Changing Landscape

I live in a small town in West Virginia nestled in between rolling hills with the Ohio River slicing it's path down the middle.  Our hills seem to offer such a comforting shelter that when we visit flatter landscapes, we almost feel vunerable.  They protect us from severe storms so often that we sometimes joke about it.  A storm will come in strong with all kinds of warnings, hit the hills near the interstate and magically dissipate.  The hills seems to split the storms, sending them either just north or just south of us.  It is such a beautiful place to live as well.  I often marvel at the scene on my drive to work when the sun is rising up over the hills, cutting into the low-lying fog over the great Ohio.

Recently, our beautful little area has had a change in scenery.  Now, on my way to work, I pass giant cranes, large equipment, access road signs, humongous white cylinders cradled into lines, out of state trucks everywhere, and Waste Water trucks, among many other unrecognizable items.  Every time I see one of these items, I get a sense of dread that I can't really put into words.  I don't understand how this whole thing got started but I doubt there is anyway to stop it now. 

Out my window at work is normally a pleasant view of trees. I have witnessed turkeys, deer, woodpeckers, hawks, and several different species of birds.  I glance up and see nearby neighbors walking their dogs and kids playing through the seasons.  It was always fairly quiet (other than our own woodshop machinery humming along in the background).  What fills the air now is the constant beeping of trucks, the bangs and thuds of heavy machinery and often the hum of helicopter blades which is only a half mile or so up the hill from us.  I now watch the water trucks every day pace back and forth spraying our road to keep the dust at a minimum.  And I haven't spotted any wildlife since, other than the small birds which still come to collect food from the bird feeder we provide. 

See, we live above the Marcellus Shale.  And they are raping our land to get to this precious resource of natural gas.  Seems like this all happened overnight.  Cranes and drilling machiney popping up out of the blue on the side of the road.  I realize we need to try to be independent from foreign oil.  And this shale is a largely untapped resource that may help us on our road to gain that independence.  I just worry about the process.  Everyone knows someone who is beneffiting from this in some form.  If you own land where they want to access the shale, you will be rewarded.  Sometimes, greatly rewarded.  So many people are signing away their mineral rights for a profit.  Many of our clients at work (we build cabinetry), are people who have been handed a fat check and are now building their dream home.  But, at what cost?

I've already heard stories of farm animals getting ill, wells being destroyed by the earth moving, and people's entire homes shifting and crumbling from the underground piping.  Then they have the lengthy and complicated process of trying to get money from the drilling companies who have forever ruined their land and home.  There are advertisements that are trying to convince us that this is good for the economy and safe for the environment.  But, it's clear from history that when a profit is involved, the environement most likely will suffer.  I just can't see how something that is happening so fast can be done in such a safe and responsible way.  I just pray that we are not left 20 years from now staring at our damaged land and wondering why we ever signed away our rights and let them in.  Even though we all know the answer to that question.