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Peer-reviewed research shows fracking dangers
Fracking for natural gas contaminates our water – facts versus mythshttp://www.blissful-wisdom.com/fracking-for-natural-gas-contaminates-our-water—facts-versus-myths.html
“Fracking Hell: The Untold Story”
Here is a shorter 17 minute documentary about homeowners’ and farmers’ experience with contamination from local ‘fracking’ operations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEB_Wwe-uBM
What is in Fracking fluid?
http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/whats-frack-water
Peer-reviewed Research on Collateral Damage of Fracking
http://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/avnervengosh/duke-study-on-shale-gas-and-fracking/
Since 2010, research at Duke University (Vengosh and Jackson labs at the Nicholas School of Environment, Plata lab at the Pratt Engineering School) has engaged in studying different aspects of environmental effects of shale gas exploration and hydraulic fracturing. We have published the first peer-reviewed studies examining drinking water quality and shale gas extraction (see list below). Our current (May 2013) database includes data generated from over 400 wells in northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New York, 130 wells in central Arkansas, 100 wells in North Carolina, and 50 wells in West Virginia. New sampling is now conducted in Texas. In addition, we have collected a total of 61 produced waters samples from shale gas and conventional gas wells in Pennsylvania and New York and conducted a detailed study on the impact of shale gas liquid waste disposal in waterways in Pennsylvania in order to evaluate the extent, composition, and environmental impacts of conventional and non-conventional long-term wastewater disposal.
A shale gas well in Montrose, Pennsylvania – keep your speakers up!
List of Publications on shale gas and hydraulic fracturing (see links to papers):
Jackson, R.B., Vengosh, A., Darrah, T.H., Warner, N.R., Down, A., Poreda, R.J., Osborn, S.G., Zhao, K., and Karr, J.D. (2013) Increased stray gas abundance in a subset of drinking water wells near Marcellus shale gas extraction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of United States of America (June, 2013). PNAS_Jacksonetal2013
Vengosh, A., Warner N.R., Jackson, R.B., Darrah, T.H., (2013). The Effects of Shale Gas Exploration and Hydraulic Fracturing on the Quality of Water Resources in the United States. Procedia Earth and Planetary Science, 7, 863–866 (Overview on shale gas development).
Warner, N.R., Jackson, R.B., Darrah, T.H., Osborn, S.G., Down, A., Zhao, K., White, A. Vengosh, A. (2012). Reply to Engelder: Potential for fluid migration from the Marcellus Formation remains possible. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of United States of America (December 10, 2012).
Warner, N.R., Jackson, R.B., Darrah, T.H., Osborn, S.G., Down, A., Zhao, K., White, A. Vengosh, A. (2012). Geochemical evidence for possible natural migration of Marcellus formation brine to shallow aquifers in Pennsylvania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of United States of America. Published online before print July 9, 2012, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1121181109.
Adair, S., Pearson, B.R., J Monast, J., Vengosh, A. Jackson, R.B. (2012). Considering shale gas extraction in North Carolina: lessons from other states. Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum, XXII, 257-301
Jackson R.B., Osborn S.G., Vengosh, A., Warner, N.R. (2011). Reply to Davis: Hydraulic fracturing remains a possible mechanism for observed methane contamination of Drinking water. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of United States of America, 108, E872.
Osborn, S., Vengosh, A. Warner, N. Jackson, R. (2011). Reply to Saba and Orzechowski and Schon: Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas- well drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of United States of America, 108, 8172–8176.
Osborn, S., Vengosh, A. Warner, N. Jackson, R. (2011). Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas drilling and hydro-fracking. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of United States of America, 108, 8172-8176.
Special report: The Front Lines of Fracking
The Front Lines of Fracking is a Buffalo News special report that looks at the potential for fracking in New York ’s Southern Tier and the benefits and pitfalls that come with it. The three-part series examines how fracking is changing communities in neighboring states and how residents are trying to adapt. Part One (May 11): Fracking has been a boon for Pennsylvania , but its economic benefits aren’t as big as claimed.
- While the gas rush appears to be receding, fracking has led to a boom in four Pennsylvania counties, bringing jobs, wealth –- and concern
- If New York relents, will it be worthwhile?
Part Two (May 18): Despite many anecdotal concerns about environmental and health risks, the science is inconclusive.
