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What will happen to the US if the Mississippi River dries up?Jordan Clarke-Bonhomme gave me quite a question. It almost seems like this answer is as long as the river. Thank you Jordan for the question. I learned a lot answering it.I doubt will will ever see the Mississippi River dry up unless we see a few years of drought all over the country because the river is supplied with waters from some 250 tributaries of the Mississippi which drain a total area of more than 1,247,000 square miles–one third of the nation’s landmass–extending from the Allegheny Mountains in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west.The Mississippi River, from its source at Lake Itasca in Minnesota, to the Gulf of Mexico, is approximately 2,348 miles long. The combined reach of the Missouri-Mississippi Rivers is 3,741 miles–a length exceeded only by the Amazon and Nile rivers. The Mississippi River has shortened by several hundred miles since the days of Mark Twain. Even today it varies 30-50 miles each year.The major tributaries are:The Missouri River is considered to be the longest stream of river in the US is the Missouri River which begins at Three Forks, Montana (elevation 4,032 feet) and flows 2,714 miles to near St. Louis, Missouri. Many people consider the Missouri to be the main reach of the Mississippi River!The Arkansas River forms in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and meanders 1,450 miles through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. It is the main water source for the state of Arkansas.The Ohio River is the second major tributary of the Mississippi. It is formed in Pittsburgh by the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela River and travels about 980 miles to Cairo, Illinois, and the Mississippi River. Interestingly, today’s Ohio River Basin is approximately the northern extremity of the ancient shallow sea that is represented today by the Gulf of Mexico! Consider that nearly 1/3 of the nation’s water drains past the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers at Fort Defiance in Cairo, Illinois.The Illinois River cuts through steep rocky bluffs, runs approximately 273 miles (439 km), with some 60 miles of scenic water. It flows through the heart of the State of Illinois,Illinois River Ribbon Map and links the great rivers of the American West with the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and finally the Atlantic Ocean.Historically, the Illinois River has had a significant impact on the state’s economy, communities, and peoples. Long before Europeans discovered America, indigenous tribes inhabited the Illinois River Valley and settled on the riverbanks, creating a river culture of their own. In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet surveyed the region, canoeing up to the Illinois River via the Mississippi River, hoping to find a route linking the Great Lakes to the Illinois River and the Gulf of Mexico. Today, the Illinois and Michigan Canals are the evidence that their vision became reality.The promise of free land in the 1870s led many to migrate and subsequently settled on the banks of the Illinois River as homesteaders. Cultures, families, and livelihoods were created on the riverbanks shaping the river culture of the region. The Illinois River and its lakes shaped the early industries of the state, making it one of the world’s largest freshwater fisheries. However, as the 19th century progressed, the Illinois River was hit with industrial pollution, silt from farm lands, and human waste. Ultimately, federal and state intervention restored the dying Illinois River.Today, stretches of mild rapids make for great float trip experiences on the river as one paddles by bluffs, gravel bars, and lush forests. Fishing for small mouth and large mouth bass, walleye, and channel and flat head catfish on the Illinois River makes it an exciting destination. Bird watching for bald eagles also makes this waterway a treasure.Drainage Map of the Mississippi River and its Tributaries. Some Facts and FiguresRed River is the 10th longest river in the United States with a length of 1,290 miles.[9] It originates right outside of the Rocky Mountains and stretches through multiple states with the main portion of it located in Texas. The river also crosses through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana where then it links into the Mississippi River.[14] The Red River is mostly surrounded by rural farm land with the only surrounding major cities being Shreveport, Louisiana and Alexandria, Louisiana. The Red River is home to many oil fields with oil and gas production being one of the river's major aspects.Length of TributariesRiver Length1. Upper Mississippi River 1,250 miles2. Arkansas River 1,469 miles3. Illinois River 273 miles4. Missouri River 2,522 miles5. Ohio River 981 miles6. Red River 1,290 miles-------------------------------------------------------------------------What Happens If the Mississippi Runs Dry? PUBLISHED ON 12/13/2012The Mississippi River soon may be too shallow for barge shipping, which could hurt international trade and cause increases in domestic energy and food costs. Switching to other shipping methods could increase pollution.However, there may be a bright side: Drought and reduced traffic on the desiccated rivers may benefit wildlife in the long run.Last Friday, the Army Corps of Engineers began reducing the flow of water into the Missouri River from the Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota because of the continuing drought in the central United States. The Missouri is a major tributary of the Mississippi River, which means reduced flow in the Missouri results in a further drop in water levels on the Mississippi.https://www.seeker.com/earth/mississippi-floods-slideshow-110520.htmlTrade in some of the most important commodities in America, such as coal and grain, stand to suffer from the stoppage of transport on America's main aquatic artery."For the coal that travels on the Mississippi, there could be impacts and delays in getting it to consumers in a timely way," Debra Colbert, senior vice president of Waterways Council, Inc., told Discovery News. "It will cost more to ship it by rail and or truck and consumers will pay more for heating and electricity as a result."The exact effect on prices is impossible to estimate at this point, Colbert said.Delays would affect 3.8 million tons of coal, according to the shipping organization's press release. Five million barrels of crude oil would be delayed, which may necessitate the import of $545 million worth of foreign crude. All together, $7 billion in commodities may be delayed.Delays and cost increases in American grain shipments could affect the global food supply."River barge shipping is all geared to moving bulk grain exports for (livestock) feed uses overseas," said Bruce Abbe, executive director of the Midwest Shippers Association. " A huge share of the global market is served by American agriculture. Barge or water shipping is considered the most cost- efficient means for moving large quantities of bulk grains."If the drought continues more into next year, a larger percentage might go to the Pacific Northwest export terminals by rail," said Abbe. "Rail also can and does carry grain from the Midwest down to the Gulf."Switching to rail and truck transport will affect American farmers' incomes and global consumer prices, Abbe noted."Cost will go up overall, for export customers and for suppliers here," said Abbe.https://www.seeker.com/earth/how-low-can-you-go-mississippi-120718.htmlAlong with increased costs, increased shipping via rail and truck also results in more pollution. Research by the U.S. Maritime Administration and the National Waterways Foundation calculated that:- Inland waterway barge towing produces 19.27 tons of greenhouse gases per million tons of freight moved one mile, a unit known as a ton-mile.