fracking

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We Need to Make Fracking Companies Tell Us More
We Need to Make Fracking Companies Tell Us More
OPINION
Oct 8, 2013 11:12 AM CDT

We Need to Make Fracking Companies Tell Us More

Debate is too much in the dark: Gretchen Goldman

(Newser) - For as big a role as fracking plays in US energy production , the national conversation about it is sadly lacking, writes Gretchen Goldman at LiveScience . For that, blame the companies involved in the hunt for natural gas—along with inept government agencies, writes Goldman, an environmental engineer with the Union...

Fracking's New Side Effect: Radioactive Wastewater

Study finds high levels near a discharge site

(Newser) - Add this to ongoing debate about the merits and potential dangers of fracking : A Duke study uncovered high levels of radioactivity in water and sediment downstream from a fracking treatment plant in Pennsylvania, reports LiveScience . The researchers discovered the unexpected levels of radium in a creek near the Josephine Brine...

US Nearly World's New No. 1 Oil-and-Gas Producer

Combined output set to overtake Russia

(Newser) - The shale oil and gas boom has transformed energy markets so much that the US is on course to become the world's biggest combined oil-and-gas producer this year—if it hasn't already overtaken Russia. In July, America produced around 22 million barrels a day of oil, natural gas...

Colo. Floodwaters May Be Toxic Cocktail

Officials, activists fear leaks from fracking chemicals, oil tanks, sewage

(Newser) - If the floods in Colorado weren't devastating enough , officials and activists are worried that the floodwaters themselves could be contaminated with oil, chemicals, pesticides, and raw sewage. Though the extent of the problem is still unknown, locals have been photographing oil and gas wells, chemical stores, and wastewater facilities...

Gag Order on Kids? Wake Up, Fracking Industry
Gag Order on Kids?
Wake Up, Fracking Industry
OPINION
Aug 6, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

Gag Order on Kids? Wake Up, Fracking Industry

In settlement, family's young children ordered to keep silent

(Newser) - An unusual legal settlement now getting national attention is yet another example of why the fracking industry has such a lousy reputation, writes Loren Steffy at Forbes . The story first came to light courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , which reported on a $750,000 settlement for Chris and Stephanie Hallowich...

Study: Fracking Didn't Mess With Drinking Water

DOE study indicated chemical-laced fluids stayed well below aquifers

(Newser) - If you live near a fracking site, go pour yourself a nice, clean glass of water, because the Department of Energy is pretty sure it's safe. In a landmark study, federal researchers tagged fracking fluids with special markers at a Pennsylvania drilling site before injecting those fluids into the...

Why Fracking Firms Love the Amish: They Don't Sue

'New Republic' reports that energy companies are taking advantage in Ohio

(Newser) - Two things can be found in abundance in eastern Ohio: Amish farms and underground shale formations that hold oil and gas. Turns out, this odd combination is great news for energy companies, reports the New Republic . They can make a fortune extracting the oil and gas through fracking, and they...

GE Gets Into the Fracking Biz

Sinks billions in bid to improve the process

(Newser) - One of America's corporate giants is putting its billions where the fracking boom is: General Electric is opening a new laboratory in Oklahoma, buying up related companies, and placing a big bet that cutting-edge science will improve profits for clients and reduce the environmental and health effects of the...

3 Dozen Quakes Shake Arkansas —in Week

Experts can't rule out fracking connection

(Newser) - Fracking is in the spotlight once again following a swarm of at least three dozen earthquakes in central Arkansas over the last week, CNN reports. Experts say they believe the quakes—the strongest of which was 3.5 magnitude—are natural, but they haven't ruled out a connection with...

Brewers: Don't Frack Up German Beer

Industry group worries fracking will harm the groundwater

(Newser) - Germany prides itself on the (legally mandated) purity of its beers, and brewers refuse to mess that up for a little thing like cheap energy. The Association of German Breweries is coming out in force against fracking, arguing that it should be banned until the government can be completely sure...

