not have ads forr beef etc. Hebrew blogs don’t have ads for christian or muslim paraphanalia, Gas companies don’t have ads on their sites for coal or electricity. Apple blogs don’t have ads for dell… not rocket science here.
Misty, you are a troll. Just because the internet is somewhat anonymous, that is no reason to throw good manners out the window.
Frankly, I’m not sure which of us is the bigger idiot. You, for coming into someone’s “house” and insulting them repeatedly, calling their integrity into question, assuming the worst of them, and then ignoring or twisting the answers you receive; or me, for sticking up for someone I don’t know, for caring what you think, and for wasting my time trying to make you understand.
I am a longtime reader of this website, but seldom comment. While I don’t know Sarah in real life, it gets my hackles up to see people attacked unjustly. If you don’t like the way she runs her website (a dotcom, not just a blog, note the name in your address window), you are free to leave and find the information somewhere else.
Through her FREE website (you aren’t charged a dime for this information), Sarah is educating many people about health and proper nutrition. Does she know everything? Of course not. She has never claimed to know it all. Is she knowledgeable about nutrition? Absolutely. Is she passionate about health? Judging from her website, I would say yes.
It costs money and time to run a successful website and blog. Hosting a website is not free. The more hits on the website, the more bandwidth it uses, and the more it costs the website owner. Sarah has been blogging since 2009 (according to the archives), and has filmed numerous videos showing people how to make their food healthier. All of this takes time. For every short post here, there are plenty of longer ones, often meticulously researched (from what I have seen). Ask any successful blogger how much time they spend on the blog, and the majority will tell you “too much time” for what they earn.
From reading the comments, it appears that Sarah has replied to numerous comments on this post alone, and very graciously I might point out, considering how many of them have been rude. [Beth et al., it isn’t Sarah’s job to look up how YOU can make a difference on any given subject, it’s yours. Sarah is just providing the information. If there is a law preventing doctors from telling me what’s wrong with me, I think I’d like to know about it.]
And finally, as many others have pointed out, the ads are tailored to YOUR surfing habits. Perhaps you are on a shared computer? I see ads for Mercola, Amazon, and websites that my children have visited. That doesn’t mean that I need to click on the ads I’m not interested in. Actually, I tend to ignore most ads.
Joy – you get zero points for being on this blog for 20 years – zip zero zilch – sorry, no gold star. If someone is on here for 2 minutes, their opinions and comments are just as valid – fresh even.
Yes, we are both idiots – you for trying to convince me of anything, and me, for just being…
This is not someones house, it is a public forum – someones house has a lock and key on it. Enuf with the I am not paying a dime – obviously u haven’t got my point – still focused on your own.
You don’t need to teach me or anyone about how blogs or websites are run. It is surprising that your seeming knowledge on the subject falls short of knowing that one does have or can have complete control of ad content.
I don’t care how she makes her money, why can’t she just admit that she is taking on all ads, including the sugary one – as opposed to feinging ignorance.
“sarah is just providing info” is a weak excuse for not really putting thought behind what you broadcast, and skimping on the issues of what can be done about xyz – leading many of us to beleive she is just pumping out topics just for traffic sake. You, can buy it if you like – we don’t.
I keep repeating my self – so do you
I’m done feeding the trolls.
Yeah right, How many times has your trolling self said that before? You do realise that sarah needs this back and forth – traffic dollars remember! lets do it for the cause!
@Misty: There’s a nifty little extension you can put on your browser called “Ad Block.” Works great. I don’t see any ads on this site at all! That’s something you can control for yourself.
I know that wasn’t your main point, but this is the internet…..honestly, I think when most people see something like a CapriSun ad, they realize it’s not actually put up by the blogwriter but by the host site. It’s common sense that a health site isn’t going to support drinking CapriSun!
I rarely ever connect an ad with what I’m reading about, since I know it’s not the blogwriter putting it up. I guess I never feel like I’m being “had” by an ad, since I ignore them anyway. 🙂
You and i are smart perhaps, or not as gullible – the point is not so much about what i will be attracted to but the real intentions of a blog host.
Thank you Sarah for sharing this information. I appreciate the varoius topics you bring to the table and share with your readers. Those readers, who are concerned, can now look into this information more closely.