- Container trucks produce 71.61 tons of greenhouse gases per million ton-miles.- Rail transports produces 26.88 tons of greenhouse gases per million ton-miles.On the other hand, the drought on the Mississippi might not be entirely negative for the environment.Shipping causes localized disturbance to the Mississippi river's ecosystem as the barges and tugboats churn the water with their wakes and propellers, which can be six feet in diameter, according to Jon Duyvejonck, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.During normal river levels, the turbulent waters and waves produced by ships can uproots plants in the loose, mucky soil of the river banks. A drought benefits the river by giving sediments on the river banks a chance to settle and form denser soil. After a drought, plants can become more resistant to the disturbance caused by boats. Duyvejonck noted that after a drought, a burst of plant growth in the solidified soil often proves to be a boon for wildlife.Winter is a particularly beneficial time to reduce river traffic, Duyvejonck said.Where Does All That Food Come From?"In winter, cold-blooded fish seek to reduce energy expenditure by resting in still waters," said Duyvejonck. "When ships pass, the fish must fight the erratic currents. Hence, a slowdown in traffic during December could help fish save energy and possibly result in an improvement in overwinter survival."One ecological danger from ship traffic in low water is to mussels, which can't move out of the way of ships traveling through low waters. However, the ships themselves are not the biggest environmental problem caused by keeping the rivers open to transport during a drought. Duyvejonck said that finding a place to put the sand and silt dredged from the river's main channels can be the biggest environmental headache.The Army Corps of Engineers began dredging ahead of schedule this year to battle the drought conditions, but were prepared for the low water this year by the flood last year, according to Mike Petersen, public affairs chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' St. Louis District."During the flood, Congress approved funds for river maintenance, so we had already done a significant amount of work dredging channels," said Petersen. "This year we have only needed two dredging ships working on the river, compared to the eight we had working during the drought of 1988 and '89."Further plans for this year include blasting a group of rocks in southern Illinois that make the river especially treacherous in low water. The environmental effects of the blasting have already been assessed and the work approved in an earlier study of the region, said Petersen."One aspect to having a flood one year and a drought the next is that it keeps the Mississippi in the news and in the public's mind," said Petersen. "People tend to take the river for granted until there is a problem."What Happens If the Mississippi Runs Dry?Bonnet Carre Spillway finally closing months after historic 2nd opening in same yearWith water levels in the Mississippi River finally starting to fall after a historic year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began closing bays of the Bonnet Carre Spillway on Monday.The action marked the beginning of the end for a historic high-water year on the river, which has been fed by heavy rains throughout its vast basin and involved the Corps in a record-long flood fight that started last fall.The spillway, which before this year had been used only 12 times in its more than 80-year history, as of Monday had been open for a total of 118 days over the course of two separate openings in 2019.It was unprecedented for the Corps to have to open the spillway twice in a year, and on Tuesday the second opening will tie the 75-day record for the longest continuous time the structure has been in use.The spillway had 168 bays open Monday morning, a little less than half of its total number. Crews were expected to close about 10 bays on Monday and wrap up the rest of the closure in about a week, Corps spokesman Matt Roe said.The spillway is used to keep the Mississippi below 17 feet above sea level at the Carrollton gauge in New Orleans, a height about 3 feet below the top of the river levees in the area.The river is currently at 15.53 feet. Below 15.5 feet, the water isn't high enough to make it through the spillway and into Lake Pontchartrain. The river is expected to fall below 15 feet in about a week, low enough that the Corps can scale back its now-daily inspections of the levees, Roe said.While the river is no longer high enough to require the use of the Bonnet Carre, the Mississippi will remain unusually high as the peak of hurricane season approaches in mid-August. That has raised questions about what could happen if a strong storm sends a surge up an already swollen river.The Corps said it will continue to operate in "flood fight" mode until the Mississippi goes below 11 feet, a level that is still not shown on current forecasts. That means regular inspections of the levees and restrictions on construction near them will continue, Roe said.This year has been historic for the river and spillway in more ways than one. In addition to the record length of time it has been in use this year, this is also the first time the spillway has had to be reopened in the same year due to rising waters. This also marks the first time it has been used in back-to-back years.The river has been above 15 feet in New Orleans for 160 days this year. That's the longest it's been at that height in a single year since before the Bonnet Carre was finished in 1937, even though the year is only half over.The length of the opening has raised concerns about the environmental impact of so much fresh water being sent into the lake and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. It has been blamed for a large algae bloom in the lake and damage to fisheries and oyster beds.Bonnet Carre Spillway finally closing months after historic 2nd opening in same yearA2A

