I’ve long predicted that California will be the place where the rubber hits the road for the fracking boom in America. The rewards in a resource-rich state are too great for Big Oil and Gas to ignore, but the risks — of wasting millions upon millions of gallons of water in a drought-stricken state, of causing earthquakes in a region criss-crossed by fault lines, of polluting the...
Elections have consequences. Take North Carolina, a state that has always seemed of two minds, politically. For the most part, the Tarheel State mirrors its Southern neighbors — heavily rural, conservative, and clinging to its traditions. But there is also a progressive bent in North Carolina, especially as more and more outsiders move to the state for its top-flight universities and for...
One of the big issues surrounding fracking is whether drillers should be required to disclose the chemicals they use to blast through rock formations deep under the earth. Environmental groups and local residents say that information is vital to protecting the public health, while the oil and gas companies insist this is proprietary business information. This week, we got another inkling of the...
One of the most disturbing things I’ve seen since I started following the boom in fracking for natural gas several years ago is how often that animals who live near drilling rigs get sick. In particular, creatures — whether it’s wildlife, livestock or pets — are more likely to drink water that’s been contaminated in the drilling process or as gas is being produced...
