K.J. Rodgers
Crownsville, Maryland  

….

…. 

Faux polls are being used to suggest Marylanders are against fracking. Just consider the poll itself and who paid for it.

A few weeks back, I discussed how the major opposition to natural gas development is playing right in line with the movie Idiocracy. Unfortunately, nothing has come up as of late to change my mind as I am still seeing the same things being said over and over as if it had electrolytes. Maryland seems to be ground zero for the plot.

Maryland has been toying with the idea of fracking since I moved here. We have turned this discussion inside out over and over again. We Marylanders have had two different governors from two different major parties work on finding a solution to get this great state a foothold in realistic clean energy – natural gas. It is starting to seem a lot like a mini New York State at this point as we still have the same knuckleheads fighting tooth and nail to stop it from happening. The latest attempt is a phony poll about banning fracking completely.

The pro-Putin anti-fracking propaganda outlet RT.com (Russia Today), posted an article titled, “Fracking ban backed by majority in Maryland may be lifted next year.” If that doesn’t catch your eye, then nothing will. The story says the majority of the voters (56%) in the state are against fracking while only 6% believe it comes without any risks. It goes on to quote Sen. Bobby Zirkin (emphasis on stupid comment added):

“If at some point in the future it is absolutely foolproof safe, then we can have another discussion, but as of 2016, multiple states have done this, and all of them have seen bad results.”

Lay off of the Brawndo for a second, fellow Marylanders. This poll they are referring to was commissioned by the fractivist group, Don’t Frack Maryland. The poll was, in fact, addressed to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), which has gotten money from the Sustainable Markets Foundation. That money, in turn, comes from the Rockefeller and Lutz/Van Rens families, the upper crust of the urban gentry class in the Northeast.

The CCAN press release cites Paul Roberts, supposedly a “Maryland citizen,” member of Governor O’Malley’s Marcellus Shale Safe-Drilling Initiative Commission. Roberts happens to be a founding member of CitzenShale, an anti-fracking environmental group. This, right from the start, is a red flag. We’ve seen one biased study after another used to support the fractivist agenda. Junk science and phony polls are their stock-in-trade.

This poll was only one step up from a telemarketing call, as it is considered a push poll. Explained by the New York Times, “Push polls” — which are not really polls at all — are often criticized as a particularly sleazy form of negative political campaigning. Voters pick up the phone to hear what sounds like a research poll. But, there is no effort to collect information, which is what a legitimate poll does.” In fact, most reputable polling organizations have denounced that practice.

The Daily Caller, too, spells out how the game works. It confirms my fear the same phony polls and fractivist junk science will carry the day here as they did in New York State. The polls are highly biased. Consider this open-ended question: “What would you say is the most important risk related to fracking in Maryland?” The question is not only front-loaded to perpetuate the idea there is a serious risk, but the interpretation and counting of the responses is left to an organization specifically funded to oppose fracking.

Notice also how “fear of water contamination” is said to be the top risk at 33% and “potential for harm to human or animal health” is listed as the second greatest concern when, in fact, “not sure/depended” was the second leading response at 26%. Then, there is the fact respondents could cite multiple risks. This makes the data meaningless. It could just as easily be interpreted to say two-thirds of respondents saw no risk of water contamination from fracking.

Maryland’s leaders and years of unnecessary studies have found that fracking can be done safely in the state. They have revamped the regulations to be the most stringent in the industry to appease those fighting against it. We are now fighting the court of public opinion with these faux polls and studies even as US Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz, states “To my knowledge, I still have not seen any evidence of fracking per se contaminating groundwater,”

I guess that’s what happens with these fractivist funded studies. They demand the answers they want. Look no further than the University of Cincinnati for still more evidence of what I’m talking about.