I have family who live in those areas, so I have passed a link along to them. They may or may not be aware that this is something about which they should be concerned.
Many, many times, we go to our doctors and assume they will know what is affecting our health, inform us and treat us properly. This is not the always the case, in my opinion. I have found it critical to do my own health research to make sure I get proper care.
Again, thank you for sharing.
Fracking has not killed as many people as high fructose corn syrup. If this blog has all intentions to bring the many health issues to the people, it should be equally concerned with the ads it allows (or posts). The capri sun ad is disturbing – I know we have a right to choose etc but it just seems a tad inconsistent with the supposed idea of healthy homes and the kids in the homes who are suffering more and more from sugar’s mal effects – way more than the still “not fully sure” what the true issue of fracking is.
Misty
Holy cow Misty! Sarah is just making people aware of the issue.
This is a health blog – or is the name just cute and catchy? I don’t know if sarah is even fully aware of the issues or if she just feels it’s something to post that people can discuss – so that there could be plenty of traffic – more traffic more dollars!
u noticed she didn’t respond to why she can’t or won’t blog for free like the others. I am always leery of peoples intentions. The whole fracking subject speaks to peoples intentions. Sarah is not a bad person just like companies who do what they do with the fracking. What there simply needs to be, across the board, is the greatest degree of transparancy.
Misty, the ad you see for Capri Sun is based on your own web surfing. The ads I see on this page are based on mine. The ads I see are for Century link, Mercola, Travelers.
Now I am more confused. At the end of the day, they are allowed on this site. I wasn’t surfing for drinks or sugar – I get the internet picks up on key words but one still has control over the content ads they allow – or don’t do ads altogether. Or when you speak with the compannies who will sponser or endorse you, you can create a widget type ad wherein in you have no formal ads but recognise and promote certain products – this way every one is happy; products get exposer, bloggers get revenue, and readers aren’t disturbed by conflicting ads (ads that are not in concert with the website theme – in this case health.)
There are few things in this world where everyone is happy. What you have described sounds clean and nice but is just not how it works in reality – unfortunate but true.
Way to dodge the “profit at all costs” issue
The ads are random and not individually picked by her. She’s stated MANY times that she tries her best to not let ads like that slip through.
Also, blogging costs money, especially when you have a high traffic site such as hers.
Sarah has helped many people make better decisions to become healthier. Her blog has helped me change my and my husband’s eating habits, effectively turning our lives around.
I stated many times as well that you can have an ad free blog or a blog where you can absolutly pick and choose what ads you run, and the type of add right down to the very product.
If you go to a raw food blog there will not be any “accidental” or “uncontrollable” ads running about hot pockets ckicken delights – none whatsoever – why can’t you people see that? Why are you all buying this feigned innocence or ignorance as to how to have what you want posted as ads or your site – she pays money for it is all the more reasion that tells me she can disallow certain ads.
This has little to do with her giving sound advice about food and health – nor are we asking her to shut down the site – some of us are just questioning a few different issues about the trueist intents of certain things. And advertisers don’t always read these posts that you and i write – they just count the number of posts – so u and i going back and forth is cha ching to product people and to blog hosts( and yes, that normally would be worthy of envy 🙂
Misty, I do my best and I understand that not everyone will be happy. No worries.
Sarah – your blog suits me just fine. As much as I bitch, and care to call people to the carpet, i still like the blog. Don’t wory about convincing me (even if that is not what you are trying to do).
Since you are not at a picnic, then you should have answered beths question about what else you are doing as you post these “issues”. You have not responded to her asking you that.
If you really knew or cared, or cared to know, you would tell beth that in fact there are a number of places she can contact that are doing real change and are pro active in the efforts to do away with fracking – beyond just writng your senator – which is useless. Give her that info… Forget about indulging my idiocy rants about your profit margin (however small), and give beth that info.
By the way, of course Sarah is making a profit (income) on this website. Don’t you or your husband go to work to earn an income? This is Sarah’s career choice, and she darn well needs to make an income on something that is her full time job. (And if you think she spends only 10 minutes a day on this blog, you’ve gotta be kidding.) In fact, I’m GLAD she makes money doing this, even if IS only 10 minutes a day! She’s built a successful blog – KUDOS to her!
