Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
October 27, 2011
As Pennsylvania becomes central to an international tight gas boom, the world is watching…
Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve certainly heard about hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from shale. The Marcellus and Utica shales, largely located in Pennsylvania, may very well be the second largest shale gas reserves in the world.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, China has the most “technically recoverable” unconventional gas, with 36.1 trillion cubic metres. Argentina comes in third with an estimated 21.9 trillion. South Africa, Australia, Canada and Poland all have serious shale gas deposits, too. [Source: The Economist, August 6, 2011] (more…)
Tags:Blackpool earthquakes, Caudrilla, China, Poland, Shell
Posted in Energy, Environment, hydraulic fracturing, shale gas pollution | 1 Comment »
October 21, 2011
The following is a press release from The Delaware Riverkeeper Network:
Delaware Riverkeeper Resigns From Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission
For Immediate Release, Contact: Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, 215 369 1188 ext 102
October 20, 2011, Bristol, PA – Days before the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission is scheduled to release its final report and recommendations, Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, resigned from her post as a Commissioner for the group. (more…)
Tags:Delaware Riverkeeper, Marcellus Citizens Commission, van Rossum
Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
October 18, 2011
None of the top three Republican Presidential contenders give much credence to the science of Global Climate Change. To ignore it the way they do just seems stupid, and this sets the table for my impressions of these motley characters. I cringe watching all the coverage about the Republican Primary. I don’t disagree with everything they say, but when they speak about energy, the environment or the EPA, they all have the same under-informed, unabashedly biased voice.
Republicans for Obama?
Really? Do they exist? Yesterday, at the supermarket, I saw a Prius with a brand new bumper sticker that read: “Republicans for Obama.” According to their website, “Republicans for Obama is a grassroots organization of proud party members who all share one important trait— we are Americans first and Republicans second.” Cool. I’m a registered Democrat and even I’ve been less than supportive of our president lately. His federal advisory commission on shale gas drilling is stacked with industry insiders, and the revolving door between industry and government has never spun faster. But at least Obama believes in Climate Change! (more…)
Tags:EPA, Marcellus Shale Gas, Rick Perry
Posted in Energy, Environment, epa, Politics, shale gas pollution | Leave a Comment »
October 5, 2011
UPDATE: The DRBC announced today that it will postpone the October 21 meeting date to vote on the new gas regulations. The meeting is now scheduled for November 21, 2011.
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ORIGINAL POST: The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will vote on October 21, 2011 whether to open the “Special Protection Waters” of The Upper Delaware to industrial shale gas drilling. If new DRBC regulations are passed, the current moratorium on hydraulic fracturing will come to an end, and fracking will begin in earnest in the Delaware River watershed region. (more…)
Tags:delaware river, DRBC, New drilling regulations, PA DEP
Posted in anti-fracking movement, Energy, Environment, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
September 30, 2011
BrynMawr, PA-based Aqua America is one of the nation’s largest water and wastewater treatment companies, serving over 3 million customers across 12 states. Their largest water customer is Exelon Energy. Soon, though, Marcellus Shale gas drillers may provide an even larger revenue stream. Aqua will see tidy profits selling the Susquehanna River Basin water it pulls in Lycoming county to gas drillers in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier. It’s simply good business to accommodate them by laying 18-miles of 12-inch pipe. (more…)
Tags:Anne Minicozzi, Aqua America, Aqua PA, DiBenedictis, Penn Virginia, PVR Resources Partners, Range Resources
Posted in Environment, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | 1 Comment »
September 27, 2011
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is the only government entity standing between industrial shale gas drilling in the “Special Protection Waters” of the Delaware River watershed region and the 15.6 million people living downstream in Southeastern PA who rely on this river for drinking water. In September, the DRBC held its final public hearing on the issue of rules for horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware Basin in West Trenton, NJ. At least they held it, right? The hearing was called for 1:30pm, but Food & Water Watch, Protecting Our Waters, and other water action groups had a protest going by noon. The upshot: The DRBC is currently scheduled to vote on whether to allow fracking in the Delaware River Basin on November 21, 2011. (more…)
Tags:Corbett, Delaware River Basin Commission, DRBC, Food Water Watch, fracking in the delaware, Krancer
Posted in Environment, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Politics, Stop Fracking PA! | 1 Comment »
September 13, 2011
If you live in Pennsylvania, and you haven’t read it yet, download/buy/borrow The End of Country right now. Done? Author Seamus McGraw is not only well-informed, he’s irreverent and blunt. To wit, his recent post on Facebook: “I’ve long argued that the two most dangerous chemicals that are used far too liberally in the fracking process are testosterone and adrenaline.”
