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Posts Tagged ‘hydraulic fracturing’

Fracking – Shake, Rattle and Roll

Posted in Fracking, tagged , , on January 5, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Are small earthquakes associated with hydraulic fracturing for gas?  Recent quakes in Ohio and Arkansas have taken many people by surprise, including a 2.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked Ohio on Christmas Eve, followed by a  4.0-magnitude quake on New Year’s Eve bringing the total to nine last year.  All of the quakes were recorded within a 5-mile radius [...]

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US environmental authorities have declared for the first time that fracking may be to blame for groundwater pollution.

Posted in Water, tagged , , , on December 9, 2011 | 2 Comments »

A draft finding by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could have a chilling effect on states trying to determine how to regulate the process. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping pressurised water, sand and chemicals underground to open fissures and improve the flow of oil or gas to the surface. The EPA found that [...]

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Fracking causes earthquakes (at least in England)

Posted in Global Warming, tagged on November 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

In recent months, the oil and gas industry has been vigorously denying that hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a technique of extracting natural gas from shale formations, is in anyway responsible for small earthquakes in areas where fracking activities have been taking place.  However, (according to Bloomberg) U.K.-based shale explorer Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. said in a report [...]

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The Public Needs Protection From Fracking Dangers

Posted in Air Quality, Water, tagged , , , on August 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Public Citizen today urged a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) task force to prioritize the safety of water resources at contamination risk from hydraulic fracturing. Among the solutions Public Citizen proposed is repeal of the various exemptions the natural gas industry has received from federal environmental laws; the denial of drilling companies’ “proprietary” right to [...]

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Urge DOE to regulate fracking

Posted in Air Quality, tagged , , , , on July 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, Public Citizen spoke before the Department of Energy subcommittee tasked with natural gas drilling and outlined the key steps needed to properly oversee the process of fracking. We are calling on the subcommittee to recommend closure of many loopholes that create regulatory exemptions for fracking. Please join us in urging the DOE to regulate [...]

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Are we getting “fracked”?

Posted in Air Quality, tagged , , , on July 12, 2011 | 3 Comments »

What happens when you let Big Business regulate itself? – You get fracked. Hydraulic fracturing — also known as fracking — is a controversial method of natural gas extraction that involves injecting a toxic chemical sludge into the surface of the earth until it rips open. And it’s a case study in the dangers of [...]

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Is fracking worse for the climate than coal?

Posted in Air Quality, Global Warming, natural gas, tagged , , , , , , on April 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »

A new study from Cornell Professor Robert Howarth shows that natural gas from shale beds extracted through hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has the same effect on the climate as burning coal, tarnishing one of the natural gas industry’s major claims of being a less polluting and more climate friendly fossil fuel. A megawatt of electricity [...]

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San Antonio and Fracking – could this push the area out of compliance with federal clean air standards?

Posted in Air Quality, natural gas, tagged , , , , on March 11, 2011 | 1 Comment »

San Antonio, which sits just north of what many say is one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the country known as the Eagle Ford, is a heart beat away from violating federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone. It seems it is only a matter of time before the increased emissions from [...]

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Railroad Commission Sunset bill not a cure-all for fracking, ethics

Posted in Sunset, tagged , , , on March 10, 2011 | 1 Comment »

The long-awaited Sunset Bill of the Railroad Commission was released late yesterday, and it’s mostly what we’d expected, but not everything we’d hoped for. Highlights: The Railroad Commission will be renamed the Texas Oil and Gas Commission It will be headed by one commissioner  (down from 3) who will be elected every four years on [...]

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Why Gasland should win the Oscar for best Documentary

Posted in Air Quality, Energy, tagged , , , , , on February 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I hope you’re going to have a great Oscar night, and while we may all have our favorites for best picture (True Grit was my favorite, but I think The Social Network and The King’s Speech are also very deserving), this year we have one of the most important issues of our time as the [...]

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SB772 would require “tracer” compound in fracking fluids

Posted in Air Quality, tagged , , , , , on February 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) filed Senate Bill 772, which, if passed, would require companies using hydraulic fracturing to mine natural gas in Texas to include a unique tracer compound enabling regulators to determine which party is or is not responsible in the event that the fluids find their way into drinking water supplies. Sen. [...]

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Gasland’s Oscar under attack by industry

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , on February 15, 2011 | 3 Comments »

Industry groups began raising objections to the movie “Gasland” when the documentary first aired on HBO last June.  However, they recently stepped up their attacks when Gasland was nominated for an academy award.  Energy in Depth, a group representing a coalition of industry groups including the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Assn. and the Texas [...]

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Texas Barnett Shale community finalist for EPA study

Posted in Air Quality, natural gas, tagged , , , on February 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the Barnett Shale natural gas fields of Denton and Wise counties are one of five finalists to be considered for a case study as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) examination of hydraulic fracturing.   That is not a competition I would want to win, but if [...]

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Texas leads in use of diesel as fracking fluid

Posted in natural gas, tagged , , , , on February 2, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Drilling companies injected more than 32 million gallons of fluids containing diesel into the ground during hydraulic fracturing operations from 2005 to 2009, according to federal lawmakers.  About a third of the 32 million gallons was straight diesel fuel, with 49.8% of the 32.2 million gallons of fluid containing diesel injected into Texas wells.  Texas lead [...]

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Website offers some details about fracking chemicals: A public education effort or a slick PR campaign to take pressure off the natural gas industry?

Posted in Air Quality, tagged , , , , on November 17, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Yesterday, Halliburton unveiled a new website that offers some details about the mix of chemicals used in a natural gas drilling technique following the Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) decision last week to subpoena Halliburton to force the company to turn over information about the chemicals it produces for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Halliburton has said [...]

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