I don’t even know why I’m wasting my precious time arguing with a troll.
Renee – you too are a troll – it doesn’t matter if you have been on this site for ten years or ten minutes – you came here as a troll – at no point were you promoted, at no point did they give you non troll stripes on your uniform – And that is why you as a fellow troll have no problem going back and forth with me and wasting your precious time.
How come you lifers never get that – and you think there is some glory in rank an file on a blog site? Sup with that!?
I don’t care if sarah spends 10 minutes or ten hours – it a job – What part of me not caring about her making money can’t you gather from all my posts where i said “I don’t care about her making a profit”?
Now go back, read my posts again, and see the real point I am making and speak to that.
Yes, you are more confused. It’s foolish to bitch and complain about that which you don’t understand. If you are ignorant to the way that online ad space and inventory is diced, sold, etc – then go get educated before spraying your ignorance in the comments section.
Blogs have to make money, and the people that own the blog can advertise whatever they want on them. Do you complain to the writers of a TV show when you see a commercial that doesn’t suit you? Get a clue.
Poor josh – now he wants to get into the fray as well, repeating the same thing everyone else has ( to no avail). perhaps he thinks it’s okay because he gave another example, TV.
Some one give him a clue that there is no convincing me of squat, but it is still all good for sarah traffic
Heather, I believe you are correct, and it has been stated before that the ads are based on your own surfing. I never see any offensive ads, but I do see Mercola (which looks to be a permanent fixture) and right now Lenovo and AARP, both recent sites I’ve visited. But whatever site comes up is always familiar to me.
The ads I see are for sites I have recently visited as well, except for the top one. That one is the Capri Sun ad. But if you look closely it’s really not for Capri Sun it’s for “BlogHer Publishing Network, Promotions & Prizes” My guess is I got this one because I recently entered a product giveaway on a blog. The promotion was probably handled by this company. Even if it was a Capri Sun ad I have to sense to know that product is not good for my family. Sarah brings to us a lot of good information on how to keep ourselves and our families healthy. If someone doesn’t have the sense to put into practice the info Sarah has written about I don’t see how it’s her fault. Use your brain and ignore the ad. Consider it a pop quiz.
Hey so cal – tell us how you feel about people being able to ignore ads that they don’t like – we’re not clear on this issue – please explain more…
The sense I’m getting from other posters is that sarah is more and more looking like a cut and paste queen – hiding behind the idea of just putting stuff out there for us to research for ourselves. Again she couldn’t really give a crap about fracking – just cut,paste, and post and let us have at it – it’s the traffic that matters most.
Yeah she may have an opinion here and there, soy babies, but as far as doing any real, even quasi type journalistic work (which is a tad more responsible),that ain’t happening – forget only then being able to make then a few posts, if the subject was really important you would vet out more to it and it could be one stop reading or at least two stop reading ( I get their will always be many, or endless sides to any topic, I’m just saying).
Misty, go to the Weston A. Price website to read about the dangers of soy. You’ve never read this blog, have you? Sarah, why can’t you just delete misty’s comments… she (or he) is not here for anything but trouble. I’m done. (she’ll probably blast this too but who really cares what she thinks?)
Why do so many of you say “I’m done” when you’re actually never done – you enjoy, in some disturbed way, this back and forth. Why else would you be still indulging me.
I know more about soy than you think – i probably know more about soy than you. We are all familiar with the Weston site – just because many of us are not his desciple don’t think we are ignorant to his or other issues.
And now to disprove this point, perhaps sarah will delete my posts or not allow them on the site – but the reality is just what I have been saying: she doesn’t really care – it’s all about the heavy traffic – it’s all about the money.
Someone yesterday talked about this was sarah’s home and how it was rude for anyone to come in slinging insults. Well if it were my home I would have kicked that person out or not let them post – you can screen each post – many blogs have a review before posting dynamic – but since sarah is all aboot the money via high traffic , people like the other person using the F word on another topic last week get to have their f word published (posted)
Now as i said she may “need” to disprove this and then this time delete stuff but normally she just cares about the traffic – when will you get that.
