[thackney]

This might surprise you, but people in Texas and Louisiana and all the other drilling states drink water too.

Drilling and production can be done safely. Spills do get cleaned up if/when they happen.

[ilovesarah2012]

The refuge extends across 144,000 acres of what remains of the northern reaches of the Everglades.

In addition to providing vital habitat for more than 257 species of birds, along with a large population of alligators, the refuge also is one of the three Everglades water conservation areas where levees help contain stormwater that supplements regional supplies.

Those conservation areas stretch across western Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, feeding water into drainage canals that spread throughout South Florida. Water in those canals helps boost groundwater levels, which helps stop saltwater from seeping into freshwater supplies.

Water from conservation areas also can seep its way into the aquifers that provide 90 percent of South Florida’s drinking water.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-08-28/news/fl-wildlife-refuge-drought-palm-20110827_1_everglades-water-conservation-areas-water-into-drainage-canals-drinking-water

[cripplecreek]

Michigan is a swamp and we have working wells in all 76 counties in the lower peninsula. On nights with low cloud cover I see gas flares all around. The bright light in the center was a drilling rig.