“West Virginia Gas Blast hurts 7, Sparks Inferno”

70-foot high column of gas flame blazes at former coal mine site in vicinity of New Vrindaban

“Although other occupations are available, people do not hesitate to work in coal mines,slaughterhouses, steel mills, deserts, floating oil rigs, submarines and other equally abominable situations. As also mentioned here, businessmen will consider cheating and lying to be a perfectly respectable way to do business.
These are all symptoms of the age of Kali.” (SB 12.3.35)

“Human prosperity flourishes by natural gifts and not by gigantic industrial enterprises. The gigantic industrial enterprises are products of a godless civilization, and they cause the destruction of the noble aims of human life.
The more we go on increasing such troublesome industries to squeeze out the vital energy of the human being, the more there will be unrest and dissatisfaction of the people in general, although a few only can live lavishly by exploitation.” (SB 1.8.40)

West Virginia Gas Blast hurts 7, Sparks Inferno

http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201006070212
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10159/1063939-455.stm

Jun 07, 2010 — MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA (SUN) —

70-foot high column of flame blazes at former coal mine site in vicinity of New Vrindaban.

Over the last year, several editorials and news stories have appeared in the Sun about the contracts entered into by devotees at New Vrindaban in Moundsville, West Virginia. Many devotees have expressed their dismay at the choices made by ISKCON leaders to sell drilling rights to the natural gas sitting beneath devotee/temple-owned property in the area. Several editorials on the subject were written by Janmastami das ( here ), and others. 

Quotes have been presented wherein Srila Prabhupada made specific comments against the notion of allowing industrial development like coal or oil mining to go on at the New Vrindaban community, but these instructions were obviously set aside by local devotee landowners and New Vrindaban Board members Malati dasi, Anuttama das, Tamohara das, Rukmini dasi, and Mantrini dasi who, according to the 2010 GBC Resolutions and Zonal Assignments jointly serve as the West Virginia Zonal Secretary.

Today, the Associated Press and other news agencies have reported a serious accident that occurred near the New Vrindaban temple, in Moundsville, Marshall County, West Virginia. While it is not yet known how close the gas well explosion was to the temple, it appears to have occurred on the same gas field that devotees are reported to have signed royalty contracts on, giving drilling rights to the Marshall County land.

Vicki Smith of Associated Press reports:

“A crew drilling a natural gas well through an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle hit a pocket of methane gas that somehow ignited, triggering an explosion that burned seven workers, a state inspector said Monday.

The blast created a column of flame at least 70 feet high, and it will likely burn until a team of well fire experts can reach the scene to extinguish it, said Bill Hendershot, an inspector with the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Oil and Gas. The fire is in a rural area outside Moundsville and presents no danger to any structures or people, Hendershot said.

Buckhannon-based Union Drilling had drilled to about 1,100 feet when something caused the ignition early Monday, Hendershot said. The company had drilled through the mine before without incident, he said.

Pittsburgh-based Chief Oil and Natural Gas operates the well and others in West Virginia but typically contracts with other companies to do the drilling, said Jeff Funke, area director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Charleston office.

Hendershot said Union was the contractor on the Marshall County site. A receptionist in Buckhannon referred calls to corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, but a telephone message there was not immediately returned.

The seven workers were taken the West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh and were in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. OSHA learned of the accident shortly after 8 a.m. and Funke said a team of two investigators would be dispatched. However, they cannot enter the site and begin work until the fire is out, he said.

Wild Well Control of Houston, Texas, was called to extinguish the fire, but it’s unclear how soon its teams may reach the site. A company spokesman did not immediately return a telephone message.

Funke said OSHA created a program to deal with gas drilling in the vast Marcellus shale fields about five years ago and has been proactively inspecting sites to ensure compliance with safety regulations. The gas reserve is about the size of Greece and lies about 6,000 feet beneath New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.

OSHA knew there would be a lot of drilling in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, “and we did our best to get out in front of that curve,” Funke said. “So we’re well-equipped to respond to this.”

In the wake of the Deepwater oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, we can easily understand the hellish nature of the accident at Moundsville, even though it is not as great a catastrophe. The flames from the exploding Deepwater platform were 200 feet high, while the Marshall County gas explosion flames went only 70 feet high. Nonetheless, the seven burned workers no doubt feel like the miners Srila Prabhupada warned New Vrindaban about in 1968: “The workers in the mines are considered to be residing in the hell.”

