Today’s Essential Reads
FRACKING:
Railroad Commissioners Adopt Comprehensive ‘Fracking’ Chemical Disclosure Requirements
Texas Railroad Commissioners adopted one of the nation’s most comprehensive chemical disclosure rules for hydraulic fracturing fluids on Tuesday. The rule will require Texas oil and gas operators to disclose on a national public website chemical ingredients and water volumes used to hydraulically fracture, also known as “fracking,” wells in Texas.
Top 100 Stories of 2011: #21: New Fracking Worries: Methane Leaks, Radioactive Water
The drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking , came under renewed fire this past year. Fracking makes it possible to tap into vast domestic reserves of low-carbon natural gas, but the process—which uses sand, chemicals, and millions of gallons of water to free gas trapped inside dense rock—has sparked environmental questions. New evidence bolsters those concerns.
Timing Is Right to Give the Gift of Clean Water
Governor Cuomo’s proposal to open New York to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has come under fire for failing to protect the state’s residents from a method of gas drilling that pollutes the environment, explained a host of speakers at a rally to ban fracking held Dec. 15 at Mary Jane Davis Green in Manhasset.
Ball Calls for Moratorium on Hydrofracking
State Senator Greg Ball (R, C – Patterson) called for a statewide one-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) during a presentation he gave on the controversial subject at the Lewisboro Library Wednesday night.
BP OIL SPILL:
Restore Act: Gulf’s Crime Victim Compensation
Consider the Deepwater Horizon disaster a crime. The victim: the Gulf of Mexico, it’s back bays and estuaries, beaches, businesses and an entire way of life impacted by millions of gallons of oil flowing freely for months.
The FDA Thinks It’s Totally Cool For Us To Eat Seafood 10,000 Times Over The Contamination Limit
A new study has concluded that the FDA severely underrated the risk of contaminants in seafood following the BP oil spill of 2010, according to Environmental Health Perspectives (via Alternet).
Mississippi AG Jim Hood Vows to Keep Pursuing GCCF Transparency
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said he is pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has asked for an outside audit of BP oil spill claims processing, but that his office plans to continue its own investigation of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF)
Russian Oil Rig Sinking Casts Doubt On Arctic Plan
The sinking of a floating oil rig that left more than 50 crew dead or missing is intensifying fears that Russian companies searching for oil in remote areas are unprepared for emergencies — and could cause a disastrous spill in the pristine waters of the Arctic.
RADIATION:
Major Milestones Passed At The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
The clean-up effort at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has reached important milestones.
