Methane flaring from gas-drilling wellsNina Berman/NOOR This Is What Fracking Really Looks Like by David Rosenberg Photographer Nina Berman had just started focusing on climate and environmental issues when she read an article about fracking and its connection to the possible contamination of New York City’s drinking water. Berman resides
Continue readingTag: pennsylvania
DeSmogBlog: Delaware Tax Haven: The Other Shale Gas Industry Loophole
shutterstock_30322192.jpg Most people think of downtown Houston, Texas as ground zero for the oil and gas industry. Houston, after all, serves as home base for corporate headquarters of oil and gas giants, including the likes of BP America, ConocoPhillips, and Shell Oil Company, to name a few. Comparably speaking, few would think of Wilmington,
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Exposed: Pennsylvania Act 13 Overturned by Supreme Court, Originally an ALEC Model Bill
alec-exposed-600×400.jpeg On July 26, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled PA Act 13 unconstitutional. The bill would have stripped away local zoning laws, eliminated the legal concept of a Home Rule Charter, limited private property rights, and in the process, completely disempowered town, city, municipal and county governments, particularly when it comes to shale gas
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fracking Industry Trying To Keep Doctors Silent About Chemical Dangers
doctor silence.jpg Polls conducted in recent years show that close to 80% of Americans trust their doctors. They believe, rightly so, that their personal doctors are looking out for their patients’ best interests, and that doctors will do what is necessary to get patients healthy. But what happens when a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Public Accountability Initiative Produces New Report on SUNY Buffalo’s "Shill Gas Study"
PAI Logo.jpg The Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) has upped the ante on DeSmogBlog's reporting on what we coined a "Shill Gas Study" recently conducted by SUNY Buffalo. In our critique of the "study" we pointed out the fact that all of the authors and nearly the entire peer review board of the
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: ALEC Wasn’t First Industry Trojan Horse Behind Fracking Disclosure Bill – Enter Council of State Governments
shutterstock_95581429.jpg 19th Century German statesman Otto von Bismarck once said, "If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made." The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), put on the map by the Center for Media and Democracy in its "ALEC Exposed" project, is the archetype of von Bismarck's truism. So too are the fracking chemical
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Rendell and Ridge: From "Militant" Labelers to Terrorist Enablers
Ed Rendell MEK.jpg A new chapter has been added to the shale gas industry's eco-terrorism, counterinsurgency and psychological operations saga. In March, NBC News investigative reporter Michael Isikoff revealed that many prominent U.S. public officials are on the payroll of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), a group labeled by the U.S. State Department as a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Survey Says…Fracking IS Causing Earthquakes
oh-frack1.jpg A new report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says that the increased seismic activity taking place in certain areas of the United States is almost certainly the result of oil and gas drilling activities. The group has been studying dozens of earthquakes across America for the last 8
Continue readingPennsylvania school district replaces 1953 musical "Kismet" (9/11!) with "Oklamhoma!"
9/11!JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A western Pennsylvania school district has decided not to stage a Tony Award-winning musical about a Muslim street poet after members of the community complained about the play on the heels of the 10th anniversary of the September…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Shale Gas Outrage Rally And Freedom From Fracking Conference In Philadelphia
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On Wednesday, September 7th, opponents of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and unconventional gas exploitation are invited to come to Philadelphia for the Shale Gas Outrage rally. The next…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Federal Government Asks Judge To Dismiss New York State Fracking Lawsuit
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The U.S. government is asking a federal judge in New York to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the state of New York against the government that was seeking to demand a complete rev…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Gas Industry Spent "Staggering" Amount Lobbying in Pennsylvania Last Year
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The gas industry spent $3.5 million last year attempting to convince Pennsylvania lawmakers of the benefits of drilling the state’s deposits of unconventional gas. Accor…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: Economic Benefits of Unconventional Gas Drilling Overblown by Industry PR
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A new poll suggests that Pennsylvanians are supportive of unconventional gas drilling in their state. Not because it is safe, but because they are convin…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: The Case for a Ban on Gas Fracking: Food and Water Watch Report
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Last month, DeSmogBlog released Fracking the Future, an in-depth report on the threats posed by unconventional gas drilling and the efforts of the …