Trinity Trees Come Down

I was expecting something a little more dramatic as I walked down the Trinity Trail near the Rogers Avenue bridge. Bulldozers. Chainsaws. Contractors from Blackwater.

A friend sent me an e-mail this afternoon that the Trinity Trees were coming down. I guess I expected it to be a work in progress. But it was a done deal.

What I found was an open area where Chesapeake Energy's pad site will be, along with blue sky and silence. No one was there. The only noise came from the Union Pacific yards next door.

After months of meetings, petitions, letter writing and lawsuits, the Trinity Trees controversy was over. I guess spokesperson Julie Wilson is still polishing the press release that says, "Hey, we just cut down a bunch of trees."

I had hoped against hope that some Capra-esque miracle would transpire. Maybe like Claude Rains at the end of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Chesapeake Vice President Tom Price would go sprinting down the Trinity Trail, racked with guilt while tearing off his Men's Warehouse suit and screaming, "I was wrong! Global warming does exist! These trees must be SAVED!"

But that hope died even before the ink was dry on Melissa Kohout's lawsuit.

The realistic view was best articulated by Jim Marshall. A few months back, Jim told me that in spite of everything, there were positives to come out of this:

Chesapeake altered its plans.

Chesapeake secured permission from Union Pacific to locate part of its drilling equipment on Union Pacific property. The alternative plan proposed by the Trinity Trees group was to relocate the entire drilling site to UP property.

Current plans call for the pad site to be reduced from 2.5 to 1.4 acres, saving an additional 1.1 acres of the 8.33 acre tree grove.

The perimeter tree planting surrounding the pad site is being enhanced following a revised landscape plan with 268 new trees ranging from 5 to 14 feet in height.

Chesapeake has committed to donate $500,000 to the City tree farm.

Saving over an acre of old growth trees ain't nothing. Getting Chesapeake to part with $500,000 for trees ain't nothing, either.

And I was thinking about that while I walked the Trinity Trees site this afternoon. It's a perfect example of what Lyndon Johnson called "half-loaf" politics -- a half a loaf of bread is better than no loaf at all. It's compromise. Everybody wins.

Well, there certainly were some winners.

Someday soon, a drilling rig will reach to the sky alongside the old oaks on the banks of the Trinity. And someday not long after that, the money will flow into the coffers of Chesapeake Energy, Union Pacific and Colonial Country Club.

But what about the rest of us here in Fort Worth. You know, the people who are concerned about keeping our neighborhoods safe, maintaining our natural environment and other little things like that. What about us? Did we get a half a loaf out of this? Because doesn't seem like it.

Then I remembered something that someone said to me recently. "Why is it that whenever there is some sneaky shit going on with gas drilling, Chesapeake's name is on it?"

Um, I dunno? Maybe because of the Trinity Trees, injection wells, the proposed Eighth Avenue drilling site, signing a drilling lease with the Star-Telegram.

And that's when it clicked for me.

Like a rebellious teenager, Chesapeake pushes the limits to see what it can get away with. Maybe Fort Worth will say no to a few things, they figure, but who knows what that town will say yes to.

But no matter how many billboards Chesapeake buys, the people of Fort Worth have started to notice this pattern of behavior. They are judging Chesapeake on their deeds, not their dollars. And those deeds may have already cost the company some dollars.

I believe the Trinity Trees issue hurt Chesapeake in lease negotiations in Mistletoe Heights and Ryan Place. I also believe that the Trinity Trees helped get the gas drilling ordinance back on the table. Who knows, maybe we'll end up with an ordinance that does more to protect our interests, not the gas drillers.

If that's the half of the loaf we got, Fort Worth, that ain't nothing.

Ad Decoder Can't Let It Go

The Chesapeake Ad Decoder continues riffing on the Mullet Man ad, parts of which he likens to "a elementary social studies report written by one's drunk, conservative dad." It's funny, yet very factual. Check it out, if only for the video of the rant from Chesapeake VP Tom Price.

Why I Don’t Believe You, Chesapeake

I woke up to a Green Living section my Sunday Star-Telegram, including a full-page ad from Chesapeake Energy. “Go Green by Turning Blue. We All Win,” the ad reads. “Chesapeake understands the need to make the drilling process equally friendly. That’s why we all go above and beyond to treat essential green space and groundwater resources with the utmost of care. The environment wins. Texas wins. Our children win. Together, we all win.”

I’m not sure what turned my stomach more -- the cynicism of placing the ad in this section, or thought that Chesapeake might actually believe their own spin.

