Hydraulic Fracturing Hypocrisy: Exxon CEO Says No to Fracking

The dangerous gas mining process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is threatening the fresh water supply of our entire planet. Although petrochemical corporations still feebly try to claim that this mining process is safe, this largely unregulated toxic method of natural gas extraction is creating so much chemical and methane pollution, that  in some regions the contaminated local household tap water actually catches on fire.

This unstable gas well drilling process was developed by Halliburton, and requires millions of gallons of fluid, sand and volatile toxic chemicals to be blasted into the ground under very high pressure. The fracking process itself is like a small earthquake; the intense pressure “fractures” the shale and creates fissures which enable natural gas to flow into the water supply. Anywhere from 80 to 300 tons of lethal chemicals, such as toluene and benzene, are injected into the earth’s crust every single time that a well is fracked.

One of our media network’s sister sites, Red, Green and Blue, recently published a post chronicling the hydraulic fracturing hypocrisy of ExxonMobil’s CEO, Rex Tillerson, as he sues to stop fracking on his own property. You can read the article in full below:

Exxon CEO sues to stop fracking, says it would hurt his property values

Big surprise. The big oil companies that tell us everything is perfectly safe when it’s in our back yard… have no desire to allow it when their OWN homes are at risk.

Exxon is the biggest gas producer in the US, so EXXON may well be the biggest fracker in the US. And its CEO, Rex Tillerson, has certainly been a big champion of fracking. Just… not when it’s near HIS house.

As ThinkProgress gleefully reports:

As ExxonMobil’s CEO, it’s Rex Tillerson’s job to promote the hydraulic fracturing enabling the recent oil and gas boom, and fight regulatory oversight. The oil company is the biggest natural gas producer in the U.S., relying on the controversial drilling technology to extract it.

The exception is when Tillerson’s $5 million property value might be harmed. Tillerson has joined a lawsuit that cites fracking’s consequences in order to block the construction of a 160-foot water tower next to his and his wife’s Texas home.

… When he is acting as Exxon CEO, not a homeowner, Tillerson has lashed out at fracking critics and proponents of regulation. “This type of dysfunctional regulation is holding back the American economic recovery, growth, and global competitiveness,” he said in 2012.

… Exxon’s oil and gas operations and the resulting spills not only sinks property values, but the spills have leveled homes and destroyed regions.

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