With the recent confirmation by the U.S. government that the fracking process causes earthquakes, the list of fracking's deadly byproducts is growing longer and more worrisome. And while the process produces jobs and natural gas, the host of environmental, health and safety hazards continues to make fracking a hot-button issue that evenly divides Americans.To help keep track of all the bad stuff, here's a roundup of the various nasty things that could happen when you drill a hole in the surface of the earth, inject toxic chemicals into the hole at a high pressure and then inject the wastewater deep underground.But first, let's take a look at some of the numbers:40,000: gallons of chemicals used for each fracturing site8 million: number of gallons of water used per fracking600: number of chemicals used in the fracking fluid, including known carcinogens and toxins such as lead, benzene, uranium, radium, methanol, mercury, hydrochloric acid, ethylene glycol and formaldehyde10,000: number of feet into the ground that the fracking fluid is injected through a drilled pipeline1.1 million: number of active gas wells in the United States72 trillion: gallons of water needed to run current gas wells360 billion: gallons of chemicals needed to run current gas wells300,000: number of barrel of natural gas produced a day from frackingAnd here are eight of the worst side effects of fracking you don't hear about from those slick TV commercials paid for by the industry.1. Burning the furniture to heat the house.During the fracking process, methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from the well and contaminate nearby groundwater. The contaminated water is used for drinking water in local communities. There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination near fracking areas as well as cases of sensory, respiratory and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water.In 2011, the New York Times reported that it obtained thousands of internal documents from the EPA, state regulators and fracking companies, which reveal that "the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle."A single well can produce more than a million gallons of wastewater, which contains radioactive elements like radium and carcinogenic hydrocarbons like benzene. In addition, methane concentrations are 17 times higher in drinking-water wells near fracking sites than in normal wells. Only 30-50 percent of the fracturing fluid is recovered; the rest is left in the ground and is not biodegradable.“We’re burning the furniture to heat the house,” said John H. Quigley, former secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “In shifting away from coal and toward natural gas, we’re trying for cleaner air, but we’re producing massive amounts of toxic wastewater with salts and naturally occurring radioactive materials, and it’s not clear we have a plan for properly handling this waste."2. Squeezed out.More than 90 percent of the water used in fracking well never returns to the surface. Since that water is permanently removed from the natural water cycle, this is bad news for drought-afflicted or water-stressed states, such as Arkansas, California, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas and Wyoming."We don't want to look up 20 years from now and say, Oops, we used up all our water," said Jason Banes of the Boulder, Colorado-based Western Resource Advocates.The redirection of water supplies to the fracking industry not only causes water price spikes, but also reduces water availability for crop irrigation.There is a new player for water, which is oil and gas," said Kent Peppler, president of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. "And certainly they are in a position to pay a whole lot more than we are."3. Bad for babies.The waste fluid left over from the fracking process is left in open-air pits to evaporate, which releases dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere, creating contaminated air, acid rain and ground-level ozone.Exposure to diesel particulate matter, hydrogen sulfide and volatile hydrocarbons can lead to a host of health problems, including asthma, headaches, high blood pressure, anemia, heart attacks and cancer.It can also have a damaging effect on immune and reproductive systems, as well as fetal and child development. A 2014 study conducted by the Colorado Department of Environmental and Occupational Health found that mothers who live near fracking sites are 30 percent more likely to have babies with congenital heart defects.Research from Cornell University indicates an increased prevalence of low birth weight and reduced APGAR scores in infants born to mothers living near fracking sites in Pennsylvania. And in Wyoming's Sublette County, the fracking boom has been linked to dangerous spikes in ozone concentrations. A study led by the state's Department of Health found that these ozone spikes are associated with increased outpatient clinic visits for respiratory problems.4. Killer gas.A recent study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that homes located in suburban and rural areas near fracking sites have an overall radon concentration 39 percent higher than those located in non-fracking urban areas. The study included almost 2 million radon readings taken between 1987 and 2013 done in over 860,000 buildings from every county, mostly homes.A naturally occurring radioactive gas formed by the decay of uranium in rock, soil and water, radon—odorless, tasteless and invisible—moves through the ground and into the air, while some remains dissolved in groundwater where it can appear in water wells. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer worldwide, after smoking. The EPA estimates approximately 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. are radon-related."Between 2005-2013, 7,469 unconventional wells were drilled in Pennsylvania. Basement radon concentrations fluctuated between 1987-2003, but began an upward trend from 2004-2012 in all county categories," the researchers wrote.That trending period just happens to start when Pennsylvania's fracking boom began: Between Jan. 1, 2005, and March 2, 2012, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued 10,232 drilling permits; only 36 requests were denied.5. Shifting sands.In addition to all the water and toxic chemicals, fracking requires the use of fine sand, or frac sand, which has driven a silica sand mining boom in Minnesota and Wisconsin, which together have 164 active frac sand facilities with 20 more proposed. Both states are where most of the stuff is produced and where regulations are lax for air and water pollution monitoring. Northeastern Iowa has also become a primary source."Silica can impede breathing and cause respiratory irritation, cough, airway obstruction and poor lung function," according to Environmental Working Group. "Chronic or long-term exposure can lead to lung inflammation, bronchitis and emphysema and produce a severe lung disease known as silicosis, a form of pulmonary fibrosis. Silica-related lung disease is incurable and can be fatal, killing hundreds of workers in the U.S. each year.""I could feel dust clinging to my face and gritty particles on my teeth,” said Victoria Trinko, a resident of Bloomer, Wisconsin. Within