Fracking

Lancashire Fracking Debate: They’re Changing Laws For Themselves

August 18, 2015 Ben Quinn, www.theguardian.com Resist! Fracking, United Kingdom (UK)

By Ben Quinn in The Guardian - Resting a hand on the shoulder of his nine-year-old daughter, Samantha, John Tootill shakes his head as he gazes over the lush green fields near Lancashire’s Fylde coast that have become the new focus in Britain’s battle over fracking. “It’s for her and her brother that we’re fighting them, really,” says Tootil, 61, who fears that plans to drill on a number of local sites, in what would be the UK’s biggest round of fracking so far, will destroy his farm and garden nursery business, as well as poison the wider area forever. Such are his concerns that he recently withdrew Samantha and her eight-year-old brother from their local school.

Anti-fracking Activists Discuss Their Arrest

August 17, 2015 Steve Ahlquist, www.rifuture.org Resist! Civil Disobedience, Environment, Fracking, Oil & Gas

By Steve Ahlquist in RI Future - The two activists who chained themselves to a gate at theSpectra pipeline project site Thursday morning were released that afternoon from District Court on $1000 personal recognizance pending an August 25th court date. Peter Nightingale, a physics professor from the University of Rhode Island and Dr. Curtis Nordgaard, a pediatrician from Massachusetts left the courthouse in good spirits. Those tasked with disentangling the activists from the gate they had locked themselves to were for the most part respectful and took care not to harm them, said Nightingale. The point of the action is to call attention to the dangers of fracked gas, and the terrible effect such extraction has on the planet’s climate. Nordgaard reflected on his privilege, which kept him from facing the worst aspects of his short time in jail and guaranteed his good treatment at the hands of the police.

One Year In FLIR: Exposing Invisible Fracking Air Pollution

August 13, 2015 Hillary Lewis, www.earthworksaction.org Resist! Environment, Fracking, pollution

By Hillary Lewis in Earth Works Action - One year ago, thanks to the generous support of Earthworks members, we bought a FLIR Gasfinder camera to expose otherwise invisible air pollution from fracking and drilling operations. With this camera, we are able see what industry is trying to hide, and show that fracking isn't clean or safe. We put the results of this technology in the hands of everyday citizens living with oil and gas in their backyard so they can see what's really going on and demand action. We call it the Citizens Empowerment Project. Today, we have almost 150 videos documenting fracking pollution in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. And that's just the beginning.

Study: Fracking In The Delaware River Basin Would Threaten Health Of 45,000

August 13, 2015 Natasha Geiling, www.thinkprogress.org Educate! Delaware River, Environment, Fracking, Public Health, Study

By Natasha Geiling in Think Progress - Encompassing the longest free-flowing river in the eastern United States, the Delaware River Basin also happens to sit partially on top of the Marcellus Shale, the second largest gas field in the world. To date, a moratorium put in place by the Delaware River Basin Commission has kept gas companies out of the Delaware River Basin — but environmental groups worry that without a permanent ban, the basin could be opened to fracking at a moment’s notice. Now, a new study seeks, for the first time, to quantify the environmental impact of opening the Delaware River Basin to fracking — and what natural gas extraction could mean for the communities that call the region home. The Delaware River, which begins its flow from springs tucked away in New York’s Catskill Mountains, winds for nearly 400 miles before emptying into the Delaware Bay and, eventually, the Atlantic Ocean.

Sacramento Activists Sing ‘No Fracking No Way’

August 9, 2015 Dan Bacher, www.indybay.org Resist! California, Fracking

By Dan Bacher for Indy Bay - The Sacramento Chapter of "System Change Not Climate Change" held a protest, featuring the "Raging Grannies" singing their songs calling on the Brown administration to end fracking now. People gathered at 18 coordinated "Clean Not Extreme" events that were a part of a statewide day of action following the release of a statewide study on fracking and oil well stimulation in California. These actions demonstrated mounting public opposition to fracking and other extreme oil extraction methods and increasing support for a pathway to 100% clean energy, according to Californians Against Fracking. Other demonstrations took place in Auburn, Bakersfield, Eureka, Joshua Tree, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Modesto, Oakland, Roseville, San Diego, San Francisco, San Rafael, Venice and Ventura. "We are in the front of the Department of Conservation today to protest fracking, since this agency is the one that regulates fracking in California," said Chris Hodges, Sacramento organizer of "System Change Not Climate Change.

