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Fracking


John Dolva

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RT:

http://rt.com/op-edge/fracking-cheap-gas-or-health-269/

Energy companies are giving people a very unhealthy choice: Whether to have cheap gas, which is unlikely to happen, or fresh water, former oil executive Ian Crane, now a campaigner against fracking, tells RT.

RT: You gave up a lucrative career over fracking... why are you against it so much?

Ian Crane: Well, if we were looking at conventional oil and gas exploration I wouldn’t be sitting here talking with you. But this is the first attempt in the UK to exploit unconventional gas resources from shale. The track record in the UK is pretty dire. Out of the four wells drilled and fracked two of them resulted in seismic events in the peninsula. And a law moratorium was put on 2 1/2 years ago, that moratorium was lifted one year ago by Lord Browne, who advises David Cameron. But Lord Browne is also chairman of Cuadrilla, one of the companies that has very heavy interests in this operation. The real concern is that this is a technology that basically has been proven not to work as the oil industry claims, and it has resulted in an irrefutable evidence of contamination of water, soil and the air, and also significant negative health impacts on the population that live above the gas fields.

RT: Pope Francis has reportedly said that he believes that fracking exploits the poor and their land. But there is a very strong economic argument, isn’t it? I mean all these people will be compensated after, won’t they?

IC: I don’t think it really matters what the economic argument is if the water supply is put at risk. I mean, what do people prefer to have: cheap gas, which I don’t think is going to happen anyway, or fresh water? Because the reality is if people do not have access to fresh water, then effectively the life as we know it is over. This, unfortunately, goes right along with the philosophy of Pete Brabeck, the CEO of Nestle, who eight years ago recorded an interview in which he stated that in his opinion, it should not be regarded as a human right for people to have access to fresh water. And this is potentially creating a situation where basically people would have to effectively buy their fresh water from the corporations. This industry has never before been unleashed beneath the densely populated islands such as the UK. We’ve seen the effects in places like Colorado and Pennsylvania, and southern Queensland in Australia, when the population density of the UK is 20 times that of Colorado and 100 times that of southern Queensland. I would simply implore that people do a bit of research for themselves, and they look at the damage and the contamination that has been wreaked in these locations around the world. We are doing everything we possibly can to ensure that this doesn’t happen in the UK.

RT: Why can’t I expect government to do this research for me? Why won’t they protect my own health, what do you think?

IC: That’s a very good question and in fact, last Thursday evening I attended a public meeting with IGas Energy, which is the company that has a license to exploit the resources in Manchester. And their direct response to that question was that it is not their responsibility to investigate the environmental damage or the negative health impact that this industry has caused elsewhere. This is totally irresponsible, and tragically, what it reflects is the fact that we are dealing with the cowboy industry that is driven by greed and that in fact, that takes the mantra directly from Lord Browne, the former chairman and CEO of BP, who basically said “this is profit above all else,” and that he would do whatever it takes to get into the heart of the shale gas industry. Basically there are an increasing number of people around the UK to ensure that it doesn’t happen. The British government and the shale gas industry, the embryonic shale gas industry in the UK, does not have the social license to proceed with it.

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Fracking info and resources
21 March 2013
Fracking FAQs

(Friends of the Earth)

Answers to frequently asked questions on fracking. See full FAQs (PDF).


Fracking: Legal FAQs

(Friends of the Earth)

Answers to frequently asked questions about the legal aspects of fracking.

See full legal FAQs


Unconventional, unnecessary and unwanted: why fracking for shale gas is a gamble the UK shouldn't take

(Friends of the Earth)

This is a short summary of the main facts about fracking for shale gas. It outlines the risks involved and explains why this is not the solution to the UK's energy problems.

See summary


Unconventional, unnecessary and unwanted: why fracking for shale gas is a gamble the UK shouldn't take

(Friends of the Earth)

This note outlines the main facts about fracking for shale gas. It explains why it will not cut our energy bills, tackle climate change or boost the economy, but will bring a whole lot of risks.