Part Three (coming May 19): The fracking industry transformed Youngstown , Ohio , almost overnight.
http://blogs.buffalonews.com/live/2014/05/special-report-the-front-lines-of-fracking.html
Shale Drillers Feast on Junk Debt to Stay on Treadmill Rice Energy Inc. (RICE), a natural gas producer with risky credit, raised $900 million in three days this month, $150 million more than it originally sought. Not bad for the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based company’s first bond issue after going public in January. Especially since it has lost money three years in a row, has drilled fewer than 50 wells — most named after superheroes and monster trucks — and said it will spend $4.09 for every $1 it earns in 2014. The U.S. drive for energy independence is backed by a surge in junk-rated borrowing that’s been as vital as the technological breakthroughs that enabled the drilling spree. While the high-yield debt market has doubled in size since the end of 2004, the amount issued by exploration and production companies has grown nine-fold, according to Barclays Plc. That’s what keeps the shale revolution going even as companies spend money faster than they make it. “There’s a lot of Kool-Aid that’s being drunk now by investors,” Tim Gramatovich, who helps manage more than $800 million as chief investment officer of Santa Barbara, California-based Peritus Asset Management LLC. “People lose their discipline. They stop doing the math. They stop doing the accounting. They’re just dreaming the dream, and that’s what’s happening with the shale boom.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-30/shale-drillers-feast-on-junk-debt-to-say-on-treadmill.html
NC struggles to balance cost, promise of fracking North Carolina lawmakers intend to allow fracking, and they are expected to move swiftly this year to enact proposed rules for how the industry will operate. Republican leaders, who have campaigned on domestic energy drilling, are touting natural gas production as the next new industry to sustain an economy that once relied on tobacco, textiles and furniture. But with the potential windfall comes a level of risk that is fiercely debated and largely uncertain. In Arkansas and Ohio , fracking opponents have blamed minor earthquakes on gas drilling-related operations. Gas drilling has contaminated water supplies, polluted the air and, some argue, hurt property values. Wells require hundreds of workers, heavy machinery and tanker trucks that can clog rural roads. http://www.wral.com/nc-struggles-to-balance-cost-promise-of-fracking-/13654567/
NC: Fracking series to explore potential for huge changes Perhaps no legislation the General Assembly is considering this year has a greater potential for changing the landscape and economy of central North Carolina than the decisions to be made about fracking. http://www.wral.com/from-the-editor-fracking-series-to-explore-potential-for-huge-changes/13652159/
Don’t let fracking affect N.J. drinking water Over 90 percent of the rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs and ponds in New Jersey already do not meet water quality standards and have been labeled impaired. The Passaic River has become the nation’s largest Superfund recipient and will cost in excess of $1 billion, most likely in taxpayer money as polluters fight their responsibility. A study on the Allegheny River found unusually high concentrations of trihalomethanes in the water and determined treatment plants were not equipped and were releasing drilling byproducts, contaminating Pittsburgh ’s drinking water. This chemical has been linked to bladder cancer. Similarly, a study in New York concluded their facilities are not designed to handle wastewater. http://www.app.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/05/18/let-fracking-affect-nj-drinking-water/2210566/
N.J. Sierra Club warns of fracking effects in South Jersey as EPA seeks public opinion The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will be asking for public comment regarding whether drilling companies should be required to disclose what’s in the chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. However, environmental groups like the New Jersey Sierra Club said they need to go further by increasing regulations on the industry. An “advanced notice of rulemaking” was released by the EPA on May 9 stating that the agency will initiate a public participation process to “seek comment on the information that should be reported or disclosed for hydraulic fracturing chemical substances and mixtures.” http://www.nj.com/gloucester county/index.ssf/2014/05/epa_asks_for_public_opinion_on_fracking.html
Green Party Candidate for Governor Luis J. Rodriguez: Imagine a New California I would charge a severance tax for oil companies who “sever” oil from the land, resulting in billions ( California is the only place on the planet that does not do this). I would end hydro-fracturing (“fracking”) of shale deposits to extract natural gas and oil, which uses millions of gallons of water, mixed with benzene and other toxic chemicals, that in turn poisons the air and water supply. http://sandiegofreepress.org/2014/05/green-party-candidate-for-governor-luis-j-rodriguez-imagine-a-new-california/
British fracking support falls below 50%, poll shows Support for controversial process of extracting shale gas in the UK dips for third consecutive time. Just 49.7% of people now say they think the controversial process should be allowed in the UK, marking the third fall in support since high-profile protests last summer in West Sussex which saw dozens of arrests including that of Green MP, Caroline Lucas and ongoing protests at a site in Salford. Support for shale gas was at a high of 58% in July 2012, which slumped to 54% last September and 53.3% this January, the long-running survey by YouGov for the University of Nottingham shows. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/19/fracking-uk-shale-gas
EPA changes course on injection well approval. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken the unusual step of withdrawing its February approval of a 7,300-foot-deep injection well being drilled to permanently store shale gas drilling waste water near DuBois, Clearfield County. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pennsylvania. 19 May 2014.
