The gas industry in the United States (US) is not regulated, Dr Dorothy Basset, Dean of the School of Leadership and Professional Studies at Duquesne University, has disclosed.
She said the gas industry is exempted from the various environmental acts and regulations such as the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Air Act, that ensures that people live in dignity devoid of environmental hazards.
She further attributed the unfortunate situation to mainly political reasons, explaining that some high ranked politicians had a stake in the gas industry and did everything possible to protect their interest.
Dr Basset made this known during an interaction with a group of 22 Ghanaian professionals on a working visit to the Duquesne University for an exchange programme between the school and the University of Ghana, Legon.
The Ghanaian group made up people working on various environmental programmes, is expected to come up with various recommendations that balance the benefit and challenges of the extractive industries.
Dr Basset said recent technology used in gas extraction such as the hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology where a pipe is used to tap the natural resource such that the underground water is not polluted, were being explored by mining companies in the United States.
"The United States is trying to find a balance between environmental health and economic boom that comes along with the extractive industry," she said, and asked "What is the role of the local community in all these?"
She recommended the involvement of the communities that are affected most by such mining activities in the negotiation process to ensure that they also benefit from the extractive industry.
The extractive industry wields enormous power because of the capital involved and it is important that people come together to fight against excesses, Dr Basset said, citing examples of the Demascus Citizens Association in Eastern Pennsylvania which has about 5000 registered members fighting against environmental pollution by the extractive industry.
Dr Patricia DeMarco, Executive Director of the Rachel Carson Homestead Association, an Environmental non governmental association, urged
governments to subsidize the use of renewable energy to reduce the impact of using petroleum or gas on the environment.
"We must all help to heal the earth by making choices that preserve the earth," she said.
(Hannah Asomaning, GNA Special Correspondent, Pittsburg, USA)