nine months of the construction of frac sand mine, about a half-mile from her home, she developed a sore throat and raspy voice and was eventually diagnosed with environment-caused asthma. She hasn't opened her windows since 2012.Across the 33-county frac sand mining area that spans Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, nearly 60,000 people live less than half a mile from existing or proposed mines. And new danger zones will likely pop up around the nation: Due to the fracking boom, environmentalists and public health advocates warn that frac sand mines could spread to several states with untapped silica deposits, including Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.Bryan Shinn, the chief executive of sand mining company U.S. Silica Holdings said in September that due to the fracking boom, they "see a clear pathway to the volume of sand demand that's out there doubling or tripling in the next four to five years."6. Shake, rattle and roll.On April 20, the U.S. Geological Survey released a long-awaited report that confirmed what many scientists have long speculated: the fracking process causes earthquakes. Specifically, over the last seven years, geologically stable regions of the U.S., including parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas, have experienced movements in faults that have not moved in millions of years. Plus, it's difficult or impossible to predict where future fracking-caused earthquakes will occur."They're ancient faults," said USGS geophysicist William Ellsworth. "We don’t always know where they are."Ellsworth led the USGS team that analyzed changes in earthquake occurrence rates in the central and eastern United States since 1970. They found that between 1973–2008, there was an average of 21 earthquakes of at least magnitude three. From 2009-2013, the region experienced 99 M3+ earthquakes per year. And the rate is still rising. In Oklahoma, there were 585 earthquakes in 2014—more than in the last 35 years combined."The increase in seismicity has been found to coincide with the injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells in several locations, including Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ohio," the report states. "Much of this wastewater is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is routinely disposed of by injection into wells specifically designed and approved for this purpose."For many years, Oklahoma's government has been reluctant to concede the connection between fracking and earthquakes. In October of last year, during a gubernatorial election debate with state Rep. Joe Dorman, a Democrat, Governor Mary Fallin, a Republican, declined to say whether or not she believed earthquakes were caused by fracking. Fallin was re-elected.But the government has finally come around. The day after the USGS report was released, on April 21, the Oklahoma Geological Survey, a state agency, released a statement saying that is it "very likely that the majority of recent earthquakes, particularly those is central and north-central Oklahoma, are triggered by the injection of produced water in disposal wells."The same day, the state's energy and environment department launched a website that explains the finding along with an earthquake map and what the government is doing about it all. According to the site, "Oklahoma state agencies are not waiting to take action."Now there is a split between the state's governmental branches: Two days after the executive branch admitted that fracking causes earthquakes, the state's lawmakers, evidently unmoved by the trembling ground, passed two bills, backed by the oil and gas industry, that limit the ability of local communities to decide if they want fracking in their backyards.7. The heat is on.Natural gas is mostly methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas that traps 86 times as much heat as carbon dioxide. And because methane leaks during the fracking process, fracking may be worse than burning coal, mooting the claim that natural gas burns more cleanly than coal."When you frack, some of that gas leaks out into the atmosphere," writes 350.org: A global campaign to confront the climate crisis co-founder Bill McKibben. "If enough of it leaks out before you can get it to a power plant and burn it, then it's no better, in climate terms, than burning coal. If enough of it leaks, America's substitution of gas for coal is in fact not slowing global warming."A recent international satellite study on North American fracking production led by the Institute of Environmental Physics at the University of Bremen in Germany found that "fugitive methane emissions" caused by the fracking process "may counter the benefit over coal with respect to climate change" and that "net climate benefit…is unlikely.""Even small leaks in the natural gas production and delivery system can have a large climate impact—enough to gut the entire benefit of switching from coal-fired power to gas," writes Joe Romm, the founding editor of the blog Climate Progress. "The climate will likely be ruined already well past most of our lifespans by the time natural gas has a net climate benefit."8. Quid pro quo?Finally, one of the more insidious side effects of fracking is less about the amount of chemicals flowing into the ground and more about the amount of money flowing into politicians' campaign coffers from the fracking industry.According to a 2013 report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), contributions from fracking trade groups and companies operating fracking wells to congressional candidates representing states and districts where fracking occurs rose by more than 230 percent between the 2004 and 2012 election cycles, from $2.1 million to $6.9 million.That is nearly twice as much as the increase in contributions from the fracking industry to candidates from non-fracking districts during the same period, outpacing contributions from the entire oil and gas industry to all congressional candidates. Republican congressional candidates have received nearly 80 percent of fracking industry contributions."The fracking boom isn’t just good for the industry, but also for congressional candidates in fracking districts," said CREW executive director Melanie Sloan.The candidate who has received the most in contributions from the fracking industry is Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). Barton received more than $500,000 between the 2004 and 2012 election cycles—over $100,000 more than any other candidate in the nation. It should come as no surprise that Barton sponsored the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which exempted fracking from federal oversight under the Safe Drinking Water Act.On April 21, Colorado and Wyoming filed a lawsuit challenging the new federal fracking regulations issued last month by the Bureau of Land Management for onshore drilling on tribal and public lands, claiming that the rule, which regulates underground injections in the fracking process, "exceeds the agency's statutory jurisdiction.""The debate over hydraulic