Today’s Essential Reads
FRACKING:
Ohio Rally, March to Protest Hydraulic Fracturing
Local groups in northeastern Ohio opposed to hydraulic fracturing are staging a protest rally and march this week.
No Rush on Fracking Decision, Cuomo Says
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not set a timetable for when he wants a decision on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, from the Department of Environmental Conservation, Gannett News Service is reporting.
Call for Stricter ‘Fracking’ Rules
A MAJOR report compiled for the European Parliament has called for much stricter regulation of “fracking” for shale gas and oil, including a possible ban on the use of chemicals in the controversial process.
Sierra Club Submits Comments on Federal Oil and Gas Drilling Plan
Late yesterday, the Sierra Club submitted technical comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) new standard for hydraulic fracturing on public lands.
BP OIL SPILL:
Obama Creates New Council to Oversee Restore Act Ecosystem Restoration
President Barack Obama today signed an executive order setting up the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to oversee restoration efforts funded under recent legislation designating 80 percent of fines from the 2010 BP oil spill to the five Gulf States.
BP Sells Gulf of Mexico Assets For $5.6 Billion
The British oil major has sold some of its deep-water assets in the Gulf of Mexico to raise money to invest in development.
Feds, BP Duel Over Spill Claims
The federal government is signaling its willingness to go to trial against BP and accuse the oil giant of gross negligence in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, legal experts said in analyzing a new Justice Department court filing.
Hurricane Isaac Washed Up Gulf Oil Spill Remnants, Auburn University Researchers Confirm
Scientific testing has confirmed a link between oil from the massive BP spill and tar found on Alabama beaches after Hurricane Isaac.
RADIATION:
Shanghai-Fukushima Flights Still in Limbo as China Cancels Meeting With Governor
Japan on Tuesday marked the 18-month anniversary of the tragic earthquake and tsunami that triggered the devastating nuclear accident in the country’s northeast. With his prefecture still reeling from the crisis, Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato spent the day in Beijing, where he went to ask Chinese aviation officials to restart a suspended flight service between Shanghai and Fukushima, hoping to give the local economy a boost. But the meeting was abruptly canceled.
I live in a rural area of Clinton Arkansas. Natural gas well drilling in now in my back yard, so to speak. We have a small cottage at about a 1000 ft alt. overlooking what was once a fresh river and pristine lake Greers Ferry. Now there are industrial smells in the air and they have started to put chemicals in the water to mask whatever is in it. When we call the state environmental people about it they just talk out the sides of their mouths. Arkansas is impotent and ignorant when it comes to any resistance to environmental issues All the state energy commission are former “Big Oil” guys. They will show up and say, “Well, I don’t smell anything in the air today.” As a former civilian contractor for the military and Aerospace industry I can see right through their bullshit. Any tips on going over their heads or getting their attention in another manner? A friend spoke with someone yesterday from the Arkansas Dept of Environmental Quality office who leaked that the natural gas they are pumping in the Fayetteville shale is going to a Louisiana refinery to be liquified then it is shipped to China. I had also heard before Chesapeake energy pulled out and was bought by this huge Australian Billiton that China bought out 60 per cent of Chesapeake stake for the Wyoming and Colorado area. So much for their disinformation about how natural gas to going to help the environment in America. Thank you for your time. I used to be a free lance writer for Stevens media local newspaper here. Well, now they are in my back yard and have automatically registered themselves on my shit list.