Fracking money casts doubt on scholarly research. Politicians who take substantial contributions from oil and gas lobbyists tend to be the ones who vote against human services and education budget increases. By dangling possible income from mineral rights leases, they blur the distinction between professors and corporate shills. Stroudsburg Pocono Record, Pennsylvania. Opinion, 19 May 2014.
Corbett rips Democrats over taxing gas drilling Corbett rips Democrats over taxing gas drilling Gov. Tom Corbett is reiterating his opposition to raising taxes on the booming natural gas industry as…
Channel 11 investigates property drilling Ed Nowak planned to build his dream home on a prime spot on his 134 acres in Amity Township. Instead, Chevron Oil and Gas bought the mineral rights under his land and built a five-well drilling…
Lieutenant Gov. hopeful sympathizes with resident… BEAUMONT — On the eve of the primary election, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Brad Koplinski traveled from Harrisburg to meet with folks living near a troubled natural gas processing…
Pennsylvania rabbit breeder sues fracking support… HARRISBURG Pa. (Reuters) – A show rabbit breeder in Pennsylvania is suing a French gas exploration company for using low-flying helicopters she said terrorized her prized animals, causing many to die…
A fracking boom where there is no fracking. The inland energy boom is sending more than sand through the nation’s fifth-largest port. On a recent May morning, not far from from an airline hanger-sized building filled with fracking sand, long rows of steel drilling pipe from Korea awaited shipment to Eagle Ford sites. National Journal. 19 May 2014.
Fracking: Lee County at epicenter of NC’s gas drilling. No one knows for sure how much natural gas lies hidden in the Deep River shale basin of central North Carolina. But what is certain is that Lee County will be at the center of this new industry, which has transformed other rural communities across the U.S. Fayetteville Observer, North Carolina. 19 May 2014.
Energy companies try new methods to address fracking complaints. Thanks to hydraulic fracturing, communities from Pennsylvania to North Dakota are experiencing a boom in energy production, but the industry is facing more intense pressure from communities and environmentalists over its role in increased air and water pollution. Wall Street Journal. 19 May 2014. [Subscription Required]
Youngstown, Ohio, is a city changed by fracking. Controversial as fracking is, Youngstown embraces it as an economic savior – eager to take risks that have even caused the earth to tremble. Buffalo News, New York. 19 May 2014.
Drilling Companies Still Waiting on Fracking Rules WSIL — It’s been nearly a year since Illinois lawmakers approved regulations for high volume hydraulic fracturing. But so far, companies haven’t been able to get started. They’ve faced delay after…
Threats to the Southern Hills Aquifer system grow in Louisiana. A ten-parish area from greater Baton Rouge to St. Tammany Parish gets its drinking water from the Southern Hills Aquifer system–a number of interdependent units that start to the north in Mississippi, and both fracking and salt entering the water system are threats. New Orleans Louisiana Weekly, Louisiana. 19 May 2014.
Opposition builds to hydraulic fracturing well proposed in St. Tammany. St. Tammany Parish residents packed a public meeting this past week to oppose a proposed oil well near Lakeshore High School in Mandeville. New Orleans Advocate, Louisiana. 19 May 2014.
Utah suit seeks to block latest Uinta drilling pr… Environmentalists are suing to invalidate the U.S. Forest Service’s authorization of a 400-well project in the Uinta Basin, alleging drilling on this scale would degrade wildlife habitat, water and…
Report: Horizontal rigs surging in Permian Basin Half the increase in horizontal drilling over the last five months has happened in the Permian Basis, according to a new U.S. Energy Information Administration report.