fracturing is complicated enough without the federal government encroaching on states’ rights," said Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman, in a statement. "This lawsuit will demonstrate that BLM exceeds its powers when it invades the states’ regulatory authority in this area."Coffman, a Republican, is married to Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman (CO-8), also a Republican. Coffman and two other GOP representatives from the state, Scott Tipton (CO-3) and Doug Lamborn (CO-5), have sponsored a trio of bills—H.R. 4321, 4382 and 4383 (called the “3 Stooges” bills by environmentalists)—that would fast-track leasing and permitting for drilling and fracking on public lands. These three congressmen, each of whom have received more than $100,000 in contributions from the oil and gas industry, sit on the Natural Resources Committee and naturally oppose federal regulations on fracking.Short-Term ThinkingFracking proponents point to the fact that it produces natural gas and jobs; indeed takes credit for boosting the economy during the recession. But at what cost to public health and the environment? And can the true cost be known when there is a lack of transparency in the fracking industry?With little federal oversight, states have created a non-uniform patchwork of regulation: Illinois requires fracking companies to disclose information about the chemicals they use before they drill and monitor groundwater through the process, while Virginia doesn't require any disclosure."So far, the industry has successfully fended off almost all federal regulation of fracking, in part through key exemptions from federal laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act, which otherwise would allow the EPA to directly regulate fracking and other aspects of oil and gas production," says CREW.The FRAC Act (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act) would require the energy industry to disclose all chemicals used in fracturing fluid and also repeal fracking's exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act.Of course, everyone wants reliable domestically produced energy that creates jobs and energy independence. But nothing comes for free. And in the case of fracking, still with so many unknowns, the price in the long run may be too great.That's part of the message that Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) hope the American public gets. On April 22, Earth Day, the two lawmakers introduced the Protect Our Public Lands Act, H.R. 1902. The strongest anti-fracking bill ever introduced into Congress, it seeks to ban fracking on public lands. Today, 90 percent of federally managed lands are open for potential oil and gas leasing; the remaining 10 percent are reserved for conservation, recreation, wildlife and cultural heritage."Our national parks, forests and public lands are some of our most treasured places and need to be protected for future generations,” said Pocan. "It is clear fracking has a detrimental impact on the environment and there are serious safety concerns associated with these type of wells. Until we fully understand the effects, the only way to avoid these risks is to halt fracking entirely. We should not allow short-term economic gain to harm our public lands, damage our communities or endanger workers."Sounds logical enough. But with oil and gas money steering the Republican-controlled Congress, the bill is dead in the radioactive wastewater.Source : GoogleThank you

Short answer: There were as many Loyalists in arms as there were Redcoat regulars. In addition, the number of Loyalist troops in America equaled the largest number of Patriot troops ever commanded by George Washington (25,000 at NY in 1776).Men of property generally resisted the radicals everywhere. Indeed for the great majority of Anglo-Americans, loyalty to the king, Parliament, and the traditions of British colonial government was the “normal condition” of political life. Neutrality rather than loyalism was their characteristic refuge. In Connecticut, the only colony for which anything like an exact estimate of the resistance to the revolution has been made, hard-core Loyalists (those willing to actively take up arms for the crown) made up 6 percent of the population. By 1776 what remained of loyalism in New England had been driven underground, but a significant portion of the moderates were also unwilling to fight for independence and tried to remain aloof from the conflict.It is clear that the Crown did not always make the best use of Loyalist units during the war, dispersing them too widely as sentinels in outposts, as guards over supply depots, and as behind-the-line auxiliaries. History suggests that they may have been more effective if used aggressively.“Rouse, America!” a Patriot newspaper editor warned against such persons, “Your danger is great – great from a quarter where you least expect it. [The Loyalists] … will yet be the ruin of you! ‘Tis high time they were separated from among you. They are now just engaged in undermining your liberties.”[i][i] Richard D. Brown, Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791. (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000) 230.Discussion:At its peak, the British Army had about 22,000 “Redcoats” at its disposal in North America — twice the normal compliment of regulars. An additional 25,000 Loyalists participated in the conflict as well. Nearly 30,000 German auxiliaries, or Hessians, served alongside the British, and an untold number of Native Americans (less than 3000) might be added to this number. There were, of course, Loyalists who remained civilian non-combatants, but the material contained herein is geared predominately towards the military. See Todd Braisted’s comprehensive analysis: Loyalist RegimentsLoyalist before the outbreak of a shooting war generally sat back and hoped the whole crisis would pass. However, once the war began, they were very organized in their response — at least on the military level. Many American Tories never became overt Loyalists, and others came late to loyalism. Although most of the late Loyalists came from Pennsylvania, moderates in all the colonies outside New England were also having second thoughts concerning the revolution and were working toward reconciliation. The successful seizure by the Patriots of Boston in March 1776 virtually extinguished British Loyalism in New England, but New York (the “city” environs) was a hotbed of loyalism and a bastion of loyalist battalions right to the end of the war in 1783.Dissent proved easiest to undermine where it was least prevalent. A public carting or a coat of tar and feathers was usually sufficient. Geographical position seems to have been a factor in producing opposition to the rebellion. Although Massachusetts and Virginia were the most uniformly English of the colonies, it was they that supported the greatest proportion of rebels and were the first to effectively suppress loyalism. Other colonies were more diverse in the national origins of their residents, and in such places large pockets of loyalism