With snow on the horizon, we suppose we could thank radical fracktivists for providing more kindling for our fireplace. Are fireplaces good or bad for the environment? We can never remember the hierarchy of “Things that Liberals Want to Ban” in the name of environmentalism. Nonetheless, fracktivists have issued another crap study on fracking claiming that women living near oil and gas development were more likely to give birth to babies with low birth weight.
Fortunately, Energy in Depth tore the missive to shreds in a new piece. Here are some of the issues with the study that EID highlighted:
- “A limitation of our study is that given the nature of the available data, we are constrained to focus on potential exposure to pollution (which is determined by the mother’s residential location) rather than actual exposure that could be measured with personal monitoring devices.”
- “The authors even concede that their findings could have absolutely nothing to do with fracking. The study notes that the mothers they studied were ‘younger, less likely to have been married at the time of the birth, and less educated— characteristics that might lead to worse infant health outcomes even in the absence of fracturing.’”
- “The study purports to link proximity to well sites with lower birth weights. But…the researchers found mothers who live 3 kilometers (km) away from oil and natural gas production sites are actually more likely to have babies with low birth weights than those who live 2 km away.”
Of course, the study also flies in the face of legit studies that show there is no harm to those who live near oil and gas development.
You know, the study using scientific methods commissioned by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Yeah, we think we will stick with that one.