See full briefing note


Submission to the National Assembly for Wales on unconventional gas

(Friends of the Earth Cymru)

Friends of the Earth submitted this document to the Welsh Government's Environment and Sustainability Committee to ask for a moratorium on the exploration and exploitation of unconventional gas.

See full submission


Submission to the National Assembly for Wales on shale gas and gasification

(Friends of the Earth Cymru)

Friends of the Earth sent this document to the Welsh Government's Environment and Sustainability Committee to explain the dangers of shale gas and gasification, and to make recommendations about next steps.

See full submission


Submission to the Petitions Committee of the National Assembly for Wales

(Friends of the Earth Cymru)

This submission follows the Welsh Government's Response to the Fracking Petition. It explains why the Government's response is inadequate and why further evidence is needed.

See full submission


Campaigning on fracking - a guide for beginners

(Friends of the Earth)

This guide includes ideas on how to start a fracking campaign in your local area. There are links to detailed briefings on fracking, background reading and useful contacts.

See full guide


MP briefing - shale gas and fracking

(Friends of the Earth)

A briefing for MPs outlining the why shale gas and fracking are not the answer to the UK's energy problems.

See full briefing


Fracking...coming to a field near you?

(Friends of the Earth, Ribble Estuary Against Fracking, Residents Action on Fylde Fracking)

This A5 flyer provides background information on fracking for shale gas, the risks and what we can do to prevent it in the UK.

See full flyer

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During this Holiday Season, please support Marcellus Protest

Nov 25 2013

Dear Supporters of Marcellus Protest,

November 2013 marks the third anniversary of Pittsburgh's ban on fracking. Pittsburgh was the first community in the entire world to take this bold action, and the Marcellus Protest organization is proud of our role in helping to make it happen.

At this time of holiday giving, we are asking our friends to make a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts. To do so, you can donate online by going to our website www.marcellusprotest.org/donate, or you can send a check to our fiscal sponsor, made out the "The Thomas Merton Center" with "Marcellus Protest" in the memo field. Checks should be mailed to: The Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224.

http://www.marcellusprotest.org/appeal_2013

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http://frack-off.org.uk/ Latest Developments

Balcombe: Fracking Threatens Sussex Cuadrilla Resources have been trying bring equipment onto the site. An ongoing community blockade is stopping them Read more...

Airth: Britain`s first unconventional gas site? Dart Energy is appealing an application in Scotland, to build 14 sites with 22 wells and 20 km of pipelines near Airth. Read more...

Spin-busting: What is really going on in Lancashire?:Five sites, four planning applications, two CEOs and one public relations 'creative generalist' Read more...

New to fracking and extreme energy? Learn all about the tidal wave of increasingly destructive energy extraction processes threatening the British Isles. Read more...

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http://phys.org/news/2013-05-scientist-methane-cross-continent.html Scientist studies methane levels in cross-continent drive May 15, 2013
2-ucsantabarba.jpg
This image shows cross-country data superimposed over satellite data from SCIAMACHY and from GOSAT. Satellite data shows positive methane anomalies for the southern US are centered on eastern Texas. Credit: UCSB

–After taking a rented camper outfitted with special equipment to measure methane on a cross-continent drive, a UC Santa Barbara scientist has found that methane emissions across large parts of the U.S. are higher than currently known, confirming what other more local studies have found. Their research is published in the journal Atmospheric Environment.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, stronger than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timescale, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, though on a century timescale, carbon dioxide is far stronger. "This research suggests significant benefits to slowing climate change could result from reducing industrial methane emissions in parallel with efforts on carbon dioxide," said Ira Leifer, a researcher with UCSB's Marine Science Institute.

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Where's all the drinking water going...?

http://www.rainharvest.co.za/2012/10/fracking-methane-found-in-drinking-water-across-texas/

Fracking: Methane found in drinking water across Texas
October 20, 2012

Hydraulic fracturing contaminating the drinking water across Texas is a concern to the Lubbock community.

methane-in-water.jpg

The city of Lubbock held its monthly Board of Health meeting Friday afternoon at the Civic Center to discuss the updates on hydraulic fracturing.