might be found. New York, cosmopolitan by 18th century standards, was probably the most evenly divided colony in terms of rebellion and loyalism. There may have been as many as 100,000 loyalists in New York colony and an additional 20,000 in the region centered on Delaware."Tory Refugees on the Way to Canada" by Howard Pyle. The work appeared in Harper's Monthly in December 1901.There is evidence that in New England, at least, the revolution was a vastly popular movement springing from the rocky soil of Massachusetts with ideas of independency taking root among the populace from the first. The number of Americans who adhered to the British side after fighting commenced is still debated. It has been estimated that about 450,000 Americans remained loyal to Britain during the Revolution. This would be about sixteen percent of the total population of 3 million, or about 20 percent of white Americans.Early Loyalists regiments often served in “brick red” uniforms.When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, about fifty Loyalist regiments were raised, including the Butler's Rangers, the King's Royal Regiment, and the Maryland and Pennsylvania Loyalists, and others. Loyalist were noted for their dark green coats, or earlier in the war for their “brick red” uniforms (Madder Red). Both were meant to distinguish American Loyalist units from regular British redcoats dyed in Venetian Red or Scarlet. Venetian red was adopted as the primary uniform color of the New Model Army during the 17th century to ease mutual identification on the battlefield. The dark forest green coats “seasoned” throughout the year becoming more yellow-green as the Autumn approached.Timothy Ruggles, a Loyalist known for his service in the militia in the French wars of the 1750s, sought to promote a Loyalist Association as a counter to the Continental Association of the radicals, but he had very little success in attracting allies to his position and had to flee to the British army in Boston to avoid the furor of the radical mobs. Colonel Thomas Gilbert of Massachusetts had already raised the first Loyalist military unit. This was a force of three hundred men, armed by the British. Gilbert stored muskets, powder and bullets in his home. Gilbert and his three sons fought for the British in Massachusetts, were driven from their homes, and in May 1783 they were exiled to Nova Scotia along with their slaves. Ruggles and Gilbert had fought together in the F&I war. In March 1776 Ruggles left Boston for Nova Scotia with the British troops and accompanied Lord Howe to Staten Island where he formed a loyalist battalion. The Continental Congress confiscated his estates, and in 1779 he received as a reimbursement a grant of 10,000 acres of land from the crown in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, where he engaged in agriculture until his death.Having refused a commission from the Patriots, Robert Rogers (famed for his F&I War operations) raised a Loyalist unit in New York (mostly from Loyalists living in Westchester and Long Island), and from western Connecticut. The new unit was named the Queen’s Rangers in honor of Queen Consort Charlotte, the wife of King George III. It first assembled on Staten Island in August 1776 organized into eleven companies of about thirty men each, and an additional five troops of cavalry. It ultimately grew to 937 officers and men. Rogers did not prove successful in this command, and he left the unit in January 1777. John Graves Simcoe was ultimately given command and the unit became known informally as "Simcoe's Rangers". The Queen's Rangers was one of the most successful British regiments in the war. The regiment was taken into the Crown establishment as the 1st American Regiment in 1779, and was later (1782) taken into the British establishment. In 1783, the Queen's Rangers left New York for Nova Scotia, where it was disbanded.Tryon’s Raid on DanburyOne historian has called William Tryon “the evil genius of the royal cause in America” because of his many successes in prosecuting the Loyalist raids on patriot strongholds. Once the governor of North Carolina, Tryon was assigned the task of governing New York just in time to face the beginnings of the insurrection. He stood out as the most principled political architect of Loyalist resistance to the revolution as well as one of its most aggressive military leaders, especially in New York and Connecticut. Tryon operated with a force composed of more than 2,000 loyalist militiamen encamped on Long Island near Flushing, Queens. He also organized a stronghold on the north shore near Glen Cove and from here launched amphibious raids across the Long Island Sound into Connecticut.Battle of Ridgefield — When Patriot General David Brewster was killed 700 American militia under Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Silliman met the British and staved them off further attack. The Battle of Ridgefield was the only inland battle fought in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War.In April 1777 the loyalists in brick red or dark green uniforms, commanded by William Tryon, crossed Long Island Sound and landed unopposed at Compo Beach near Westport, Connecticut. They marched inland to raid the towns of Bethel, Ridgefield, and Danbury. The 1777 raid was followed in July 1779 by a larger affair employing more than eighteen warships and 2000 Loyalist soldiers. This time Tryon targeted the towns of East Haven, New Haven, West Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. The landing at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk was the largest amphibious operation mounted by Loyalist forces during the entire revolutionary war. Described in British records as a nest of privateers, Norwalk, with its protective archipelago of small sandy islands and shallow waters, had served as an American vice-admiralty court for small prizes taken on the Sound, a fact that has almost escaped historians because all the court records were burned during the 1779 raid along with 88 homes, dozens of barns and workshops, four mills, and a church. Losses were later estimated to amount to over 26 thousand British pounds. Norwalk was so heavily damaged that George Washington described it as having been “destroyed” in his report to the Continental Congress after the battle.Several dozen Connecticut patriots under Captain Stephen Betts, who put a few small cannon on the heights in the center of the town, drove off the Loyalists in the so-called Battle of the Rocks.Among the Loyalist troops that attacked Norwalk was a unit commanded by Edmund Fanning. In the 1760s and 1770s, Fanning first came to fame as the focus of hatred of the North Carolina Regulators, and led, with Tryon an anti-Regulator militia in a brutal repression of the colonials (several colonials were hanged and one executed by pistol after their surrender). Fanning followed Tryon to New York as his personal secretary, and he raised a regiment of Loyalists named the King's American Regiment on Staten Island. He was wounded twice during the war and was credited with saving