Photo by Marcellus Protest via flickr
The anti-fracking movement is solidifying its foundation in grassroots organization’s loosely knit groups of concerned citizens. Quiet bands of citizens are coming together to protect their regions from shale gas exploitation. International corporations are licking their chops just thinking about releasing the profit potential hidden under the Marcellus Shale formation, which stretches from New York to Ohio to West Virginia.
Photo taken in Papua New Guinea by eGuideTravel via flickr
Americans are learning that their rights are deeply connected to the Rights of Nature. For quite a while, we had the luxury (stupidity) of trashing foreign lands for profit and our own energy needs. But now that we are increasing domestic extraction of resources – right from under our own feet – we are witnessing firsthand the consequences of our addiction to fossil fuels. We do not like what we see or smell or taste or drink.
Photo by ProgressOhio via flickr
Thanks to the natural gas industry, toxic waste and earthquakes are the next big thing in interstate trade. Ohio has been accepting the wastewater from Pennsylvania’s natural gas wells since July 2011, paying 20 cents or more per gallon. And now that same fracking wastewater is thought to be the cause of a string of earthquakes in Ohio.
Photo by Itmayers via flickr
The battle over the natural gas potential in the Marcellus Shale (sedimentary rock that stretches from Ohio over to New Jersey and down to Virginia) has been long and hard.
Photo by Donna Kohut
Thanks to the group Save The Delaware and the flood of calls from concerned citizens, the special meeting of the Delaware River Basin Commission is postponed for one month. Currently, the date set for the DRBC to decide the fate of the historic, wild and scenic watershed is November 21. The hearing will take place between 10 a.m. and noon in Trenton, New Jersey.
Photo by Marcellus Protest via flickr
This past week saw an organized anti-fracking demonstration outside of a Marcellus Shale Conference in Philadelphia last week. The New York Times published an important editorial that provided a quick and dirty summation of the “Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement” explaining scientific findings on fracking’s impact on the environment. Meanwhile, Americans attempt to figure out if it is worth ruining our water supply if it means that we slow down global climate change.
Photo by Great Valley Center via flickr
Much of the discussion about contaminated water centers around fracking in the Marcellus Shale formation. But in an article in Orion from February, Jeremy Miller called attention to the amount of water used to distribute oil and tar sands. “The Colonization of Kern County” demonstrates how water is stolen, contaminated, and redistributed among the desert folk in Kern County, California.
Photo by hill.josh via flickr
June 17 marked the anniversary of Representative Joe Barton’s public apology to BP. Barton felt that the public outrage at the corporation responsible for the Gulf oil spill was an overreaction. And he was not alone. Along with Speaker of the House John Boehner, Barton disregarded the devastation experienced by Gulf residents and the damage done to the environment. Instead, the legislators expressed their loyalty to Big Oil, arguing that the Americans’ tax dollars should be used to clean up BP’s mess.
Photo by hudsonriverkeeper via flickr
Opposition to the natural gas industry is celebrating after a recent study out of Duke University demonstrated that proximity to natural gas drilling increases the risk of methane contamination of in Pennsylvania and New York. Meanwhile, industry representatives claim that the study is an example of poor science, merely highlighting a few bad well casings, proving that fracturing is indeed a safe process.
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Vermont Works to Ban Fracking
Last week, the state of Vermont began legally fortifying itself against the wave of hydraulic fracturing that is currently sweeping the nation. The State House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee unanimously passed a bill that places a 3-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the state. The moratorium would provide enough time for the Environmental Protection Agency to complete the studies necessary for the state to determine whether an outright ban is appropriate.
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