Today’s Essential Reads
FRACKING:
EPA Expands Wyoming Fracking Investigation
The Environmental Protection Agency caused quite a stir in December, when a preliminary report linked hydraulic fracturing to water pollution in Pavillion, Wyoming.
Ohio: Hydraulic Fracking Led to Earthquakes
A dozen earthquakes in northeastern Ohio were almost certainly induced by injection of gas-drilling wastewater into the earth, Ohio oil and gas regulators said Friday as they announced a series of tough new regulations for drillers.
Fracking Industry May Lack Will to Avoid Environmental Impacts, Report Finds
The natural gas industry is technologically capable of tapping shale gas resources, but some companies may have trouble managing the environmental and social risks involved, according to a report by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute.
Fracking in New York: Risk vs. Reward
The battle over hydraulic fracturing in the state of New York pits farmers against environmentalists, neighbor vs. neighbor, as gas companies wait to find out if they’ll be able to unlock the natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale formation thousands of feet below the earth’s surface.
Reproductive Problems, Death in Animals Exposed to Fracking
A new report has found dozens of cases of illness, death and reproductive issues in cows, horses, goats, llamas, chickens, dogs, cats, fish and other wildlife, and humans. It says these conditions could be the result of exposure to gas drilling operations.
BP OIL SPILL:
Analysis: Legal Fees in Gulf Oil Spill Deal Stir Conflict
The estimated $7.8 billion settlement reached last week between BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and attorneys for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill left many details unresolved, but at least one thing looks like a sure bet.
The $7.8 billion oil spill settlement between BP PLC and thousands of residents and businesses along the Gulf of Mexico clears the way for what may become a far more expensive battle between the oil giant and the U.S. government.
Louisiana Lawyer Set to Take Kenneth Feinberg’s Role in BP Oil Spill Claims Process
Good-bye, Kenneth Feinberg. Hello, Patrick Juneau. Feinberg, the BP oil spill claims czar who handed out $6.1 billion to 221,000 claimants — the blustery Boston-bred lawyer Gulf Coast residents and politicians loved to hate — was officially replaced Thursday by a new face, and a new court-supervised process for doling out what BP estimates will be $7.8 billion for claims covered by a recent class-action settlement.
Four Steps To Protect The Arctic, Our Final Ocean Frontier
As summer sea ice disappears, Big Oil, commercial fishing, shipping and other industries have set their sights on the Arctic as a new source for profits. So far, mismanagement of virtually every other ocean on the planet has led us to a brave new world of collapsing fisheries, massive dead zones, huge floating garbage patches and destroyed habitats.
RADIATION:
Trauma, Not Radiation, Is Key Concern In Japan
One year ago this Sunday, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off Japan triggered a tsunami that killed 20,000 people. It also triggered multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station, one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.
