News Round-Up: March 16, 2012

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Today’s Essential Reads

FRACKING:

Natural Born Drillers

To be a modern Republican in good standing, you have to believe — or pretend to believe — in two miracle cures for whatever ails the economy: more tax cuts for the rich and more drilling for oil. And with prices at the pump on the rise, so is the chant of “Drill, baby, drill.” More and more, Republicans are telling us that gasoline would be cheap and jobs plentiful if only we would stop protecting the environment and let energy companies do whatever they want.

Tighter Fracking Regulations Favored by 65% of U.S. in Poll

The U.S. public favors greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas drilling technique that has reduced prices for consumers while raising environmental concerns.

The 10 Scariest Chemicals Used In Hydraulic Fracking

ProPublica investigations, however, found fracking to be the common thread in more than 1,000 cases of water contamination across seven states, including dozens of cases of well failures in which the concrete or steel meant to protect aquifers cracked under high pressure.

Tiny Wyoming Town Plays Big Role In Fracking Fight

Chances are you’ve never heard of Pavillion, Wyo. Little more than a blip on a map of the Great Plains, the town of 242 residents in Wyoming’s Fremont County stands on the front line in the national debate over the gas-drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

BP OIL SPILL:

Viewpoint: Washington Politics Stole RESTORE Act from the Gulf Coast

Last week, I voted “no” on the RESTORE Act amendment that came to the Senate floor. While its proponents have sold this as a Gulf Coast restoration bill, the truth is that it goes far beyond that.

BP Letter Suggests Bribery, Corruption Within Oil Company’s Shipping Division

A recent letter to chief executive officer Robert Dudley alleges that bribery and corruption have permeated BP’s shipping division for several years, the Daily Telegraph reveals.

Oil From BP Disaster Contaminated Ocean Food Chain, Research Confirms

Scientists have confirmed that oil from BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster has entered the marine food chain.

Fishermen Flounder as Details of Settlement for BP Oil Spill Await Resolution

Despite promises of quick payments, it may be months if not years before plaintiffs associated with the BP Gulf Oil Spill receive compensation.

RADIATION:

Second Take: Nuclear Power (VIDEO)

Creamer Media’s Mariaan Webb speaks to Engineering News editor Terence Creamer about nuclear power one year after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

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Stuart H. Smith is an attorney based in New Orleans fighting major oil companies and other polluters.
Cooper Law Firm

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