Today’s Essential Reads
FRACKING:
Groups Rally For Fracking Bills in NY State
They came from every corner of New York State: Farmers, politicians, small business leaders and ordinary citizens who gave up a day of work to come to Albany to try to persuade lawmakers to ban hydraulic fracturing.
Commerce City Officials Hear Comment On Fracking Ban
Council members Monday evening debated the merits of a six-month moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the city, which drew sharp comments from some who are afraid oil and gas drilling in the community will lead to environmental disaster.
This is a story about water, the land surrounding it, and the lives it sustains. Clean water should be a right: there is no life without it. New York is what you might call a “water state.” Its rivers and their tributaries only start with the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, the Delaware, and the Susquehanna. The best known of its lakes are Great Lakes Erie and Ontario, Lake George, and the Finger Lakes. Its brooks, creeks, and trout streams are fishermen’s lore.
North Dakota Will Soon Require Disclosure Of Chemicals Used In Fracking
One of the most controversial aspects of hydraulic fracturing, the oil and gas production technique that has set off an energy revolution here in the United States, is the makeup of so-called frack fluid which is used in the process. Environmentalists contend that the fluid contains all manner of nasty chemicals. Oil producers disagree, saying the fluid is 99% water, but won’t disclose what they say is a proprietary mixture.
BP OIL SPILL:
Whistleblower Says BP Fired Him for Refusing To Skew Cleanup Data
A leader in BP’s oil spill cleanup claims the company fired him for refusing to change data so that BP could claim the cleanup phase was over and it could begin restoration, which a BP vice president told him “would have an upward impact on BP stock prices.”
Tony Hayward Accused Of ‘Lying’ Over Gulf Spill
Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, has been accused of giving untruthful evidence to US Congress, by plaintiffs suing for damages over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Hire Locally, Citizens Tell Oil Spill Restoration Panel
Deepwater Horizon Natural Resources Damage Assessment trustees presented details of each project for public comment at a meeting held at the Battle House Hotel in downtown Mobile.
Lawmakers Seek Obama’s Support On Coast Restoration Bill
Gulf Coast lawmakers hope President Barack Obama will use his address to the nation tonight to support a bill that would send most of the fines collected from the BP oil spill to the region for restoration efforts.
RADIATION:
Japanese Government Concealing Facts About Fukushima
The Japanese government and Tepco have covered up the extent of the radiation released by Fukushima and its health effects on the Japanese and others.
