Submitted by Glenn White, Carson Resident

I am requesting that you please forward this email to other members of your Anti-Big Oil networks, so that they can get a sense that fracking is a worldwide problem, and what it looks like in a country where people have not raised their voices against it. And what the oil corporations are up to across the world.

From the article…

China Takes On Big Risks in Its Push for Shale Gas

New York Times

By KEITH BRADSHERAPRIL 11, 2014

JIAOSHIZHEN, China — Residents of this isolated mountain valley of terraced cornfields were just going to sleep last April when they were jolted by an enormous roar, followed by a tower of flames. A shock wave rolled across the valley, rattling windows in farmhouses and village shops, and a mysterious, pungent gas swiftly pervaded homes.

“It was so scary — everyone who had a car fled the village and the rest of us without cars just stayed and waited to die,” said Zhang Mengsu, a hardware store owner.

All too quickly, residents realized the source of the midnight fireball: a shale gas drilling rig in their tiny rural hamlet.

The only thing, I’d like to point out that is wrong with the article is the following line…

“Like the United States and Europe, China wants to wean itself from its dependence on energy imports…”

This is buying into the oil company propaganda, which claims that “drill baby, drill” necessarily does anything to benefit the country where the oil is drilled. It doesn’t, as that’s not how the industry works. These are MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATIONS and have no particular allegiance to the United States. They take the oil they drill and sell it on the international market to the highest bidders. They take our resources, leave us the risks and keep the profits.

Now, take a look at these multi-national corporations at work.

From the article…

The Chinese energy giants have plenty of money to fund their efforts. Sinopec has one million employees and is the world’s fourth-largest company by revenue after Royal Dutch Shell, Walmart and Exxon Mobil; the fifth-largest is China National Petroleum. With their deep pockets, the companies have been investing heavily in North American shale businesses; Sinopec paid $2.2 billion in 2012 for a 30 percent stake in Devon Energy’s shale gas and oil operations in the United States.

Eye-opening, isn’t it?