Haynesville Shale: Job Market Future Who can forget the mad rush of the 2008 Haynesville shale? When the natural gas was discovered, it made a lot of property owners, overnight millionaires. A lot of area colleges and universities also…
Haynesville Shale activity poised to make a local… Bossier City is betting on the future of natural gas, having opened its first compressed natural gas (CNG) station on East Texas Street back in 2010. “The city wanted to take some steps to be able to..
Resource industries band together for PR rescue OTTAWA – When it comes to persuading Canadians and the U.S. of the merits of oil pipelines and natural resources, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been no Don Draper. The Keystone XL pipeline…
Route Being Set for New Gas Pipeline to Norfolk Blacks Hills Energy has been meeting with landowners along the likely route for a new natural gas pipeline to serve Norfolk. The 50-mile line will run from the Northern Natural Gas interstate…
Illegal dumping of Texas frack waste caught on video. Under the cover of early-morning darkness in South Texas last March, a tanker truck ferrying fluids from an oil and gas drilling site rumbled down a country road spewing its toxic load all over the place. Inside Climate News. 19 May 2014.
Outdated rail cars carry dangerous loads through Iowa. Several high-profile train wrecks, including a fiery crash in Canada last summer that killed 47 people, have renewed scrutiny of the DOT-111 trains, regarded in Iowa and across the nation as the workhorse of the energy industry. Cedar Rapids KCRG TV, Iowa. 19 May 2014.
Stopping the Oil Terminal After months of limbering up, members of the Vancouver City Council have taken a swing at a proposed oil terminal at the Port of Vancouver — and smacked one out of the park. Councilors have prepared a…
Work underway to close West Virginia fracking waste pit. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection says materials from a pit holding waste of the oil and gas industry, including fracking waste, is being taken to the Raleigh County landfill. West Virginia Public Broadcasting, West Virginia. 19 May 2014.
Review of 65 oil and gas leases draws 24,000 comments. The federal review of 65 oil and gas leases in the White River National Forest drew about 24,000 comment letters from groups, including industry associations and conservation organizations. Denver Post, Colorado. 19 May 2014.
Stop fracked gas exports now. A new front is opening up in the critical battle to prevent climate catastrophe and protect people from the ravages of a fossil fuel industry going to extremes to find dirty and polluting, last-century energy sources. That new front: fracked gas exports. Grist. Opinion, 19 May 2014.
The Caribbean: Buried Oil & Gas Treasure? Oil and gas is hardly among the things that come to mind when one thinks of the Caribbean region. Palm trees, white sand beaches, turquoise water and rum drinks with little umbrellas are more likely envisioned. And of course pirates and buried treasure are also on often on that list. The trade routes from the New World traversed these waters and the ships weighted down with gold bound for Spain proved irresistible to all kinds of ne’er do wells.
Cuadrilla applying to frack at two Lancashire sites. An application to carry out fracking on the Fylde coast will be submitted to Lancashire County Council by the end of the month, said energy firm Cuadrilla. BBC. 19 May 2014.
Health fears voiced over coal-seam gas projects. Public health experts are concerned coal-seam gas projects are being developed without significant consideration being given to the potential health and environmental impacts. The Australian, Australia. 19 May 2014. [Subscription Required]
Call to cancel Metgasco’s licence grows louder. Calls to cancel Metgasco’s gas exploration licences on the north coast have grown louder with MPs from all sides of politics joining the chorus since the government suspended the miner’s operations at Bentley late last week. Byron Shire Echo, Australia. 19 May 2014.
Researchers concerned CSG could threaten food and water security. A group of researchers has raised concerns that coal seam gas operations present potential threats to food and water security. Australia ABC News, Australia. 19 May 2014.
Will Exxon Have The Guts To Drill Deep In The Arc… Exxon MobilExxon Mobil affiliate Imperial Oil has submitted plans to drill for oil in the iceberg-strewn waters of the Canadian Arctic (this story in the WSJ talked about it today). The spot would be…
Chesapeake chasing ‘all-but-forgotten’ shale assets Just a month after BP decided to take a $521 million hit to abandon its plans for the Utica Shale, Chesapeake Energy last week called the region its “newest world-class asset.”