As a man who facilitated the leasing of his mother’s land to Chesapeake Energy (testosterone), he is often perceived to be a part of the problem by angry fractivists (adrenaline). I would suggest that here’s a guy, a self-proclaimed environmentalist and early biofuel user, who understands the very real dangers of fracking, (more…)
Tags:Coal, renewable energy, Seamus McGraw, T. Boon Pickens
Posted in Energy, Environment, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA!, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
September 8, 2011
Wake The Village! Again
This morning, I sat in traffic for nearly three hours. Record flooding, mudslides and downed trees blocked the way of nearly every commuter in the region. It was a nightmare. I was late for the Freedom from Fracking Conference in Center City, and I was ticked. I arrived just in time to catch hydrogeologist Paul Rubin’s workshop, Our Aquifers, Our Drinking Water: Casualties of Gas Development. 
(more…)
Tags:2011, Freedom From Fracking, Paul Rubin, September 7
Posted in anti-fracking movement, Energy, Environment, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
September 7, 2011
The purpose of the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission September 6th hearing at the Free Library of Philadelphia was to “delve deeper into a variety of shale gas issues, including water and air quality, social impacts of gas drilling, the drilling tax, and impacts outside Marcellus communities.” A host of invited presenters gave detailed testimony in their area of expertise, then the floor was open to public comment. This was, by far, the more colorful aspect of the evening, (more…)
Tags:Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission, crowley, frost, Paul Rubin, PennFuture, sliberman, tsou, Vitali
Posted in Environment, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Politics, shale gas pollution | 2 Comments »
August 30, 2011
Long before the word fracking was in our lexicon, Food and Water Watch was advocating nationally against the dangers of industrial shale gas drilling. For years, this DC-based organization has been sounding the alarm over the chemicals used and the toxic waste produced by hydraulic fracturting. Today, they stand among better known environmental advocates such as the Sierra Club, in thick of Pennsylvania’s increasingly contentious legislative battle, armed with popular petitions, mounting scientific evidence and growing public concern. (more…)
Tags:anti-fracking petition, Maude Barlow, New York Fracking Ban, Wenonah Hauter
Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing | 2 Comments »
August 29, 2011
I’ve called him a gasbag, and predicted he would flip the environmental bird to Camden County and South Jersey by not signing the ban on hydraulic fracturing passed by NJ state legislature earlier this summer. My next guess would have been a series of stall tactics, the likes of which Pennsylvania excels. Surprisingly, Governor Christie neither stalled nor outright vetoed. (No one thought he’d actually approve the measure, not just like that.) Turns out, he took a refreshingly moderate path with a conditional veto of the fracking ban, and the prudent step of proposing a moratorium on gas drilling for one year. (more…)
Tags:Chis Chirstie, Fracking ban, New Jersey
Posted in Energy, Environment | Leave a Comment »
August 20, 2011
The kids are home! Camp was great, and once again there’s a wait at Ruby’s Diner. It’s that pleasant interim between peak summer and back-to-school. Last week, on a trip to New England, my husband took us on a tour of the overnight camp where he spent six glorious summers in his youth. It was heartwarming to see him share his memories with our camp-aged son as he endeavored to warm him up to the idea of maybe going there, too. It was all I could do not to go around picking up the wet towels. I could totally see why it’s one of his “happy places.” (more…)
Tags:b'nai b'rith, fracking, Morasha, New Jersey Y, overnight camps, perlman starlight, poconos, Shalom Center
Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
August 17, 2011
In a controlled test conducted by the US Forest Service initiated in 2008, frack waste was applied to a contained 1/4-acre of deciduous forest in West Virginia. I’ve been saying it for months, “Test, Baby, Test.” By that, I meant independent baseline testing (more…)
Tags:Fernow, frack waste test, Mother Nature Network, US Forest Service
Posted in Environment, epa, fresh water pollution, PA DEP, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA! | 3 Comments »
August 2, 2011
[UPDATE: April 5, 2012]: Eureka Resources Supports New Pennsylvania DEP Standards Encouraging Reuse-of-Wastewater From Oil and Gas Sites
[Original Post]: As of May, 2011, the PA Department of Environmental Protection has insisted that industrial gas drillers in Pennsylvania “stop sending toxic wastewater to 15 treatment plants unequipped to purify it.” There has been little mention of the millions of gallons of untreated frack waste that were released prior to the dumping deadline but hey, as the saying goes, it’s water under the bridge, right?
