Today’s Essential Reads
FRACKING:
Buffalo Councilman Calls for Hydrofracking Ban in All Great Lakes Cities
When his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y. became only the second city in the nation to ban hydrofracking, councilman Richard Fontana seems pleased — but not satisfied. Since the Buffalo City Council unanimously passed the resolution in February, Fontana has been lobbying other Great Lakes cities to follow suit.
Gabriel Henson, a supervisor for Integrated Production Services, Inc ., a Houston-based natural gas and oil drilling contractor, pleaded guilty to a negligent violation of the Clean Water Act in federal court in Muskogee, Okla ., the Department of Justice announced.
Hydraulic Fracturing Using Too Much Water?
Another industry being affected by the drought is oil drilling. The controversial process known as hydraulic fracturing is reported to be using too much water.
Greens Split Over Fracking Regulation or Ban
As the state of New York reconsiders its prohibition on fracking and is looking to legalize and regulate the practice, environmentalists are split on whether to support that process or push for an outright ban.
BP OIL SPILL:
Deepwater Oil Still “Trapped” Beneath Ocean
A “significant” share of the millions of gallons of oil that spewed from BP’s Deepwater Horizon well is still trapped beneath the ocean, says a Swiss-based expert.
I’m standing in a field next to Montana’s Yellowstone River, a gentle breeze swaying the pasture grass and tempering the 85-degree heat. White fluffs from a cottonwood tree drift slowly across the sky like cartoonish snowflakes. It would be an idyllic scene, if it weren’t for the strong smell of crude oil and the guys in hazmat suits patrolling the farm next door.
It’s Time We Take the Pulse of the Gulf
It has been one year since BP’s Macondo well was capped, ending the continuous flow of toxic crude into the Gulf of Mexico and allowing all of us to breathe a (very short) sigh of relief before continuing our work to restore the Gulf to a healthy state. We all know that work is far from over.
BP: Too Many on Coast Still Suffering
Attorney General Jim Hood is on the right track seeking more transparency in the claims process from last summer’s BP oil spill.
RADIATION:
Safety Concerns Cloud US Nuclear Renaissance
Only two years ago, a senator from Tennessee unveiled a plan to build 100 new nuclear power plants. A few weeks after the Fukushima disaster, President Barack Obama announced that the government would allow the construction of new reactors. “It sounds like a joke, right?” says Smith. “But it’s not. It’s our daily lunacy in this country.”