Fracking Opponents Call Colorado Oil & Gas Comm’n Illegitimate

August 8, 2015 Nat Stein, www.coloradoindependent.com Resist! Colorado, Democracy, Fracking

By Nat Stein for The Colorado Independent, Anne Harper and her neighbors feel powerless to stop the Encana Corporation from adding 12 gas wells within a half mile of their homes in Pleasant View Ridge – a rural community that straddles unincorporated Boulder and Weld counties. Harper doesn’t own mineral rights on the land, so she would have no legal recourse should there be any underground chemical leaching, blocked roads, spillage, explosions, noise pollution or any other infringement on her quality of life often associated with hydraulic fracturing. Monday, she joined more than 30 fracking opponents packing a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission meeting in Greeley to charge the commission with failing to regulate energy development “in a manner consistent with the protection of public health, safety, and welfare, including the environment and wildlife resources,” as the commission states in its mission. Coloradans Against Fracking, a coalition of 40 groups, showed up to declare that the commission is an illegitimate representative of the public interest.

International Fracktivists Converge In Basque Country

August 3, 2015 Steve Rushton, www.occupy.com Resist! Basque Country, Fracking, Oil & Gas

By Steve Rushton in Occupy - “This is the first time fracking activists have got together on this scale internationally – it has been incredible to meet people from struggles across the world, activists from Kurdistan to Brazil, from Ukraine to Portugal and Algeria," says Catriona, from Ireland, who attended Frackanpada held earlier this month in the Basque Country of Spain. Communities across both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are actively resisting efforts to frack for oil, Catriona said. But what this event showed her is that "it is a truly international [fight], united in our common struggle.” At Frackanpada, the world's first international anti-fracking camp that took place in mid-July, hundreds of activists from across the globe joined skill shares, attended panel discussions and watched documentaries dedicated to strategies and campaigns in resistance to fracking.

40 Earthquakes Hit Frack-Happy Oklahoma In Last 7 Days

July 30, 2015 Cole Mellino, www.ecowatch.com Educate! Earthquake, Fracking, Oklahoma

By Cole Mellino in EcoWatch - Yesterday Oklahoma recorded five earthquakes centered near Crescent, Oklahoma, some of which were felt in at least five states—Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. Three of the quakes measured above 4.0-magnitude and the biggest of these was a 4.5-magnitude earthquake, the strongest earthquake in the region since a magnitude-4.9 near Conway Springs, Kansas, on Nov. 12, 2014. The strongest magnitude earthquake on record occurred onNov. 5, 2011 and registered as 5.6-magnitude. There was no reported significant damage from the earthquakes, but the rate of earthquakes in Oklahoma has increased by about 50 percent in the last two years, greatly increasing the chance for a damaging quake, according to the USGS. There have been eight quakes of magnitude 3.0 or larger near Crescent since Saturday and during the past seven days,Oklahoma has experienced about 40 earthquakes.

Not All Fracking Is Banned In New York

July 29, 2015 Scott Waldman, www.capitalnewyork.com Educate! Environment, Fracking, New York (NY)

By Scott Waldman in Capital New York - A proposal to use gelled propane instead of water in fracking has led to a rare bit of agreement between some environmental groups in New York and the natural gas industry: They agree it could be exempt from the state's current fracking ban. The state completed a fracking ban in late June, but proponents as well as opponents agree that the gelled propane proposal could expose loopholes in the state's prohibition. The state's final ban is on high-volume hydraulic fracturing, which uses large volumes of water mixed with sand and chemicals to create fractures in rock that release gas. The gelled propane proposal, for test wells on a hay and corn farm in Tioga County in the Southern Tier, uses liquefied petroleum gas and sand instead of water to split the rock. The propane is recaptured as a gas when it rises back to the surface.

Activists Blockade Using Giant Replica Of Pope’s Encyclical

July 22, 2015 Sandra Steingraber, www.wearesenecalake.com Resist! Climate Change, Food and Agriculture, Fracking, Oil and Gas

By Sandra Steingraber of We Are Seneca Lake. Watkins Glen, NY – In an act of civil disobedience against gas storage in Seneca Lake salt caverns, 13 Finger Lakes residents, led by local members of the Ithaca Catholic Worker Movement, formed a human blockade shortly after sunrise this morning at the north entrance of Crestwood Midstream on Route 14. Carrying with them a seven-foot-tall replica of Pope Francis’ recent encyclical letter on climate change, Laudato Si! On Care for Our Common Home, they blocked all traffic from entering or leaving. Schuyler County deputies arrested the 13 shortly after 9:30 a.m. as they sang and read from the Ponitical document.