Here is Srila Prabhupada’s word on the matter, from his letter to Hayagriva, August 17, 1968, Montreal:

My Dear Hayagriva,

“Please accept my blessings. I am so glad to receive your note dated August 13, 1968, with the copy of lease agreement and I have gone through it carefully. When you were here I suggested to purchase the land out-right. But I think it has not been possible. But on the face of the lease, it appears as good as sale document.

But the clause, “Excepting and reserving however, all of the coal within and underlying said property, and subject to the mining rights and privileges set forth in the deed conveying said coal, made by Joseph E. McCombs, et al., dated March 30, 1903, recorded in said Clerk’s office in Deed Book 98, at page 185,” has caused my headache. I do not know what is written there in the Clerk’s office in Deed Book 98, but on common sense, it appears that the area is coal mine or oilmine. Under the circumstances, if in future coal industry is developed and if it is required, the government may at once ask us to vacate and no law can stop it. Even if the government does not acquire our land, if in our vicinity some such industry (coal or oil industry) is started, the whole idea of Vrindaban will fade away. Vrindaban conception is a transcendental village, without any botheration of the modern industrial atmosphere. My idea of developing New Vrindaban is to create an atmosphere of spiritual life where people in bona fide order of social division, namely, Brahmacaris, Grhasthas, Vanaprastha, Sannyasis, or specifically Brahmacaris and Sannyasis, and Vanaprasthas, will live there independently, completely depending on agricultural produce and milk from the cows. The life should be simplified without being hampered by laboring day and night for economic development, without any spiritual understanding. The New Vrindaban ida is that persons who live there will accept the bare necessities of life to maintain the body and soul together and the major part of time should be engaged in development of Krishna Consciousness. The whole Vedic principle is to develop Krishna Consciousness, without creating much botheration for the program of sense gratification. Industrial development (or mining industry) in the neighboring places will mar the whole idea. Now you have to consider, yourself, looking forward to the future, of the land, and then decide, what to do. I do not like to have New Vrindaban with industrial or mining areas. I have got experience of them in India, that the mining areas are simply next to dungeon. The workers in the mines are considered to be residing in the hell. And we can never expect any good behavior from such workers. So we must think of the atmosphere around Vrindaban. In India also our present government, they are trying to develop industries in the vast tracts of land around Vrindaban, and creating a hellish atmosphere. So I shall request you to be assured of the future of the land, and then do the needful. The summary is that the face of the lease agreement appears to be all right, but I am thinking of a spiritual development. I hope you have received my previous letter and I am expecting your reply as soon as possible.”

While the leaders and the devotees who signed away rights for gas drilling on New Vrindaban Community lands are no doubt praying that this gas well explosion is a singular event – one that will not prevent future drilling, and subsequent royalty payments into their pockets – we suggest that they make a careful study of similar current events in the world.

The disturbing reality is that the Deepwater gas explosion, which has resulted in what can only be called a catastrophic oil volcano expected to have worldwide consequences, is but one of several similar events. Industry experts are now admitting that there are other leaks in a deep underwater pipeline some 5 to 6 miles away from the Deepwater platform site. And another BP operated platform called Atlantis is now rumored to be experiencing gas over-pressure problems, and a lawsuit has been filed to stop production there.

Since the Deepwater explosion, there have been two other similar events, both apparently involving a significant, unexpected backsurge of methane gas:

May 30, 2010 — Explosion and fire destroy massive oil rig in Western Iran

May 27, 2010 — Norway: Gas build-up threatens North Sea oil rig

At a time when we’re seeing a 200% increase in volcanic activity around the world, and numerous events wherein pressure from deep within the earth appears to be pushing upwards, causing gas explosions, land displacement, etc., it is very disquieting to think that the devotees of New Vrindaban have now potentially put the wellbeing of Srila Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold, and the entire local devotee community at risk. Who could deny the likelihood that even in the face of an ongoing string of future gas explosions, the Union Drilling Company will likely push forward, exploiting their leases on the Moundsville, Marshall County gas leases, despite the risk.

The devotees of New Vrindaban should have taken heed of Srila Prabhupada’s clear and specific instructions on this matter:

“The whole Vedic principle is to develop Krishna Consciousness, without creating much botheration for the program of sense gratification. Industrial development (or mining industry) in the neighboring places will mar the whole idea.”

Natural gas royalties to improve Hare Krishna community

http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=12972