Sign anti-fracking petition to half Halliburton loophole

Among the provisions in the 2005 energy bill was the Halliburton loophole. This loophole stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking).

Fracking, invented by Halliburton, involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, some of them toxic, into underground rock formations to blast them open and release natural gas.

Fracking has been implicated in a growing number of water pollution cases. The safety of the nation's water supply should not have to rely on the public relations talents of the oil and gas industry.

It's time to restore the EPA's rightful authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing and to require the oil and gas industry to disclose the chemicals it uses.

I have started a petition, "Repeal the Halliburton Loophole." You can help by signing the petition at http://signon.org/sign/repeal-the-halliburton.

- Gerald Newman, Valparaiso