Tag: hydrofracking

Nov 26

2012

Can fracking threaten the Great Lakes?

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It is against the law to drill for natural gas under the Great Lakes, but that doesn’t mean they are safe. Lois Gibbs, an environmental activist famous for leading the charge to clean up the Love Canal in Niagara Falls, points out that it is still legal to drill for natural gas underneath rivers, streams and creeks that feed into the Great Lakes. Gibbs says the natural gas industry is already starting hydrofracking around the Great Lakes. “This is insane,” she wrote. “It’s unbelievable, hundreds of chemicals injected all around our fresh water lakes that both the U.S. and Canada have[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Nov 20

2012

‘SUNY is not for sale’ to oil and gas

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Kevin Connor, the co-director of the watchdog group Public Accountability Initiative, said on his website today that the University at Buffalo sent a strong message to the oil and gas industry on Monday when it pulled the plug on its embattled Shale Resources and Society Institute. “SUNY is not for sale,” Connor wrote. The shale institute released a study in May that was favorable to hydrofracking, which is the practice of using water and other chemicals to dig deep into dense shale formations underground for natural gas. But Connor’s watchdog group found numerous inaccuracies in the study. He also said[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Nov 19

2012

UB pulls plug on Shale Institute

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The dark cloud is dissipating over the University at Buffalo and its short-lived Shale Resources and Society Institute. UB President Satish K. Tripathi announced Monday he has closed the institute. The decision comes seven months after the institute released a controversial study that claimed instances of pollution related to the process of natural gas drilling called hydrofracking declined 60 percent from 2008 to August 2011 because of regulation in Pennsylvania. As a result, the Marcellus industry cut incidences of environmental violations by more than half in three years, the study claimed. Artvoice exposed the institute before the university ever announced its existence, raising questions[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Nov 12

2012

Lennon wants Cuomo to imagine no fracking

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Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and their organization “Artists Against Fracking” are using a large billboard off a New York City highway to put pressure on Gov. Cuomo to “imagine there’s no fracking.” The Rolling Stone magazine  says the Major Deegan Expressway, where the billboard is situated in the skyline, is well traveled by the governor. Sean Lennon, the only son of John Lennon and Ono, was also critical of the natural gas extraction process in an op/ed in the New York Times. His family farm is under threat from hydrofracking interests, he says. The governor and the state Department of Environmental[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Oct 18

2012

Long draws laughter on hydrofracking comments

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U.S. Senate hopeful Wendy Long didn’t shy away from her strong support of hydrofracking during Wednesday night’s debate hosted by YNN at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. In fact, she was quite bold about her opinions. The hydrofracking portion of the debate begins at about the 50:30 mark of the video on YNN’s website. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said drilling for natural gas presents a significant economic opportunity and can be a potential clean source of energy. However, she wants more study of the chemical concentrations used in hydrofracking and what, if any, health impacts they have. The senator said there[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 22

2012

Study says costs of fracking are big

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A new report from the Environment America Research & Policy Center highlights how fracking has more problems than just environmental ones. The study states that the state governments are expending big money for new infrastructure and road repairs because of fracking efforts. But there’s more: A 2010 study in Texas found homes within 1,000 feet of a well saw values drop as much as 14 percent. Texas has earmarked $40 million in road repairs in the area called the Barnett Shale region and Pennsylvania estimated $265 million is needed to repair damaged roads in the Marcellus Shale region. The study[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 20

2012

Grist Answers 5 Fracking Questions

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Got questions about hydrofracking? Turn to Grist for at least five answers. Here’s Grist’s Fracking FAQ. One tidbit that popped out at me was this: A study published in May 2011 in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found a link between methane in drinking water supplies and proximity to shale gas drilling. Seven months later, the EPA said for the first time that chemicals used in fracking had been found in drinking water in Pavillion, Wyo., home to hundreds of natural gas wells. And in July 2012, the U.S. EPA said its tests of wells around[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 16

2012

‘Frack’-tured faculty at UB over shale gas study

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Charles F. Zukoski, the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for University at Buffalo, this week called for a committee to review policies and practices for research, scholarships and publications in light of the controversy with the university’s Shale Research and Society Institute’s (SRSI) study on shale gas exploration. Artvoice also has some eye-opening documents in its investigation of the controversy. That SRSI study used data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to show that instances of pollution related to hydrofracking declined 60 percent from 2008 to August 2011 because of regulation. Hydrofracking is the practice of[...]

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post