Seemingly overnight, gas drillers such as Chesapeake Energy began claiming that they now re-use or recycle 100% of their hydrofracking flowback. Other drilling companies have proffered similarly impressive percentages. Wow. That’s one nimble industry! In the space of a mere 28 days – not 28 months – they were able to revamp their industrial waste-stream and totally eliminate one of environmentalists’ biggest concerns. Amazing.
Water re-use has been key to substantiating the gas drillers’ claims. (more…)
Tags:Aqua-Pure Fountain Quail, Eureka Resources, Frack Waste Recycling, Halldorson, Layne Christensen
Posted in Environment, Pennsylvania Watersheds | 7 Comments »
July 25, 2011
When I first read Josh Nathan-Kazis’ July 13 article in The Jewish Daily Forward, entitled Fracking Comes to Jewish Summer Camp, I was appalled that any children’s camp, or school or university, would lease their land for money, and expose children in our state to the horrible pollution associated with hydrofracking. Yet the Wayne Country property, home of the B’nai B’rith Perlman camp, is not the only one. About ten Jewish Camps, including the New Jersey Y, have already signed leases or entered negotiations with companies like Hess and Chesapeake. (more…)
Tags:DEP, fracking, New Jersey Y, Perlman Camp, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, TheForward
Posted in Environment, epa, PA DEP, Stop Fracking PA! | 2 Comments »
July 25, 2011
The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, led by Lt. Governor Jim Cawley, has filed its long awaited report complete with 96 new suggestions. Many environmental groups agree that while the recommendations are a good start, they do not go far enough. To read the full recommendations, or a shorter summary, click here.
Tags:Cawley, fracking, Marcellus Advisory Commission, Report
Posted in Energy, Environment, hydraulic fracturing, Politics, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
July 25, 2011
Anti-Fracking Slogns, Help Yourself! Feel free to share yours in the Comments.
“Hey, Liz, Exxon called, they said Frack You!” My mom is giggling like a naughty kid, and while I know she thinks she’s being clever, I’ve heard that one before. Fractivists are way more highbrow than that! Here are a few of the best slogans I’ve seen:
Hey Obama: Don’t Pass Gas!
Frack is Wack
Methane Blows
Solar Doesn’t Spill
Drill, Baby, Burn!
Get The Frack Out!
They Get Rich. You Get Cancer.
Can’t Drink Money
Love Your River
Health Over Profit
Don’t Be Fracking Crazy!
Fraccidents Happen
Solar Now!
Save Philly Water Ice!
A River Is A Terrible Thing to Waste
NOPE: Not On Planet Earth
Thank You for Not Leasing
Stop Fracking US!
Fracking: F-Bomb of the Future
Water & Fracking Don’t Mix
Not So Fast, Natural Gas
Tags:anti-fracking slogans, Stop the Frack Attack
Posted in Energy, Environment, fracking, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
July 22, 2011
This week, Anthony Brino at SolveClimate News reported that residents near Beaver Run Reservoir in Westmoreland County are concerned over the risk of toxic pollution from a CNX frack wellpad which sits on a low-lying peninsula in the reservoir. (more…)
Tags:Beaver Run Reservoir, Brino, fracking, Solve Climate News, Westmoreland Water Authority
Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
July 15, 2011
More Study, But Mostly Cement…
Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission voted today to include 96 measures in their final report today. Populated heavily by drilling advocates with a token sprinkling of environmentalists, the group will file its final report on July 22, at which time it will be made public. Not surprisingly, their recommendations are more about making sure gas happens than making sure it happens right. (more…)
Tags:Cawley, Corbett, Jan Jarrett, Jim Cawley, Marcellus Advisory Commssion, PennFuture
Posted in Energy, Environment, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »
Keep Tap Water Safe 