News Round-Up: May 31, 2011

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Today’s essential reads

FRACKING:

Revealed: How New Gas Drilling Plan Poses Threat to Scotland’s Drinking Water

An Australian-owned company is about to apply for permission to drill the country’s first exploratory hydraulic fracturing well in a bid to exploit the shale gas that could be locked in the rocks deep beneath the earth.

New York to Sue U.S. Over Delaware River Basin Gas Fracking, Water Impact

The federal government hasn’t adequately studied how natural gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin would affect 9 million water drinkers in New York, the state said in a lawsuit against the U.S.

Hydraulic Fracturing Won’t Create Local Jobs

The jobs created relating to this effort are seldom locally procured and in fact most workers are from Texas or other areas where the companies doing the work are located. Much of this is extraction process will ultimately benefit major energy producers such as Exxon, BP, Shell and others.

Concerns For N.J. Water As Del. River Eyed For ‘Fracking’

New Jersey is downstream from a bitter battle over natural gas development in Pennsylvania that involves a controversial drilling practice.

BP OIL SPILL:

From the Gulf, a Cry for Help

The public health crisis caused by the BP oil spill has received little media attention, and even less government help. Gulf Coast residents are trying to change that.

Deepwater Horizon, a Continuing Nightmare for Fishing Industries

The infamous Deepwater Horizon explosion and the oil spill that followed, also called the Gulf of Mexico or BP oil spill, was the largest-ever marine spill in history. Crude oil gushed from the seafloor for almost three months, before it was capped; and caused extensive damage to marine life, wildlife habitats, affecting the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries.

Did BP’s Oil-dissolving Chemical Make the Spill Worse?

BP succeeded in sinking the oil from its blown well out of sight — and keeping much of it away from beaches and marshes last year — by dousing the crude with nearly 2 million gallons of toxic chemicals. But the impact on the ecosystem as a whole may have been more damaging than the oil alone.

Senate Panel OKs Ban on Gulf Oil Spill Dispersants

A Senate committee has approved a Slidell lawmaker’s proposal that would effectively ban the use of dispersants in responding to oil spills in Louisiana waters, which extend three miles into the Gulf of Mexico.

JAPAN NUCLEAR CRISIS:

Gov’t to Scrap Upper Limit of Radiation Exposure for Workers at Fukushima Plant

The government has decided to abolish the upper cap of radiation exposure for workers at the disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, drawing concern from experts, it has been learned.

NYT: In Japan, a Culture That Promotes Nuclear Dependency

When the Shimane nuclear plant was first proposed here more than 40 years ago, this rural port town put up such fierce resistance that the plant’s would-be operator, Chugoku Electric, almost scrapped the project. Angry fishermen vowed to defend areas where they had fished and harvested seaweed for generations.


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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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