Yale (then a college) from destruction by British forces during a destructive raid against New Haven led by Tryon. Fanning was granted an honorary law degree in 1803 as thanks for this action.Col. James De Lancey, known in some circles as the Outlaw of the Bronx, was one of the extremists from New York on the Tory side. Related also to the revolutionary patriot John Jay, James De Lancey was connected by blood and marriage to the elite on both sides of the political divide. First associated with his uncle, General Oliver De Lancey, in raising volunteers from among the Loyalists of Long Island for De Lancey’s Brigade, in 1777 James De Lancey was appointed captain of an elite Troop of Light Horse known as the Westchester Chasseurs. The troop was issued arms and equipment and harassed enemy depots and outposts. Driven from Westchester county by the Patriot party, De Lancey and his like-minded loyalists now known as De Lancey's Refugee Corps occupied the Morrisania area of the Bronx. These men formed one of the most effective loyalist militia units to serve during the rebellion, and De Lancey was made a lieutenant colonel in the British army hierarchy. De Lancey was “attainted” and his estate confiscated in 1779 by the Patriot Committee of Safety. Taken prisoner late that same year, he was soon released on parole.Sir John Johnson, son of William Johnson, inherited his father's baronetcy and lands in 1774. Sir John moved to Canada during the American Revolutionary War with his family and allies because he was at risk of arrest by rebel authorities. He led the King's Royal Regiment of New York and was promoted to brigadier general in 1782. That year Sir John Johnson was also appointed as Superintendent General and Inspector General of Indian affairs of First Nations in Canada, including the control of the four Iroquois nations that had relocated there. Johnson gathered several hundred armed loyalist supporters at Johnstown. He sent a letter to Governor William Tryon saying that he and his Loyalist neighbors had conferred about raising a battalion for the British cause. He also said he could raise 500 Indian warriors who, when used with his regular troops, could retake all of the frontier forts captured by the rebels.Guy Johnson, nephew of Sir William Johnson and cousin to Sir John, had migrated to the Province of New York as a young man and worked with his uncle. He served as agent to the Iroquois, with whom the British had a strong trading diplomatic relationship, and directed joint Loyalist militia and native military actions in the Mohawk Valley. When the New York Committee of Safety committed the colony to armed resistance to the King following the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, Johnson remained loyal to the Crown and worked to control the Tryon County courts, assisted by fellow loyalists Sir John Johnson and Colonel Daniel Claus (a son-in-law of Sir William). These three also commanded three regiments of the Tryon County militia, but the American Patriots in the Mohawk Valley soon drove the three Loyalists out of power. General Guy Carleton, Governor-in-Chief of Quebec, told Guy Johnson that he had no authority over any Indians in Canada and that the Iroquois were not to fight outside the Province of Quebec. Nonetheless, from his command post at Fort Niagara, he led forces against the colonials in the Mohawk Valley frontier, and his subordinates carried out the actions in what the Americans called massacres at Wyoming and Cherry valleys. This was also known as the "Burning of the Valleys". Ultimately he was forced to go to London to defend his reports and actions to the government and he remained there.Walter Butler (Butler’s Rangers / King’s Rangers) ravaged the New York frontier until his death in 1781. Made a Captain in the ranger unit created by his father, John Butler (a wealthy Indian agent who worked for Sir William Johnson), Walter Butler often combined his loyalist frontiersmen with the Native allies under the Iroquois leader Joseph Brant. Butler is most often noted for leading the so-called Cherry Valley Massacre (1778). He has been blamed for the deaths of the many women and children who were killed on that occasion. He fought in the Battle of Johnstown and was killed on October 30, 1781, while retreating back to Canada in a skirmish with rebel troops. Writer Stephen Vincent Benét listed Walter Butler as one of the villainous jurymen, brought back from the dead, in the 1936 short story (and stage play) The Devil and Daniel Webster.In parts of Maryland Loyalists clearly outnumbered radicals, and the Chesapeake peninsula had the highest density of active loyalists in the colonies. White Loyalists in the South were in constant fear of slave insurrections and Indian attacks, and those from the backcountry of Georgia and North and South Carolina were highly disaffected from the revolution due to the isolation of their holdings from the support of other whites. Those who were active in the Loyalist Party and willing to take up arms to fight for Britain, however, were limited to just a few marauding bands.New Jersey residents, led by their “tenacious champion” Gov. William Franklin (son of Benjamin Franklin), generally resisted the revolution, preferring neutrality to insurrection in greater proportion than the total populations of any other colony except New York and Georgia. The distribution of Loyal sentiment and Patriot fervor was particularly scattered in New Jersey with whole Loyalist town being opposed to others of equal Patriot devotion. This led to a great number of small, local encounters as well as a great number of indiscriminate executions among “warring” families that were settling old private scores rather than political questions. William Franklin proved himself an unbending proponent of negotiation and conciliation stiffly holding his ground even after being arrested and confined by the New Jersey Provincial Congress.General Cortlandt Skinner was one of the three current and past speakers of the New Jersey colonial assembly who actively opposed American independence. As a prominent New Jersey Loyalist, Skinner accepted a commission as a brigadier under the British Crown and was authorized to raise a Provincial corps, known as the New Jersey Volunteers or "Skinner's Greens". Three battalions were authorized, to consist of 2,500 soldiers. Throughout the war, the New Jersey Volunteers mercilessly harassed their Patriot opponents in New York from the defensive outposts of Long Island and Staten Island. By the end of war in 1783, Skinner was one of the three highest ranking Loyalist officers in the British Army. His wife and family embarked for England in the summer of 1783, and he followed shortly. His claim to compensation for his losses was made, and he also received the half-pay of a Brigadier-General during his life.There had been during the revolution, moreover, strong support for Tory policies in Delaware in largely Anglican Sussex County and in overwhelmingly pacifist Kent County. New Castle County with its commercial ties with Baltimore and