Colorado Gov. Says He Drank Fracking Fluid

On purpose, to prove it was safe

(Newser) - John Hickenlooper thinks fracking is environmentally safe—and he's willing to put his stomach where his mouth is. The Colorado governor actually downed a glass of Halliburton's fracking fluid to prove it was non-toxic, he revealed yesterday. "You can drink it. We did drink it around the...

US Will Be World's Top Oil Producer by 2020: Report

And green energy could surpass fossil fuels by 2035

(Newser) - Hello, energy independence: The US will become the world's top oil producer by 2020 and require almost no foreign energy by 2035, according to a new International Energy Agency report. The agency bases its daring prediction on the rise in output caused by new technologies like fracking, the LA ...

Halliburton Finds Radioactive Rod Lost in Texas

Crew used it to find fracking sites in the desert

(Newser) - Halliburton finally tracked down the radioactive rod it lost in Texas about a month ago, ending fears that someone might discover it and suffer permanent injury, the Guardian reports. A three-man company crew lost the rod while identifying possible fracking sites between Pecos and Odessa on Sept. 11. Since then,...

Frackers Battle Farmers for Water Amid Drought

Gas companies scrambling to buy up supplies for drilling

(Newser) - The drought ravaging the heartland has thrown into stark relief an ongoing battle between farmers and energy companies for that most fundamental of resources: water. As the name implies, hydrofracking requires water, and lots of it—one well can use up to 5 million gallons—so gas companies are storming...

Don&#39;t Let Fracking Destroy My Home
 Don't Let Fracking 
 Destroy My Home 
Sean Lennon
Aug 28, 2012 12:05 PM CDT

Don't Let Fracking Destroy My Home

Sean Lennon warns of the environmental dangers of fracking

(Newser) - In the 1970s, John Lennon and Yoko Ono bought a beautiful farm in an idyllic spot in Delaware County, NY. Now some gas companies intend to "tear through our wilderness" to make room for a hydraulic fracking pipeline, their son Sean writes in the New York Times . "Natural...

US CO2 Emissions Dive to 20-Year Low

Cheap natural gas has made a huge difference

(Newser) - America's carbon emissions have, amazingly, dropped to levels near where they would be in an alternate reality where President Al Gore signed the Kyoto Protocol. Emissions of the greenhouse gas are at their lowest in 20 years and government officials say the dramatic fall is thanks to cheap natural...

Fracking's Unlikely Beneficiary: India's Farmers

Tiny bean brings success to one of the world's poorest regions

(Newser) - Talk about a magic bean. Guar, a tiny, durable legume grown in Rajasthan, one of the poorest regions of India, has proven to be a moneymaker thanks to the fracking boom in the US. Indian farmers in the arid region who once grew the bean to help feed their families...

New Concern: Fracking Under ... Graveyards?

But some families eager to cash in: gas firms

(Newser) - Activists are already furious about the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing; now some are adding spiritual concerns to their list of grievances. Energy companies are extracting gas from deep below US cemeteries from Texas to Pennsylvania. The fracking occurs far below ground, with companies citing depths of 7,000 to...

Lawmaker Hits Wrong Button, Advances Fracking

North Carolina Democrat mistakenly joins Republicans on gas exploration

(Newser) - Democracy is a messy thing sometimes: A North Carolina lawmaker hit the wrong button last night while voting and accidentally approved a measure to advance fracking in the state, reports the News & Observer . Becky Carney, a 67-year-old Democrat, pushed the green "aye" button instead of the red "...

Sand Mining Craze Stirs Up Health Fears
 Sand Mining 
 Craze Stirs Up 
 Health Fears 
in case you missed it
May 19, 2012 7:15 AM CDT

Sand Mining Craze Stirs Up Health Fears

But fracking companies love the tiny particles

(Newser) - The upper Midwest is home to the latest craze in American mining: sand. Mining companies are knocking on doors in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and nearby states to dig up tons of the stuff so oil and gas producers can inject it into the ground in a process known as fracking. Sand...

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