Experts’ review of NY fracking soon to be complete
ALBANY, N.Y. — Experts reviewing the health effects of shale gas development in New York are among the nation’s most prominent in environmental health, giving opponents hope but the industry concern that reviewers will warn against drilling operations that use hydraulic fracturing.
Fracking rules under consideration by state DEC have all sides holding breath
A week filled with regulatory maneuvering in New York has supporters of shale-gas drilling hoping for the best, critics fearing for the worst and environmental regulators straining to stay somewhere in between.
Peter Mantius: Doctors’ fracking concerns being ignored
For years, New York State officials who oversee natural gas drilling have stiff-armed doctors on the public health risks of fracking.
Fracking Secrets by Thousands Keep U.S. Clueless on Wells
A subsidiary of Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) pumped a mixture of chemicals identified only as “EXP- F0173-11” into a half-dozen oil wells in rural Karnes County, Texas, in July.
Revised fracking rules raise more questions in the Finger Lakes region
A revised set of proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing natural gas released this past week by the state Department of Environmental Conservation raise more questions about how the future of natural gas drilling will play out in New York.
1860s: Liquid first used to stimulate shallow, hard rock wells in Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky and West Virginia.
1930s: Idea of injecting a nonexplosive fluid into the ground to stimulate a well began to be attempted.
UT plans to drill for gas on its land, study fracking
The University of Tennessee plans to drill for natural gas in its research forest in Morgan and Scott counties, a proposal that would allow UT to lease its land to an oil and gas company and then study the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing — often called fracking.
Fracking secrets keep Americans clueless
A subsidiary of Nabors Industries Ltd. pumped a mixture of chemicals identified only as “EXP-F0173-11” into a half-dozen oil wells in rural Karnes County, Texas, in July.
Detectors find methane leaks from the air
Five hundred feet above California’s Central Valley, a line on Stephen Conley’s laptop screen jumped.
Conley peered over from the pilot seat of his single-engine plane. The line showed methane levels in the surrounding air as he flew downwind from a natural gas pipeline buried in the green hills below. A sharp spike could mean that the pipeline had sprung a leak, venting gas into the sky. Methane, which is the fuel’s main ingredient, is a potent greenhouse gas, trapping heat far more effectively than carbon dioxide.
Proposed path of liquid fuel pipeline frightens North Huntingdon neighborhood
Bob Kaczynski bought a home in North Huntingdon in October, and he’s wondering whether he made a mistake. He just learned that his house lies along the path of a proposed and potentially dangerous type of gas pipeline.
Archaeological concerns slow natural gas pipeline
Already delayed by slow permit approval, the proposed Tennessee Gas pipeline from West Milford to Mahwah is now being held up by federal officials because it would either run through or near historic areas, including Native American burial grounds.
Rockaway Pipeline Project Set to Move Forward
A pipeline operator is moving forward with plans to build a natural gas pipeline through the Rockaways and under Jamaica Bay, despite concerns about the area’s vulnerability to storms like Sandy.
Fracking ‘exploitation’ report dismissed by energy department
The energy department has dismissed a report that “60% of the UK countryside could be exploited” for fracking, the controversial gas extraction method.
Anti-fracking activists drill home message with parliament protests
Campaigners plan to erect mock rig in Whitehall and deliver letter to Downing Street denouncing shale gas extraction
Cochrane resident worries new fracking guidelines too weak
A Calgary-area rancher says Canada’s oil and gas producers’ new guidelines for hydraulic fracking don’t go far enough.
New York’s hydrofracking review nearing final stages
A week filled with regulatory maneuvering in New York has supporters of shale-gas drilling hoping for the best, critics fearing for the worst and environmental regulators straining to stay somewhere in between.
Residents against Marcellus shale drilling near reservoir
Some residents in Elk County are concerned about an area of land that is being cleared in preparation for drilling.
Fracture over fracking moratorium splits Fort Collins City Council
A city council philosophically divided by whether a temporary halt to hydraulic fracturing in Fort Collins is necessary will revisit the question Tuesday.
Pictures: Bakken Shale Oil Boom Transforms North Dakota
North Dakota, once a sleepy backwater of the petroleum industry, this year surpassed Alaska as the number two oil producer in the United States. The gush of North Dakota crude has helped lift U.S. oil production to its highest level in 14 years, and has the United States on track to regain its spot as the world’s top energy producer within five years. (Related: “U.S. to Overtake Saudi Arabia, Russia as World’s Top Energy Producer”)
Oil Train Revival: Booming North Dakota Relies on Rail to Deliver Its Crude
North Dakota surpassed Alaska this year as the number two oil-producing state. It’s thanks to fracking—the extraction of oil from the state’s Bakken Shale formation. But all that oil would be stuck in the Midwest without trains. (See related photos: “Bakken Shale Oil Boom Transforms North Dakota”)
Study: Mixing oil with dispersant made the BP oil spill worse
A new study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes in Mexico finds that mixing oil with dispersant made the BP oil spill worse. Georgia Tech reports that the two million gallons of dispersant used to clean up the 4.9 million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill made the oil 52 times more toxic.
BP oil spill cleanup toxic to key species
Plankton-like animals suffer when chemical dispersants and crude are mixed, study finds
Dispersant makes oil from spills 52 times more toxic
As in 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, it makes petroleum less visible, but much more harmful
RESTORE Act’s Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to hold first meeting Dec. 11 in Mobile, Ala.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, which will oversee the spending of about 80 percent of BP Clean Water Act fine money under the terms of the federal RESTORE Act, will hold its first public meeting in Mobile, Ala., on Dec. 11.
