Fracking
Fracking, the popular abbreviation for hydraulic fracturing, is a technique which injects highly-pressurized fluid into a well to split the rock and allow access to natural gas trapped within.
Energy companies, driven in no small part by dwindling reserves of easy-to-access fossil fuels, are increasingly turning to so-called unconventional sources of fossil fuels. Shale gas is one of these; and hydraulic fracturing promises to open up access to what is claimed to be vast to sources of natural gas, and profits. National governments too, driven by a desire for greater energy independence, want access to these reserves of natural gas.
But big questions remain about the environmental safety of fracking: Will fracking cause more earthquakes? Will the chemicals used contaminate drinking water? What will be the impact on small farms? Does natural gas obtained by fracking have similar greenhouse gas emissions to other natural gas?
Energy companies downplay all of these concerns. Politicians focus on energy independence. Environmentalists urge caution. Whatever side you're on, fracking is likely to remain an issue in the forefront of energy policy for some time.
Featured Stories in Fracking
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Increased Use of Natural Gas Will Make Climate Change Worse, Not Better, New Study Predicts
“The large GHG footprint of shale gas undercuts the logic of its use as a bridging fuel over coming decades, if the goal is to reduce global warming.”
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4.0 Earthquake Caused by Fracking in Ohio Was Felt in Toronto
After a series of 11 earthquakes in nine months, a fracking operation near Youngstown has been suspended.
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Farmer Calls on Reddit to Help Him Protect 30,000 Acres of His Homeland from Fracking
A farmer turns to the popular social media site to throw light on plans to lease 30,000 acres of land to fracking companies.
Tag: Fracking - Page 7
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Fracking Has "Real Risk Of Serious Environmental Consequences", Federal Subcommittee Reports
Progress has been made to reduce fracking's environmental impact, but less than the Subcommittee had hoped.
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Fracking May Have Polluted Wyoming Aquifer, EPA Investigation Finds
Newly presented data from the EPA shows fracking chemicals have indeed contaminated Pavillion, Wyoming wells.
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Are Anti-Fracking Activists Really An Insurgency? Natural Gas Industry Insider Suggests So
Tapes obtained from an industry conference reveal that some fracking proponents suggest that they are facing an insurgency from anti-fracking activists.
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How a Transition Town Defeated Fracking
Transition Towns usually focus on local food systems and generating clean energy. One group also took on the fracking industry. And won.
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Propane Gel Could Eliminate Water Use In Fracking - Satisfy Opponents?
A little-publicized, or used, method of fracking for natural gas could potentially eliminate some of the concerns of anti-fracking activists over water use and disposal.
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Fracking May Have Caused 50 Earthquakes in Oklahoma
A report from the U.S. Geological Survey reveals that fracking may already have caused small earthquakes in Oklahoma.
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Fracking Firm Admits It Caused Earthquakes in England
A UK fracking firm has confirmed that its operations were behind small earthquakes this Spring, but insists there is no cause for alarm.
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China Has More Shale Gas Than US, But Faces Bigger Technological, Environmental Hurdles
It's in less accessible areas, drilling technology has to be imported, and (like the US) development is already outpacing regulation.
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Fracking Wastewater Disposal Plan Could Send Contaminants Over Niagara Falls
A new fracking wastewater disposal plan could see it dumped upsteam from Niagara Falls; many doubt the ability of water treament plants to remove the contamination.
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Tar Sands Activists & Former Obama Organizers Demand President Reject Keystone XL Pipeline
Anti-fracking and tar sands activists, many of them self-described as organizers for Barack Obama in his first presidential campaign, are taking the President to task over his campaign promises about ending the tyranny of fossil fuels.
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Does New York City Really Need a New Natural Gas Pipeline, At the End of The High Line?
With all the rightful focus the environmental community is placing on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, you'd be forgiven for not hearing about another contentious proposed pipeline. There are echoes of Jane Jacobs versus Robert Moses here.
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Fracking Could Threaten Hot Springs in UNESCO-listed City of Bath, England
Coming on the heels of news of 'vast reserves' of shale gas in England, opponents of fracking are highlighting the potential threat the natural gas extraction method could pose in another area of the nation--this time to
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Scientists Tell New York Governor Municipal Water Systems Can't Handle Fracking
Nearly 60 scientists from 18 states and 7 foreign nations have weighed in on the ongoing fight over fracking in New York state. In letter sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo last week, the scientists said there is inadequate
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Josh Fox Earns An Emmy For 'Gasland'
The Emmys passed again on Steve Carrell, now for the fifth time, for his service on "The Office," but the voters didn't miss when they awarded Josh Fox one of those little statues for Outstanding Direction for Nonfiction Programming for Gasland. The
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Kenyan Oil Pipeline, French Nuclear Site Explode + Earthquakes, Flooding, Fracking & Fukushima
From today's pipeline explosion in Kenya and nuclear plant explosion in the south of France, to word coming late last week about the effects of the Virginia earthquake on nuclear power, to the amount of radiation released into the sea in the Fukushima
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Facts On Fracking, Pros & Cons of Hydraulic Fracturing For Natural Gas (Infographic)
In case your just getting up to speed on the loudly contentious debate about fracking then we've got an infographic for you. Produced by WellHome, it goes over the talking points of both proponents and detractors with a fairly even hand
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New Jersey Governor Vetoes Fracking Ban - Wants One Year Moratorium Instead
So New Jersey might not have a ban on fracking after all. Though the state legislature approved a ban on the natural gas extraction process at the end of June, governor Chris Christie has vetoed the bill, sending it back to
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Energy Dept Releases Fracking Recommendations - New Yorkers Split On Supporting Shale Gas
As expected, the DoE has announced its recommendations on what to do about the safety and environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, more commonly and colloquially known as fracking. The recommendations