Board member and activist LeAnn Lamb-Vines said studies have shown that methane has been found in drinking water in different areas of Texas.

“After we were reviewing these studies, we did find what I consider sufficient, scientific grounds for serious concerns,” Lamb-Vines said. “There has been some strong, scientific evidence for groundwater contamination coming from these studies.”

The natural gas shale and oil shale are usually more than 1,000 feet below the groundwater sources. Hearing something like this would usually be reassuring to most people since the distance between the shale and groundwater seem far enough to avoid contamination. Unfortunately, after new data was released, it has been proven that even 1,000 feet below groundwater doesn’t mean drinking water is safe, she said.

Last year board member Ted Reid shared the activists’ concerns, citing a 2011 National Academy of Sciences study of water sources near northeastern Pennsylvania hydraulic fracturing wells. Those studies showed an increase in methane levels were detected in underground water sources closer to the fracturing locations and contamination from fracturing wells into nearby water sources.

“New data shows that methane from shale that comes 1,000 feet below drinking water was found to be contaminating drinking water,” Lamb-Vines said. “This doesn’t establish that it will happen in Lubbock, but it does pass down on what we thought was a very reassuring distance between the shale and groundwater.”


Hydraulic fracturing is a process used in nine out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States, where millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart the rock and release the gas.

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Fracking UK:

Green Peace

Fracking in the UK: Will fracking lower bills?

Newsdesk blog post posted by damiankahya on 27/09/2013 - 09:50

... Fracking is a “massive opportunity to help families with their bills” according to the Prime Minister. See also: Fracking: It's economics stupid A critique of the arguments in this blog ...

Fracking in the UK: What does the Poyry report on fracking for shale gas mean for bills?

Newsdesk blog post posted by damiankahya on 20/08/2013 - 09:49

... See also FOI's reveal Lord Brown tried to water down fracking regulations In all the light and heat (not ... reveal how the regulations were made (Part 1) Fracking and Naturally Occuring Radioactive Materials (NORM) The ...

Water UK and fracking memorandum - Greenpeace response

Press Release posted by Graham Thompson on 27/11/2013 - 15:34

... new memorandum of understanding between Water UK and the fracking industry, Greenpeace Energy Spokesperson Anna Jones said : “This agreement acknowledges that fracking will impact and affect the UK’s water resources and environment. ...

Notts Against Fracking film night

Local Group Event posted by Burdie on 22/10/2013 - 18:18

... Notts Against Fracking are holding a film show and discussion about fracking at the Maze. They will be showing Promised Land starring Matt ...

Water industry fracking deal confirms risks - Greenpeace

Press Release posted by kcumming on 27/11/2013 - 15:31

... new memorandum of understanding between Water UK and the fracking industry, Greenpeace Energy Spokesperson Anna Jones said: “This agreement acknowledges that fracking will impact and affect the UK’s water resources and environment. ...

Fracking in the UK: Fracking and Naturally Occuring Radioactive Materials

Newsdesk blog post posted by Kyla Mandel on 15/08/2013 - 12:17

... Who owns the rights to drill in the UK ? Will fracking lower bills ? And Bishop Hill's take here Where are ... because radium 226 was found last year in returned fracking fluids at the Preese Hall site. Energydesk takes a ...

Join the fracking block

Donation In Situ - Petition posted by jamie on 14/10/2013 - 10:04

... Join the fracking block Refuse permission for fracking companies to drill under your home ...

Fracking bosses: "it's like pushing sh**e uphill"

Blog Entry posted by kcumming on 06/11/2013 - 13:15

Fracking in Balcolmbe ... Two things struck me about the appearance of fracking bosses in front of the House of Lords' Economic Affairs Committee ...

Wrongmove - building the legal block against fracking

Local Group Event posted by dshubble on 20/11/2013 - 10:42

... Did you know that it's unlawful for fracking companies to drill under your home without your permission? Well, we ... else know too so we can build a legal block against fracking by signing people up to block the frackers by withholding permission ...