Steffy: Call may decide fate of 2 from BP
The difference between exoneration and a lifetime in prison may come down to a 10-minute phone call.
Shell’s oil spill containment gear ‘crushed like a beer can’ in testing
Shell Oil has been building and testing equipment designed for the Arctic Ocean in Puget Sound.
In September, a key test of underwater oil-spill equipment was a spectacular failure.
Shell VP: Yeah, we’re gonna spill some oil in the Arctic
Your quote of the day comes from the BBC.
There’s no sugar-coating this, I imagine there would be spills, and no spill is OK. But will there be a spill large enough to impact people’s subsistence? My view is no, I don’t believe that would happen.
LA oil company faces criminal charges for 2011 spill
Los Angeles city prosecutors have filed criminal charges against an oil company for a 245-gallon crude oil and water spill last December.
Pressure mounting on Obama over pipeline decision
Embarking on a second term, President Barack Obama faces mounting pressure on a decision he had put off during his re-election campaign: whether to approve the $7 billion proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline between the U.S. and Canada.
Groups: Pipeline proposal a sign tar sands oil is headed to Maine
Maine environmental groups sounded an alarm Thursday about the possible impacts here of a Canadian energy company’s application to reverse the flow of a pipeline and move heavy crude oil from the western provinces to Montreal.
Jailed Activists Start Hunger Strike in Campaign Against Keystone XL Pipeline
Two activists have gone on hunger strike in jail as part of a campaign against the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline that would carry Canadian tar sands oil to Texas. Diane Wilson and Bob Lindsey Jr. are demanding that energy firm Valero divest from the Keystone XL project. The pair were arrested after locking themselves to trucks in a bid to block access to a Valero refinery in Houston, Texas.
Unfinished Business: The Unspoken Link Between Dispersants and Sick Children in the Gulf of Mexico
All six of Julie Creppel’s young children are sick. Vomiting. Blisters all over their bodies, even in their throats. Boils. Severe headaches that wake them up screaming at night. Nausea. Fevers. Diarrhea. Stomach spasms that contort their bodies in pain. Skin lesions. Psoriasis. Nose bleeds that gush unexpectedly. Respiratory infections. Dizziness. Sinus infections. Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Hair loss. And more.
BP sanction brewing long before Gulf disaster
When the Obama administration temporarily banned BP from federal contracts Wednesday, it pointed to BP’s “lack of business integrity” and conduct relating to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill.
The sanction, however, has been years in the making.
BP to Shareholders: We’re Already Working With EPA to Lift Federal Contract Ban
Despite a long history of “egregious violations,” the behemoth oil company’s temporary suspension from obtaining lucrative government contracts may turn out to be much shorter than expected
EPA Finds Its Backbone, Blocks BP From New Oil Drilling Contracts
Not so long ago, we reported that BP will finally accept criminal charges for the catastrophic 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The guilty plea was entered as part of a deal with the U.S. Government that would cost BP about $4.5 billion in fines but ultimately absolving the company from future prosecution on these charges.
Study: Mixing oil with dispersant made the BP oil spill worse
A new study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes in Mexico finds that mixing oil with dispersant made the BP oil spill worse. Georgia Tech reports that the two million gallons of dispersant used to clean up the 4.9 million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill made the oil 52 times more toxic.
Sanibel wildlife refuge awarded grant money
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is getting a hefty settlement from the 2010 BP oil spill, and they say the money is going towards promoting the park as an ecotourism destination.
We Finally Have A Reliable Way To Detect Oil Spills Before They Get Disastrous
Energy technology: As oil exploration moves into the Arctic, new methods are being developed to detect and handle spills
Exclusive: Chevron Brazil ban ended, marks restart step
Chevron Corp received a boost to its efforts to restart oil output in Brazil after a court overturned a ban on its operating in the country and the company agreed on a plan to improve safety procedures after an oil spill last year.
Obama facing tough choice on oil pipeline
It’s a decision President Obama put off during the 2012 campaign, but now that he has won a second term, his next move on a proposed oil pipeline between the United States and Canada may signal how he will deal with climate and energy issues in the four years ahead.
Louisiana Sinkhole Evacuees Won’t Be Home For Awhile
At the eight-acre, Bayou Corne sinkhole in Assumption Parish, owners of slab houses are waiting for methane-gas monitors to be installed in December. The sinkhole deepened in November and coughed up debris and hydrcarbons late in the month. Cypress trees fell into the gap. Residents are watching natural gas being flared from the site and are ventilating homes while bayous around them bubble.
The state Department of Natural Resources said Saturday it has fined a Houston-based company $100,000 for failing to obey several safety directives the state issued Nov. 12 regarding the sinkhole in Assumption Parish.
New View from Inside Fukushima: Chaos and Uncertainty
Even in the early days of the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March of last year, as the reactors spiraled out of control, the terse statements issued by the operator felt like an exercise in denial. Radiation readings were “higher than the ordinary level” (about 100 times higher), and a “loud noise and white smoke” had hit the No. 4 reactor (a possible hydrogen explosion).
High thyroid radiation doses in 178 Fukushima workers
Dozens of workers received potentially cancerous doses of radiation to their thyroid glands during recovery work at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to data submitted to the World Health Organization.
