The horrific impact of fracking on the natural environment is often hidden from us precisely because it is so vast. Often, it’s only through a flyover and aerial photography that we can truly appreciate the devastation the fracking industry as wrought across the country and the world.
This is quite visibly the case in LaSalle County in north central Illinois. The fracking process requires tons and tons of sand, and that sand has to come from somewhere. LaSalle is that somewhere, and it shows:
You can see the entire stunning photo album here.
These disturbing pictures were brought to our attention by the Illinois organization Conserve Our Rural Ecosystem (CORE). The were taken by Dr. Ted Auch from Frack Tracker Alliance with help of the LightHawk “conservation flyer” organization. Even the experienced pilots were shocked at what they saw. Auch has seen fracking sand mines all over the midwest, but he told us he has never seen such deep sand pits located in such close proximity to each other. Subsequent to publishing these photos, he received more comments than any other photos he posted. In short, he’s seen a lot, but this is a new low for the fracking industry.
To add insult to injury, frackers are now eyeing some of the best farm land in Illinois to rip apart into more sand mines to supply their fracking efforts.
Though local media like NewsTribune are beginning to take notice, little attention is being paid to this unfolding crisis, either in Illinois or in the other areas where this is taking place. The fracktivist community in Illinois is active and hopes more projects like this one will bring the danger of fracking to light, and show the average citizen a picture that is too powerful to ignore or forget.