Chesapeake, you say you’re doing Fort Worth a world of good. You point to the revenues that the city and private citizens will receive as a result of your work. You point to your $100,000 donation to Eagle Mountain Lake Park. You point to the importance of producing a clean-burning energy source that is acquired right here at home and not in the Middle East. And I grant you all some of these points [tip of the Stetson to Texas Sharon].

You see, as much as you’d might like to believe it, I’m not some extremist who is never going to agree with anything you do. Not at all. I like to think of myself as a realist.

But I am interested in deeds, not words. Just because you say you’re doing Fort Worth a world of good on big ads in the newspaper, on billboards all around town and on lots of television commercials doesn’t make it true. But as Stephen Colbert would say, it’s got the ring of truthiness.

And I guess that’s what you are counting on – the appearance of truth. Tell people you are good for Fort Worth enough times, and eventually they’ll believe it. I know that's your hope.

But Cheseapeake, I don’t believe you. Here’s why:

Green space: Carter Burdette told a story at the Trinity Trees public forum. It went something like this: I have some trees in my yard. They’ve been there for years. They offer shade to my house. They offer shade to my neighbors. But one day, I decided I want to cut those trees down, and my neighbor says I can’t because he enjoys those trees, too. Is that right? Should my neighbor have a right to tell me what to do with my property?

That is the heart of the private property defense in the case of the Trinity Trees. Funny thing is this -- I’ve heard your VP Tom Price tell a version of that story. I’ve also heard Mayor Moncrief tell a version of that story. I’ve also heard Bud Kennedy at the Star-Telegram tell a version of that story. One thing I learned in my years working in journalism was this: you can tell which people are talking to each other because the same words, phrases and stories keep popping up. It makes me wonder. Is it coincidence? IJS.

Be that as it may, I’ve got a story, too. It goes like this. I bought a house once. There were lots of trees on the lot where this house stood, but they hadn’t been cared for in many years. I called an arborist who came out and looked at the trees and said, “You need to take down three of your trees. They are old. There’s nothing that can be done.” My wife and I talked about it, and we decided this: if we move into this house and the first thing we do is cut down those trees, our neighbors will hate us. And rightfully so, So we talked to another arborist, and we saved those trees. Was it easy to do? No. I could easily have cut down those trees. But saving those trees was the right thing to do.

If you are serious about green space, the Trinity Trees are your litmus test. Do the right thing. Find a way to save those trees.

Ground water: I know the chances of you using the Eighth Avenue drill site have gotten quite a bit less likely, but I want to talk about that site and ground water. I was talking to a business owner not far from that site one day and he was complaining about water damage that he had experienced on the floors of his shop. At first, he turned to the city, thinking the culprit was a broken water main. As it turned out it wasn’t. The source of the water was a long-forgotten Artesian Well that used to be a source of water for area residents.

Barnett Shale wells require fracturing of the limestone formation to release the oil and gas trapped within. Water, sand, and hazardous chemicals are injected under high pressure down the drilling hole to fracture the limestone. What are those chemicals? Some are known and include potentially toxic substances such as diesel fuel, which contains benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene and other chemicals; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; methanol; formaldehyde; ethylene glycol; glycol ethers; hydrochloric acid; and sodium hydroxide. Some others remain unknown because they are considered “proprietary company information.”

Is fracing safe? It’s hard to read this article and say yes. One Colorado resident says that a 2001 fracing accident less than 100 yards from her home, blew up her water well "like a geyser at Yellowstone." For a time, the company paid for drinking water for her family, then assured her that the well water was fine. Later she became ill and was diagnosed with a rare adrenal gland tumor, which is linked to 2BE, a benzene derivative, and a chemical used by the drilling company for fracing.

Can you tell me that using processes like this one are safe for ground water all over Tarrant County and the Barnett Shale? Will you swear that it is in a full-page ad?

Together We All Win: I believe in win-win for everyone in the Barnett Shale, but in the way you conduct business in the Barnett Shale, I’m not seeing that you feel the same way. Like how one of your executives, Tom Price, tries to tell us that natural gas is good for the environment but, oh, by the way, global warming doesn’t exist. No global warming, eh? Then I wonder why the sea ice in the Arctic shrank 1 million square miles more this summer than the average melt over 25 years, an area larger than Alaska and Texas combined, according to NASA satellite data released Thursday.

Why is global warming important? In this debate, it tells me what is in your hearts. What I hear is environmental concerns are overblown. And it makes me wonder why you have tried to do seismic testing in Tandy Hills Park? And I wonder why you seek high-impact variances to bring your drilling closer to our homes and schools? Because I believe in your hearts you don't really believe protecting the environment is important.