Fracking in the UK: FOI Documents reveal confusion over shale regulation

Newsdesk blog post posted by damiankahya on 15/08/2013 - 12:29

... the inside story on the government's attempts to regulate fracking in the UK and how it asked Exxon for help. ... story on how regulators started to get to grips with fracking in the UK. The emails and briefing documents, largely from the ...

edit typo

Edited by John Dolva
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The UK is not the only nation feeling a strain on water resources from the fracking boom. In the U.S. record temperatures this summer led to water shortages and drought in states like Texas and Colorado. According to an AP analysis, the vast majority of counties in these states have fracking operations. In October, a report was released showing that the volumes of water used for fracking in the Marcellus Shale states of West Virginia and Pennsylvania are putting a major strain on freshwater reserves.

“The desperate search for shale gas and oil mustn’t be allowed to cause water shortages for critical public purposes,” said Tony Bosworth, a Friends of the Earth campaigner.

“Fracking is not the solution to our energy problems—it won’t lead to cheaper energy bills,” Bosworth said. “The government should pull the plug on its dash for dirty shale gas and develop Britain’s plentiful renewable power potential.”

Visit EcoWatch’s FRACKING page for more related news on this topic.

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RT:

Recommended
000_arp3621860.op.jpg

Wrecking the Earth: Fracking has grave radiation risks few talk about 13

Fracking nightmare: ‘Like living in a very heavy industrial zone’

Published time: November 29, 2013 04:17

Texan anti-fracking activist Sharon Wilson described to RT the consequences of fracking she had to face, including being forced to move home due to air pollution, a lack of clean water and toxic chemicals.

Wilson was forced to move out of her home, which was located on the Barnett Shale formation in Texas, because “it was like living on the edge of a volcano,” according to her blog. She became an activist to fight fracking and help others facing the same situation.

RT: You had to move house because of fracking in your neighborhood. What was the worst thing about it?

Sharon Wilson: It just totally changed the character of the country. I moved to the country because I wanted my children to grow up in peace and with clean air and clean water. At one time I turned my tap on and nothing came out, which was very frightening. The air was degraded horribly. Trucks, lights, noise – it completely changed the character. It was like living in a very heavy industrial zone.

RT: But what was so bad that you had to move?

SW: The worst concern to me was to end up without water or that my son could end up being sick from the chemicals that he was being exposed to.

RT: And of course, if you didn’t want to live there, it would be difficult to find other people who would.

SW: I lost about $80,000 in property value.

RT: What action are you now taking against fracking?

SW: For years I was a volunteer activist. And then, two years ago, Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project hired me to be their Texas organizer. I stay very busy here. People contact me constantly with all sorts of problems they’re experiencing.

RT: France introduced a ban on fracking. What's stopping America from doing the same?

...

http://rt.com/op-edge/anti-fracking-activist-texas-461/

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Fracking the world
0 28
Issue 442

Big oil is on the move. there’s a rush to exploit new sources of ‘unconventional’ natural gas via hydraulic fracturing – or ‘fracking’. The environmental price tag, as Joyce Nelson reports, is steep.

fracking600x256.jpg
Warning: drink at your peril! Tap water drawn from aquifers that have been contaminated by fracking is so full of toxic chemicals that it can be set alight. www.gaslandthemovie.com
- See more at: http://newint.org/features/2011/05/01/fracking-the-word-gasland-film/#sthash.89v3W6rB.dpuf
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General News

12/1/2013 at 13:32:59

Massachusetts seeks 10-yr ban on gas fracking after series of Texas quakes

opednews.com

Original published at RT

s_500_rt_com_0_fraa-1.si.gif

Image Credit

(image by Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

An environmental committee at Massachusetts Statehouse has approved a bill imposing a 10-year ban on fracking for natural gas. The move comes as a wave of earthquakes in Texas has raised new concerns over the controversial drilling technique.

The Massachusetts fracking moratorium bill is designed to protect the state's drinking water from possible contamination and thus "ensure that the health and prosperity of our communities is maintained," according to one of the legislation's sponsors, Northampton Democratic state Rep. Peter Kocot, cited by AP.

