By Natural Resources Defense Council All currently available options for dealing with contaminated wastewater from fracking are inadequate to protect human health and the environment, but stronger federal and state protections can better safeguard against the threats posed by this byproduct, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The report … Continue reading There are no safe fracking wastewater disposal methods, report finds→
By Der Spiegel Germany has put the brakes on plans to use hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, to extract natural gas in places where it is difficult to access, such as shale or coal beds. Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen and Economy Minister Philipp Rösler have agreed to oppose the controversial process for the time … Continue reading German government rejects fracking, saying they are “very skeptical” about the technology→
By Environment News Service A federal government proposal requiring oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing only after the completion of fracking operations is running into opposition from environmental groups. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves the high pressure injection of chemicals, sand and water into shale rock thousands of … Continue reading BLM proposal would disclose fracking chemicals– but only after they are pumped underground→
Activists draw a line in the sand in the fight against fracking (Photo originally posted here) On Saturday, May 19th, participants in the Occupy Well Street campaign against fracking are calling for a Day of Direct Action Against Extraction. We invite all who are opposed to the widespread use of energy extraction methods such as … Continue reading Call for Action Against Extraction on May 19th→
By Abraham Lustgarten / ProPublica A new study has raised fresh concerns about the safety of gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, concluding that fracking chemicals injected into the ground could migrate toward drinking water supplies far more quickly than experts have previously predicted. More than 5,000 wells were drilled in the Marcellus between mid-2009 … Continue reading Study says fracking fluids could contaminate Marcellus aquifers within “just a few years”→
from http://www.ecowatch.org/ By Pilar Gerasimo The recent boom in hydrofracking for natural gas and oil has resulted in a little-reported side boom—a sand-rush in western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota, where we just happen to have the nation’s richest, most accessible supply of the high-quality silica sand required for fracking operations. Unfortunately, most of that silica … Continue reading Sand mining for fracking industry devastating Wisconsin farms and woodlands→
By Earthworks Today Colleyville and Southlake residents, and Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project released results from local residents’ privately-funded air testing of Titan Operations’ “mini-frack” on the border of both communities. The tests, performed by GD Air Testing Inc. of Richardson, TX, prove emissions released during fracking and flowback contain dangerous levels of toxic … Continue reading Resident-funded fracking test finds flowback emissions contain dangerous toxins→
By Sarah Paulus / American Independent News Network Two of the country’s largest private water utility companies are participants in a massive lobbying effort to expand controversial shale gas drilling — a heavy industrial activity that promises to enrich the water companies but may also put drinking water resources at risk. The situation — which … Continue reading Water companies joining forces with natural gas industry to promote fracking→
By Farron Cousins / DeSmog Blog As we here at DeSmogBlog have been covering in exhaustive detail for quite some time now, there is virtually no safe way to perform hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for unconventional oil and gas. Fracking has been linked to numerous problems, including the release of radioactive molecules that cause an array … Continue reading Fracking remains almost completely unregulated in the United States→
