Donald Siegel in his letter ("Trust scientists on hydrofracking," April 14) says the "state would be prudent to trust its scientific regulators." Isn't that the heart of the debate? It's clear the regulators can't be trusted because the glut of gas industry money specifically aimed at discrediting independent, peer-reviewed science and effective regulation has contaminated the science and the regulatory agencies.
And let's stop ignoring the nondisclosure agreements that essentially cover up the real damage caused by shale gas extraction.
Common Cause recently reported "from January 2007 to October 2011, the natural gas industry made 2,349 campaign contributions to state and local level New York politicians and parties. These contributions represent over $1.34 million in industry spending."
According to MarcellusMoney.org: "to prevent the Pennsylvania Legislature from creating reasonable taxation measures and necessary safety rules, the drilling industry has made more than $4 million in political contributions to Pennsylvania lawmakers since 2000. It has spent an additional $15 million on lobbying in Harrisburg in just the last five years."
According to Earth Island Journal: "In the past four years, the oil and gas industry has given more than $200,000 to (Ohio Gov. John) Kasich, making him the state's top recipient of campaign contributions from oil and gas companies."
And let's not forget the scandals at the University at Buffalo "Shale Resources and Society Institute" or the now discredited 2009 Penn State study titled "An Emerging Giant: Prospects and Economic Impacts of Developing the Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Play."
Michael Bosetti
Marathon