To become law, the temporary ban on fracking has yet to be approved by the lawmakers and signed by the Democratic Governor, Deval Patrick.

The Massachusetts legislative move was taken on Friday, the day after Texas was struck by a 3.6 magnitude earthquake, one in a row of similar episodes during the last three weeks. The finger of blame is being pointed at fracking. The series of small earthquakes caused no casualties, but left local Texas residents fearing worse could be in store.

Fracking is a drilling technique that involves injecting chemical-laden water deep into the ground, exploding it and then pumping it back, together with the gas released as a result of the blast. The water is then separated from the gas and is disposed of by being injected back into the ground.

Anti-fracking sentiment grows among Texans

The smell of chemicals preceded the series of Texas tremors, according to Rebecca Williams, a resident in the town of Azle, which was affected by the most powerful earthquake so far in the series.

"We could not figure out where the chemicals were coming from," Williams told RT. "Then we started having the earthquakes. The earthquakes seemed to be getting stronger. When the 3.6 one happened I tried to get up and run downstairs and my house was shaking so bad, I could not even run."

Williams is sure the cracks in the walls of her house are a direct result of the fracking practices. Meanwhile, in the neighboring Denton County, an anti-fracking activist, Tara Linn Hunter, links her own aggravated health problem to the drilling.

"We all live at the foot of a gas well in my town," she told RT. "The biggest effect it had on me personally is asthma. Nebulizers, inhalers are part of my daily life and that's become increasingly worse in the five years I've lived in this town."

Hunter says 40 percent of energy in Denton comes from wind and most locals would like the practice to expand, but that's unlikely to happen soon, as some of the "city council members have ties to the oil and gas industry," according to the activist.

This attitude is shared by Calvin Tillman, the former mayor of Dish, Texas, now an environmental activist, who believes that the oil and gas lobby in Texas is more powerful than in any other state.

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http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2013/11/27/the-benefits-of-lieing-about-the-creation-of-jobs/ The Benefits of Lieing about the Creation of Jobs

by Duane Nichols on November 27, 2013

shale-jobs-300x242.png

Six-State Study Confirms Job Numbers Exaggerated by Fracking Industry

From the Article by Policy Matters Ohio, November 21, 2013

Drilling in the six states that span the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations has produced far fewer new jobs than the industry and its supporters claim, according to a report released today by the Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative, a group of state-level research organizations tracking the impacts of shale drilling.

“Industry supporters have exaggerated the jobs impact in order to minimize or avoid altogether taxation, regulation and even careful examination of shale drilling,” said Frank Mauro, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute in New York.

Shale drilling has created jobs, particularly in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and cushioned some drilling-intensive areas in those states from the worst effects of the Great Recession and the weak recovery. As this report documents, however, the number of shale jobs created is far below industry claims and remains a small share of overall employment.

“This report shows very few shale-related jobs created in Ohio,” said Amanda Woodrum, energy researcher at Policy Matters Ohio. “If Pennsylvania and West Virginia are indicators of what we can expect in Ohio, employment in Ohio’s shale industry will continue to be very modest.”

“Shale drilling has made little difference in job growth in any of the six states we studied,” said Stephen Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center in Pennsylvania. “We know this because we now have data on what happened, not what industry supporters hoped would happen.”

Recent trends are consistent with the boom and bust pattern that has characterized extractive industries for decades. It also points to the need for state and local policymakers to collaborate to enact policies that serve the public interest.

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RT : http://rt.com/news/romania-shale-gas-chevron-652/

"activists have launched a petition campaign on the web calling to “Stop Chevron and police abuse in Pungesti”. Once 20,000 signatures are collected, the document will be sent to the European Parliament, the European Commission, and human rights organizations.

“This abusive intervention is without precedent in a democratic Romania and it follows two months of continuous harassment and intimidation of the local community. It is an irresponsible, dangerous attack on human and civil rights, as recognized worldwide,” it reads.

By Tuesday evening, over 18,650 people had signed the petition. "

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