Today’s Essential Reads
FRACKING:
New Regulations Not What They Seam
The 60-day moratorium on fracking during coal seam gas drilling has been extended by five months but local anti-gas groups say the NSW Government’s regulations are tokenistic and still don’t go far enough.
The Promise and Problems of Shale Gas, Part I (VIDEO)
In this special report, energyNOW! Chief Correspondent Tyler Suiters interviews residents of Bradford County in northern Pennsylvania, the heart of the Marcellus Shale. The residents blame nearby gas drilling for methane contamination in their water wells, while the energy companies say they aren’t responsible.
European Union Report Says Ban Fracking
PEPANZ issued a position paper glorifying fracking as the saviour of the world’s energy problems within hours of a European Union requested study that considers banning the practice outright across Europe” says Emily Bailey, a member of Climate Justice Taranaki.
Anti-Fracking Hip Hop Video Launched
A hard-hitting hip hop music video, aimed at raising levels of protest against oil companies intent on drilling for shale gas in the Karoo, was released on Thursday.
BP OIL SPILL:
Oil Found on 60% of Yellowstone River Shoreline
We’ve been talking pipelines lately — the would-be tar sands-pumping Keystone XL in particular — so let’s check in on one that just ruptured. A busted Exxon pipeline recently loosed over 50,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone river, and you’ve probably read some of Mat’s posts detailing the scope of the damage. Well, the latest update is in: oil from that pipeline has coated 60% of the Yellowstone River’s shoreline.
Coast Guard Testifies It’s Totally Unprepared for an Arctic Oil Spill: “We Have Zero to Operate With at Present.”
The U.S. Coast Guard’s top official says the organization is not prepared for a major oil spill in the Arctic, where oil companies are pushing to Congress and regulatory agencies to allow for more offshore drilling.
Don’t Allow Shell Oil to Destroy America’s Arctic
Shell Oil is pushing to drill in America’s Arctic Ocean – an area pristine and untouched, home to some of our nation’s most beloved species of wildlife and relied upon for thousands of years by local indigenous peoples –with no effective way to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic’s ice-covered, remote and extreme conditions.
RADIATION:
Is the NRC on Target with its Call to Redefine Nuclear Safety?
A report by a Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff task force calls for sweeping regulatory change, but also acknowledges that information about the Fukushima accident is unavailable, unreliable, or ambiguous. In the third of a continuing series, the ANS Nuclear Cafe explores a significant issue affecting nuclear science and engineering by asking a diverse group of nuclear energy professionals for their views on a high-profile issue.
Japanese Ban on Radioactive Beef Widens
Japan widened a ban on beef to cattle from a second tsunami-hit region Thursday, citing elevated radiation levels in the meat of animals because of the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis.