Parents And Supporters Protest Fracking Near Children’s’ Schools

July 19, 2015 Diane Sipe, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Fracking

By Diane Sipe for Popular Resistance - Over 70 parents and their supporters protested the placement of Rex Energy gas wells approximately one-half mile from their children’ schools on the Mars Area School District (MASD) campus. The rally, sponsored by Marcellus Outreach Butler, a founding coalition member of Protect Our Children, decried the practice of situating unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) and related infrastructure, often referred to as “fracking,” close to schools throughout the state. Several schools in Butler County located near gas drilling activities, the MASD schools being but an example, demonstrate the seriousness of the issue. The campus holds five schools where about 3,200 students attend, along with faculty and staff. Another Butler County school, Summit Elementary School of the Butler Area School District (BASD) is an especially egregious example as there are 32 fracking wells within a two-mile radius upon completion of the well currently being completed, and a compressor station is planned nearby.

Shut Dominion Down To Stop Fracking In The East

July 16, 2015 Donny Williams, www.indiegogo.com Resist! Climate Change, Dominion, Fracking, Oil and Gas

By Donny Williams for We Are Cove Point. We Are Cove Point formed in December 2014 when a group of impacted local residents teamed up with activists from around the mid-Atlantic, determined to do everything we can to stop the construction of the massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal Dominion is building in the Cove Point neighborhood of Lusby, Maryland. The domestic fracking industry has seen better days and is counting on exports to be its golden solution that increases the value of fracked gas and funds a massive build-out of infrastructure and new fracking wells. In the eastern US, the success of this export terminal at Cove Point is the pivot point that will either lead to a vast expanse of wells, pipelines, compressor stations and gas-fired power plants (and all of the pollution, risks and health impacts that come with these things), or an industry with an uncertain future that's struggling to stay afloat.

‘Hey FERC: No New Permits!’ Protest

July 16, 2015 Donald Weightman, www.popularresistance.org Resist! FERC, FERCus, Fracking, Nuclear Energy, Oil and Gas

By Donald Weightman of Beyond Extreme energy. Washington, DC - As Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) promised, it returned to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this morning, renewing its May "FERCus" demonstrations, to stage three new interrelated demonstrations, demanding that there be "no new permits" for fracked (aka "natural") gas infrastructure. Two demonstrators got through heavy federal police security to enter the FERC Commissioners' meeting. When the meeting was underway, they stood up to address the Commissioners and demand that there be "no new permits". The protesters were escorted from the building by federal police.

Local Ohio Officials Reclaim Right To Protect Citizens From Fracking

July 11, 2015 Candice Bernd, www.truth-out.org Resist! Environment, Fracking, Local, Ohio, Politics

By Candice Bernd in Truth Out - More than 100 local Ohio officials, including mayors, county commissioners and city councilors, have issued a letter to Governor John Kasich petitioning him for the right to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) - or simply regulate drilling activities - within their own borders. The letter, organized by Environment America, states: "Fracking … imposes particular burdens on local communities, from strained services to ruined roads. As with other extractive booms, the arrival and expansion of fracking operations has been correlated with a wide range of social problems, including increases in domestic violence, drug use, traffic accidents and civil disturbances."

Kentucky’s Anti-Fracking Movement Deals Setback to Pipelines

July 10, 2015 Kelley Davidson, www.occupy.com Resist! Fracking, Kentucky, Oil & Gas, Oil Pipelines

By Kelley Davidson in Occupy - Some recent victories against powerful energy companies have given environmental activists in Kentucky a reason to celebrate. In late May, Bluegrass Pipeline LLC was denied eminent domain by the Kentucky Court of Appeals following a legal battle against environmental lawyer and renowned activist Tom FitzGerald, whose efforts succeeded in blocking a natural gas transport line across 13 Kentucky counties. FitzGerald, representing a group of concerned citizens called Kentuckians United to Restrict Eminent Domain, or KURED, managed to stave off a deal that would have transported gas fracked from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virgina through hundreds of miles of state farmland, and heading all the way down to the Gulf Coast.

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