National Insurance Co. Sues Local Governments For Ignoring Climate Change Last month, Farmers Insurance Co. filed nine class-action lawsuits arguing that local governments in the Chicago area are aware that climate change is leading to heavier rainfall but are failing to prepare accordingly. The suits allege that the localities did not do enough to prepare sewers and stormwater drains in the area during a two-day downpour last April. In what could foreshadow a legal reckoning of who is liable for the costs of climate change, the class actions against nearly 200 Chicago-area communities look to place responsibility on municipalities, perhaps spurring them to take a more forward-looking approach in designing and engineering for a future made different by climate change.
See? Webster says you spell it with a K Weighing in on a debate over how to spell the shortened term for the well stimulation process called “hydraulic fracturing,” Webster goes with “frack” and “fracking,.”
Most Senators File Financial Disclosures Electronically — Sort of The Ethics Committee’s newly refurbished website allows filers to enter their information electronically rather than submitting paper copies of their reports. That means the public has near-immediate access to the documents. The annual reports, which are due each May 15, have typically been unavailable for 30 days after the deadline while they are scanned and posted on the Senate website.
Sen. Reid accuses Senate candidate of hampering energy efficiency bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blamed Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown for the stalling of a bipartisan energy efficiency bill. Brown is running for Senate against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the lead sponsor of the energy efficiency bill with Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). Brown previously served as a U.S. senator for Massachusetts, but now lives in New Hampshire.
Earth organisms survive under Martian conditions:… Methanogens, microorganisms in the domain Archaea, use hydrogen as their energy source and carbon dioxide as their carbon source, to metabolize and produce methane, also known as natural gas….
Germany works to be leader in renewable energies “Energiewende” (prounounced en-er-GEE-ven-duh) is the German word for “Energy Transition” Americans are all heavily dependent on oil, coal and natural gas. But throughout..
The red hot renewable that could incite a green power revolution Earlier this year, researchers in Iceland found a new way to transform the heat generated by volcanic magma into electricity. The advancement could be especially valuable in Iceland, a country that has capitalized on its unique geology to derive a quarter of its electricity production and around 90 percent of household heating from geothermal energy
Coal or solar? China’s hazy intentions As part of its notorious “war on smog” and effort to cut its reliance on coal, the Chinese government on Friday announced that it would speed up solar power development in the country by tripling…
America is over a barrel I bought my first car, a 1962 Falcon, in 1976. That car and I had a lot of adventures, but the best part was that in 1976, gas only cost 60 cents a gallon. This month, we’re paying $4.00 at the pump,…
Toyota will cease production of electric models o… Tesla provided the batteries and drivetrain for the RAV4. Moreover, Telsa plans to offer its own electric-powered SUV next year. Toyota, meanwhile, is preparing to launch a new hydrogen-powered…
Drought in the Amazon Rain Forest Drought in the Amazon Rain Forest Patterns of deforestation may increase Amazon’s vulnerability to drought Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise — Two major droughts within a five-year…
Scientists race to breed heat-resistant livestock… Heat-tolerant breeds of farm animals will be essential to feeding the world as Climate Change takes hold. When a team of researchers from the University of Delaware travelled to Africa two years ago..
Snowfall deficiency to reduce water levels in riv… Snowfall deficiency to reduce water levels in rivers London, May 19 : As the earth warms up and snowfall goes down, rivers in snow-affected regions would be left with less water to discharge, a study…
Governor Jerry Brown calls for action on climate … SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday called California “the epicenter of climate change,” and he urged other states to work with him to halt the rising temperatures that threaten the planet’s…
As Antarctic Ice Melts The Ground At The South Po… Antarctica is rising unusually quickly, revealing that hot rock in the Earth’s mantle hundreds of miles below the icy continent is flowing much faster than expected, researchers say. Antarctic ice is…
The Power of Priming In another study people were shown films of global warming. They were asked before, and afterwards, about their opinions. Three groups of equivalent people were involved: some sat in a noticeably hot,…
Why Do People Persist in Believing Things That Ju… Nyhan’s interest in false beliefs dates back to early 2000, when he was a senior at Swarthmore. It was the middle of a messy Presidential campaign, and he was studying the intricacies of political…
Fire danger high in much of Southwest Studies: Wildfires worse due to global warming The devastating wildfires scorching Southern California offer a glimpse of a warmer and more fiery future,…
Studies: Wildfires worse due to global warming
The contamination of our drinking water for now and hundreds of years to come cannot be justified by the short-term, dollar gain of ‘fracking’ for natural gas.
What is in Fracking fluid?
http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/whats-frack-water