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Latest Posts tagged with "hydraulic fracturing"

Hydraulic Fracturing Perils: Does your state protects its citizens from fracking?

Waste pit on hydraulic fracturing site

Credit: Photo by TXsharon, Courtesy Photobucket

Worries over the safety of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” as a method to drill for oil and natural gas continue to grow across the United States. The oil and gas industry loves to say that hydraulic fracturing is safe, as long as the fracking process is done correctly. If this is the case, why won’t they disclose which chemicals they are pumping into the ground? We believe the status quo on hydraulic fracturing is inadequate to ensure the safety of communities and wild lands. Americans clearly agree. Read more

Natural Gas needs to be Done Right - Bill Meadows in the National Journal

The Wilderness Society President Bill Meadows comments on the role of natural gas in our energy policy - and the need, above all, to make sure that any energy energy development is "done right" Read more at the National Journal Read more

Cleaning up natural gas: Our recommendations for safer policies

A haze surrounds a home near a natural gas site outside of Pavilion, Wyoming. Photo by John Fenton.

They say it’s cleaner than coal, but don’t let that fool you. Natural gas has a lot of scrubbing up to do before it can be considered a genuine part of our clean energy future. That’s why we’re advocating for polices that will help regulate the development of this fuel which has major adverse impacts on water, air, land protection, and human safety. Read more

HBO’s Gasland has it right: Take caution before jumping on the ‘fracking’ wagon

Haze surrounding home during fracking near Pavilion, Wyoming. Photo by John Fenton.

“Whoa, that’s not supposed to happen.” Thus spoke Josh Fox, master of the understatement, after he witnessed a man, whose house neighbors a natural gas well, light his kitchen tap water on fire. And by “fire” I don’t mean a delicate tongue of flame like on a candlestick: it’s an honest-to-goodness fireball that comes blazing out of that tap. And it happens not once but multiple times in different homes across the country in Fox’s recently-released documentary on hydraulic fracturing called Gasland. Read more

Deepwater drilling moratorium lifted: More oil spills to come?

Deepwater Horizon fire. Photo by DVIDSHUB, Flickr.

Even after the Gulf oil spill and as the evidence that BP sidestepped safety precautions mounts, it’s alarming that decision makers continue to give the oil and gas industry unbridled liberties to drill without precaution in the public’s lands and waters. Read more

HBO’s Gasland tells alarming tale - Interview with filmmaker Josh Fox

Anyone who wants to know more about the public health dangers of oil and gas  development simply must catch HBO’s documentary ‘Gasland’ when it premieres this Monday, June 21 at 9pm EDT. In this Sundance award winning film, Gasland filmmaker Josh Fox traveled throughout the United States to document the impacts of natural gas development on local communities and drinking water. What he finds is alarming.  Read more

Is fracking safe? Flaming drinking water ought to give a clue

Waste pit on hydraulic fracturing site. Photo by TXsharon, Photobucket.

Last week I testified in front of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board Environmental Engineering Committee on their study of the Potential Relationship between Hydraulic Fracturing and Drinking Water Resources. The Science Advisory Board was accepting public comments and testimony on the methodology of the EPA’s soon-to-be-initiated study on hydraulic fracturing. Read more

Natural Gas: Not as clean as you think

Much ink has been spilled regarding the clean properties of natural gas, such as this recent ad by America’s Natural Gas Alliance. Advocates of increased natural gas development love to say that it is cleaner than coal, abundant, and a so-called “bridge fuel” in the transition to renewable energy.  But how clean is natural gas, really? Read more