Guido, I agree about the water table and the lining of the bore holes. If the chemicals are so dangerous then why are the workers not ill or suffering. Where exactly do you get your figure of 750 chemicals? It is easy to scare people without facts and the story lacks quite a few facts.
Dear Rhoda…..
There are many workers living around us who work on the rigs &,yes….some have reported being sick & don’t know why. (Oh, please.)
Once again…..my husband & I have lived in Penna. most of our lives & the gas fracking /drilling has turned our beautiful commonwealth into a nasty mess in every way. I don’t knbow,(messed up spelling & no way to correct it) about 750 chemicals,(something Guido says)…..but, know there are more than a couple that are used to blast thru the rock formations & are highly toxic. to anybody who breathes it in or ingests it into their body in other ways such as drinking the water.
Now, New York State’s fighting hard against it & I’m so afraid the gas companies are going to ignore what the land owners want & plow on thru anyway. It’s like someone else stated, ” They don’t have to live with it!” Hey, Guido!!! Want a glass of MY water?!!! Yea. Didn’t think so.
You mention people getting sick, but what, exactly, are they sick with? What are
Their symptoms? There is a lot of fracking (and earthquakes, by the way)
In Arkansas also. I’m curious to know what symptoms are being attributed to the dangers of fracking.
While I won’t argue that fracking is provably safe, there are several key points anti-fracking hysterics often overlook. For example, groundwater lies principally between tens and hundreds of feet below the surface. Natural gas wells that are the subject of fracking are tens of thousands of feet down. The bore holes through which these substances are pumped are lined specifically to prevent the release of fracking chemicals into groundwater. Yes, the lining might leak, or the chemicals may leach back up into groundwater, but my point is that while fracking may in fact be harmful, the gas companies’ practices aren’t as obviously stupid and exploitative as the more vitriolic fracking opponents, such as the dubiously qualified journal you cite, try to make them seem. I also find it silly that you’d suggest state legislators in affected areas have simply rolled over. I realize it’s easy, and certainly not uncommon, to cast politicians as spineless money-grubbers, but reality may well beg to differ. Rather, I’d suspect the issue is somewhat more complex than the “newspaper for the party of socialism and liberation” (a contradiction in terms, there) is willing or perhaps able to elucidate. Certainly it would be only on very tenuous Constitutional grounds that the Obama administration could issue the monarchical decree you recommend. Certainly it seems more likely successful for those living near fracking wells to work with local politicians rather than Obama bureaucrats, as they’ll have easier access and more common ground with their more local representatives.
I’ll agree that doctors’ inability to release details on chemical contamination is awfully scary. I’d not be surprised to find doctors refusing to share important information about any chemical exposure cases for fear of legal consequences, even when those exposures aren’t likely to involve fracking at all.
If anything we should be more hysterical. There are at least 27 suits against drilling companies across the states from Colorado to Pennsylvania. Reports of poisoned drinking water, polluted air, mysterious animal deaths, and sick families is alarming.
Wait for the ‘science’? They don’t.
Did I say anything about “wait for the science”? I said there’s more to it than this article’s very dubious source chose to relate. I also said we shouldn’t wish for the government to invoke some mandate. There are alarming reports, yes. They need to be investigated, yes. But the reality isn’t as obviously slanted as the zealots and hysterics would have us believe.
Don’t believe you for one minute. Who’s paying you for using ‘zealot’s? You’re outted.
I’m only outed when you prove it, not when you make an unfounded accusation. I only wish someone were paying me for what I see as healthy skepticism. I’m a professional computer geek and amateur farmer, and have no association at all with oil or gas companies. I enjoy cooking and regularly use recipes from the big yellow Sally Fallon book. We drink raw milk, and our kids are delivered at home, schooled at home, and not vaccinated. Not that you’ll believe it when I say that.
I recommend everyone here watch a documentary called, “GasLand”, it has won and been nominated for many awards. Not to sound condescending also but please go and study some biochemistry before you comment on whether chemicals are safe to the human body.
Finally, what is the purpose of Doctors treating patients if they are not going to tell them they are sick? Don’t they take the Hippocratic Oath?
yah but that means jack s#$% now you know.