Today’s Essential Reads
FRACKING:
Mountain Ridge High School Students Monitoring Frostburg Water Quality
Students in Tom Kozikowski’s advanced placement environmental science classes at Mountain Ridge High School have begun to collect baseline water quality data on the municipal water supply of Frostburg and surrounding areas.
Fracking: Pennsylvania Gags Physicians
A new Pennsylvania law endangers public health by forbidding health care professionals from sharing information they learn about certain chemicals and procedures used in high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing. The procedure is commonly known as fracking.
Fracking Wells’ Air Emissions Pose Health Risks, Study Finds
Chemicals released into the air when natural-gas producers complete hydraulically fractured wells may pose a health risk to those living nearby, the Colorado School of Public Health said.
As Natural Gas Production Grows, Questions Arise About Methane Leaks
As natural gas production in the United States hits an all-time high, a major unanswered question looms: What does growing hydraulic fracturing mean for climate change?
BP OIL SPILL:
BP Oil Spill Trial Settlement Proposal Could Be Filed in New Orleans Federal Court by April 16
The terms of a proposed $7.8 billion settlement between BP and private plaintiffs in the massive Gulf oil spill litigation will be filed in federal court in New Orleans by April 16, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said in an order issued late Friday. The order sets up a May 3 conference with lawyers to address remaining issues that will be contested when a long-awaited trial over the spill begins.
Senate Finally Passes a Bill to Address the BP Oil Disaster
The Senate has finally passed its first piece of legislation responding to the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico—one that places a welcome emphasis on reviving the wetlands, fishing grounds, and other ecosystems that sustain Gulf communities.
Brazil Bars Oil Workers From Leaving After Spill
A Brazilian court has ordered 17 employees from two American companies, the oil giant Chevron and the rig operator Transocean, to surrender their passports, barring them from leaving Brazil as authorities prepare to file criminal charges in days in connection with an offshore oil spill involving the companies.
Relief From Renewables Will Not Happen Soon
This letter concerns the current dilemma about gasoline prices and the emphasis on developing green energy. President Barack Obama has stated that nothing can be done to reduce gas prices and that there needs to be a massive funding influx for development of renewable energy, specifically solar, wind and algae.
RADIATION:
Looking Back at Fukushima One Year Later
It’s been a year now since the Great T?hoku Earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan, leaving over twenty thousand dead and tens of thousands more homeless and displaced. On top of this was the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility brought about by the tsunami itself.