Philadelphia and its largely Presbyterian and Scotch-Irish population, had been, on the other hand, a stronghold of Patriot power and had carried the war almost by itself. Holding an overwhelming majority in New Castle County (but being an overall minority in the rest of the colony) the Patriot Party worked hard to support the Sons of Liberty throughout Delaware as they suppressed Loyalism to the Crown by force. The Patriot Party in Delaware proved well organized, unified in their purpose, and unnervingly ruthless in the prosecution of their cause. They were capable of forcing the election of many like-minded men to positions of authority throughout the colony and of disarming and prosecuting Loyalists.Highland Scots who had immigrated to America overwhelmingly favored the king over the Revolutionary cause. In the South, most of the Highland Scots organized quickly in the royal cause. North Carolina governor Josiah Martin had hoped to recruit heavily among the Scots, but too many had turned against the government during the War of Regulation (1765-1771). Some historians consider this conflict a catalyst to the Revolution. The battle of Moore Creek Bridge (1776) had significant effects within the Scots community of North Carolina, where Loyalists refused to turn out when calls to arms were made later in the war, and many were routed out of their homes by the pillaging activities of their Patriot neighbors. In a brief early-morning engagement, a barrage of musket fire met a charge across the bridge by sword-wielding Loyalist Scotsmen. One Loyalist leader was killed, another captured, and the whole force was scattered. In the following days, many Loyalists were arrested, putting a damper on further recruiting efforts. North Carolina was not militarily threatened again until 1780, and memories of the battle and its aftermath negated Crown efforts to recruit Scotsmen.In 1780, as part of the Crown’s Southern strategy to end the Revolution, more than 1000 loyalists assembled near the Blue Ridge Mountains (in what is now Tennessee), under the able leadership of British Major Patrick Ferguson. This loyalist force was well armed with standard British muskets and bayonets, and its leader was a serious professional officer. He warned mountain residents that if the insurrection continued, he personally would “lay waste their country with fire and sword.” Ferguson had issued a challenge to the rebel militias to lay down their arms or suffer the consequences, however he was killed at the Battle of King’s Mountain and his loyalist force devastated. This defeat combined with the defeat of a Crown detachment at Cowpens virtually ended the resistance of loyalist in the South.Banaster Tarleton's dragoons were called 'Tarleton's Raiders'. His green uniform was the standard uniform of the British Legion, a provincial unit organized in New York, in 1778. On 13 December 1776, Tarleton (then a mere Cornet attache’) had surrounded a house in Basking Ridge, and forced Patriot Gen. Charles Lee to surrender. As a prisoner of war, General Lee, was taken to New York, and later was used in an exchange of prisoners. The capture led to immediate advancement for Tarleton. After becoming commander of the British Legion (1780), a force of American Loyalist cavalry and light infantry, also called Tarleton's Raiders, he went to South Carolina. Tarleton's Legion was harried by Patriot leader Francis Marion, 'The Swamp Fox', an American militia commander who practiced a form of guerrilla warfare against the British. Throughout the campaigns, Tarleton was unable to capture him or thwart his operations. In 1781 Tarleton's forces were virtually destroyed by American Brigadier General Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens. Tarleton and only 200 men escaped the battlefield. After his return to Great Britain, Tarleton wrote a history of his experience in the war in North America, entitled Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North America (London, 1781). Herein he portrayed his own actions in the Carolinas favorably and questioned many of the decisions made by Lord Cornwallis that led to the ultimate British defeat at Yorktown.After he had turned traitor, the British gave Benedict Arnold a brigadier general's commission in their provincial forces with an annual income of several hundred pounds. He and his wife settled in New York, where the Loyalist elites at first snubbed them. In December 1780, he led a force of 1,600 troops into Virginia, where he captured Richmond by surprise and then went on a rampage through Virginia, destroying supply houses, foundries, and mills. His command consisted of detachments from Simcoe’s Queen’s Rangers and the Loyalist American Legion.Through the spring and early summer of 1781, three thousand French troops under Rochambeau marched from Newport, Rhode Island, across Connecticut to join with Washington’s forces on the Hudson River. Benedict Arnold, born and raised only 10 miles away, was anxious to command a raid on New London in order to demonstrate his newfound loyalty to the Crown. By September it was clear, however, that Virginia was the target. At precisely this time, General Clinton agreed to a small diversionary attack — a punitive raid on New London, CT. At Fort Griswold on the Groton heights, approximately 160 Patriot militiamen and civilians gathered to fight the 800 Crown and Hessian soldiers including several Loyalist and Loyalist refugee battalions. Refusing to surrender when that option was offered, they fought furiously, killing 2 English officers and 43 others and wounding 193 more. After about 40 minutes, the British made it into the fort. Colonel Ledyard, realizing all was lost, commanded his men to put down their arms. At that point there were an estimated 6 American dead and 20 wounded. But after giving up his sword, Ledyard was immediately run through. When the slaughter ended, 83 Americans were dead and 36 wounded. After looting the town, Arnold ordered his British soldiers to set fire to every building, causing the equivalent of more than $500,000 in damages. During his command of British troops, Arnold did not gain a great deal of respect from other officers. His actions in Virginia and Connecticut were criticized, and allegations circulated in New York that he was primarily interested in money.Associated Loyalists: Lt. Colonel Joshua UphamLoyal Refugees: Lt. William CastlesAmerican Legion: Captain Nathan FrinkLoyal American Regiment: Lt. Colonel Beverly Robinson Jr.3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers: Lt. Colonel Abraham van BuskirkWhen the British evacuated New York after the Treaty of Paris (1783) 100,000 Loyalists left with them. It is clear that the Loyalists had made a large but futile contribution to the war.See:Amazon.com: To Starve, Die, & Be Damned: The Delaware Blues of the American Revolution, 1776-1783 (Traditional American History Series Book 11) eBook: James M. Volo: Kindle StoreandAmazon.com: Stand Alarmed, Militia in America 1607-1783 (Traditional American History Series 2nd Edition) eBook: James M. Volo: Kindle Store