The potential upsides and downsides of fracking technology for oil and gas keep coming. A new study focuses on alleged contamination of drinking water in one of the highest-profile, longstanding cases. MarketPlace. Mar 30 2016
http://www.marketplace.org/2016/03/29/world/study-fracking-contaminated-water-supply
New research has confirmed the link between fracking in the oil and gas fields of Western Canada and flurries of earthquakes that have been shaking the region.
The Globe and Mail, Mar. 29, 2016
Earthquakes caused by human activity will now be included in the U.S. Geological Survey’s seismic risk maps, the agency said on Monday. Reuters. Mar 29 2016
An interfaith group of religious organizations held a rally at the state Capitol Monday, calling on Governor Tom Wolf to halt natural gas development. StateImpact Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. Mar 22 2016
One of the happy outcomes of the 2016 legislative session was the defeat of a measure that would have stripped local governments of any control over fracking in their communities. Tampa Tribune, Florida. Mar 20 2016
Three years ago, as Forrest Smith walked around an old oilfield on the Fort Peck Reservation, in the remote northeastern corner of Montana, he spoke optimistically about the potential for the Bakken oil boom to reach the reservation and pull the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes out of poverty. Mountain West News. Mar 20 2016
https://medium.com/mountain-west-news/over-a-barrel-ec09767efea1#.qudeqkodn
In a letter handed to the Daily Mirror, celebrities urged the PM not to allow fracking in communities that have already rejected it. Glasgow Daily Record, United Kingdom. Mar 15 2016
Fracking is set to lead to a sharp rise in emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases, an authoritative new study reveals. The Independent, United Kingdom. Mar 14 2016
Cabot Oil and Gas Corp., a Texas-based driller of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale, last week lost a long-running case in the Susquehanna County town of Dimock. A federal jury decided that Cabot’s drilling in the early days of the shale boom had contaminated two water wells. Two families, who chose not to be part of a 2012 settlement, were awarded a total of $4.24 million. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pennsylvania. Mar 13 2016
The South African government said on Tuesday that exploration for shale gas will begin in the next 12 months, ending years of speculation over the project. Agence France-Presse. Mar 09 2016