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For thirty years some teachers have taught us that oil is bad. Bad people flock to oil like a magnet for over 150 years as they do for any potential "get rich scheme." That is a shame, but it happens in all major industries. Now you have functionally illiterate, yet skillful in filming with a camera staged events, like this Josh Fox. This man either should know what harm he is doing or be told by responsible journalist. Politicians, always in need of patrimony, generally rally against "Big Oil" for votes because since the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969, it works. What is not mentioned, is that that oil spill, a seminal moment in history as it foisted the EPA on all of our lives, was actually one of 32 natural oil seeps off California's coast that have been leaking oil for thousands of years. If Fox wanted to understand the millions of men and women who work in the petroleum industry, maybe he should start with reading something. I suggest Daniel Yergin's two books, starting with "The Prize." I am not aware of any sane left liberal that has smacked down Yergin, so that would be a good start. One take away from history that should be driven home is that every war last century had blood and oil involved, and not much has changed so far this century. If you ARTIFICIALLY restrict natural resources like oil and gas in this country, you create shortages from other places in the world. Every country on this earth has to have food, shelter and energy to survive. Take away one or all of those three items, and you have war and/or submission. Travel around the world, particularly in underdeveloped and hostile countries, and upon arriving back home (the US for Fox even though he is slandering whole industries showing his complete venality and filming fraud) and seeing commercial ports, utility plants, refineries, oil derricks, and other signs of our country's strength and might, a sense of true security comes to mind. Oil, a hydrocarbon created from trillions of decayed plant cells over millions of years packs ten time the heat BTU content of electricity, hydrogen and all other sources of energy we know of with only nuclear power as its energy equivalent competitor. It is the life blood of our civilization and I would recommend Fox and his brainless and treasonous nits explain their policy to the US Marines at Camp Pendleton, who may be called upon to protect our country's interest from those who wish to KILL Americans. Actions by these eco terrorists (aka jobless, selfish brats who know nothing about their subject matter other than what sounds and feels good to their little minds) and other politically motivated miscreants have consequences around the world (think Snowden) that jeopardize the safety of other Americans. Does anyone think for one second that since 1969 any single incident caused by the oil and gas industry would not be reported, prosecuted and have their CEO's responsible for even the tiniest one gallon of crude oil that got loose, would not be hung from the corporate yardarms and every Federal and State agency would not prosecute to the maximum? That is the normal days concern for professional geologists, geophysicists, engineers, landmen, lawyers, accountants and almost every other studied discipline that goes into running petroleum companies which is incredibly hard work. But to have contrived and staged "documentaries" showing a man's faucet with flames, and not mentioning that his water well was drilled decades earlier through five coal seams (ever heard of canary in a coal mine? - all coal seems produce methane gas) or in the new one showing a man lighting a garden hose but not mentioned that the hose is connected to a propane tank (should have blown up the faker) or simply ignoring the fact that the EPA, the hated agency that hates (by its actions) the oil and gas industry could not find one single instance of groundwater contamination from fracing (correct spelling for those who care) studying 2 million frac jobs over sixty years. That is not a small detail or careless omission, but a calculated lie to enhance his credentials to the Hollywood crowd of supercilious supplicants. Does Fox mention that a frac is "successful" if it opens one small channel in impermeable rock (shale) that is no larger than one or two grains (sand grains) usually 10 - 14,000' down in the ground covered by thousands of feet of hard rock? Not according to his videos which are essentially comic book stories with no basis in facts. I could go on, but I have a job although for the sake of my young daughters, I feel the need to try to counter this insane and mindless "green / eco consciences / self-centered / myopic and ignorant" view of our world these outliers justify to themselves for some mindless feel-good cause. The rest of the population needs to put food on their table and make a living and I suspect are growing tired of these juvenile antics. If this country were attacked, as during WWII, none of these libelous, nasty attacks on vital industries would be tolerated and real world, or grown-up thinking will prevail, or we simply do not survive. I will leave with this note - the most "green" people I ever met in my 60 years of life are field geologists that would not destroy a fig if they could avoid it. Take a look at what the Audubon Society and "Big Oil" have worked together on for 50 years down south in Louisiana in an area called the Atchafalaya Basin. That group, the Audubon Society, are true environmentalists and true conservationists and the insipid eco terrorists might want to stop blathering and listen to folks that know what they are doing and truly care. I am truly embarrassed that Hollywood would award this fraud anything other than a rotten tomato for lying.

Abusing the wildlife of the area is sad, but is not the issue at hand. Besides that, the actions of a few do not equal the actions of a whole, and we cannot assume that every person has the same values. This is about the big picture; many have played a part in polluting Lake Michigan and the economic losses that have resulted. The point here is to preserve what we have--Lake Superior is a huge resource. It would be devastating to destroy another of our great lakes, one of our nations jewels, and that which makes our region special.