When I put these things, I don’t think Fort Worth is dealing with a company seeking a win-win situation. I think I’m dealing with a company that will say anything to close a deal.

In spite of all of the ads you buy and the things you say, I don’t believe you Chesapeake. If you want to earn my trust, give me deeds, not words.

Trinity Trees Public Forum

A funny thing happened at the Trinity Trees Public Forum at Capstone Church in Fort Worth last night. Civility broke out.

A crowd of around 400 people watched as speaker after speaker had their say on the whether the eight-acre tract of old growth urban forest would be preserved or go to the bulldozer. District 9 City Council representative Wendy Davis, the event's emcee, struck the tone early: "We want to have a constructive dialogue with Chesapeake." After all, she said, once this grove of trees is lost, it is lost forever.

And, as the different sides had their say, the tone of civility prevailed. Julie Wilson, the spokeperson for Chesapeake Energy, gave a slick presentation about how drilling on the Trinity Trees site is actually a good thing for the City of Fort Worth. She explained how the company believes it can minimize the environmental impact and make improvements.

Jim Bradbury with Trinity Trees explained the group's position: urban gas drilling has unknown consequences, connected tree canopy is important and alternative drilling sites exist on the Union Pacific site next door. They aren't against drilling, they are in favor of finding a third way, an alternative.

But that wasn't the funny thing. The funny thing was this -- the only extremist in the room is the guy who should know better, Tom Price, Jr., the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Chesapeake Energy. He's El Jefe for Chesapeake on this deal. But he comes off like Montgomery Burns -- corporate fatcat who always says the wrong thing and then doesn't understand why people get angry.

Price is shocked that the community would suggest that Chesapeake would "take" Union Pacific property and that moving the site wouldn't work. "For all of you to say that the answer is for Union Pacific to give up their property, I think is overreaching," he said.

The response was whatever the opposite of a standing ovation is. Honestly, I've never seen that many people boo someone who wasn't wearing a referee's uniform.

That's sort of where things got off track for the Chesapeakers. Wendy Davis immediately jumped on Price's comment. "Colonial and Union Pacific stand to benefit greatly from this, yet the community will bear all of the burden." Davis seems to be more and more outspoken on this issue as her tenure on the Council grows shorter. I like this side of Wendy Davis, and I hope to see more of it in Fort Worth, and maybe in Austin if she wins in her run for the State Senate.

Fort Worth State Representative Lon Burnham (pictured above) also encouraged finding a third way and scolded Union Pacific for not helping offer an alternative. "Union Pacific has not been a good corporate citizen in Fort Worth over the last year on this issue," he said.

Last night confirmed a couple for things for me. There is a growing base of community support against drilling on this site. The issue for these people isn't about drilling -- it's about drilling right there. And these people aren't a bunch tie-dyed, unicorn-hugging wackos, these folks look like your neighbors. Probably because they are your neighbors.

Also, Chesapeake has committed to a strategy: portray this as inevitable and portray this as infringing on the rights of private property owners.

In truth, it is neither.

Folks, this ain't a done deal. The insiders I spoke to last night indicated that the mood on the City Council seemed to be moving toward trying to slow this thing down. Chesapeake can't do anything until they get a permit, and a permit may not be coming quickly. As Wendy Davis mentioned, there is City Council meeting on Tuesday night. Folks need to get down there and let the Council know how they feel on this issue.

This also isn't infringing on the private property rights of anyone. When throwing out ideas for a third way, what's mentioned is a land swap or buying the land or finding some way to compensate Chesapeake of Union Pacific for the inconvenience. What Chesapeake wants you to imagine is Tom Price is a minuteman uniform, defending private property rights for all good Americans. The reality is this: when it comes to protecting private property rights, we the people have more to fear from gas companies than they do from us. Exhibit A: The Case of Billy Mitchell, or "Who's that guy with the eminent domain billboard?"

So who's the victim here? Well, as it stands right now, Chesapeake's reputation as good corporate citizen in Fort Worth appears to be teetering. As Bernie Scheffler, an opponent of urban gas drilling and a candidate for Wendy Davis' District 9 seat on the council said, "Why would Chesapeake Energy, who has spent millions polishing its public image in Fort Worth with commercials and billboards ... why would they blow all that goodwill on this?"

Why indeed. That is a funny thing.

To read the Startlegram's take, click here.

P.S. Big, big shout out to Jenna for helping me take notes. I'm buying you dinner, girl!