Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
•Fracking Tied to Pennsylvania Water Woes by EPA Official •Industry Pressure Shuts Down EPA Fracking Investigations •EDF to exit US nuclear power over impact of shale gas •US shale threatens Saudi funding crisis and demise of OPEC •Fracking can take place in ‘desolate’ north-east England, Tory peer says •Bakken shale natural gas flaring tops $100 million each month
•China’s Bad Earth •Pesticides, fungicides harming bee colonies, UM study says •Can Agriculture Reverse Climate Change?
By focusing on developing the economy for decades, politicians and business leaders have done little to account for the environmental costs of growing industry. Now, economies worldwide are struggling to cover the increasing expenses of pollution and health care – But who is going to pay?
•Former Mobil VP Warns of Fracking and Climate Change •’Generous’ tax breaks for shale gas industry outlined •USGS Study Connects Earthquake Risk To Wastewater Injection, Fracking Advocates Say, "Who Cares?" •This Is What Fracking Really Looks Like
This spring, I spent three weeks traveling around China and needless to say I, along with every other visitor, was impressed by the economic progress the Chinese have made.
If there is any place on planet Earth where we should dig in our heels against expanded coal mining, it is surely Alaska. It’s not happening yet, but there are plenty of people working to make it so.
At least one aspect of fracking’s risks to drinking water became a little clearer this week.
•Josh Fox [Director Gasland Part II] on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart •Natural gas found in drinking water near fracked wells •Get fracking: MPs back the dash for UK’s shale gas •Polish town says ‘no’ to shale gas •Electricity prices soar in West Texas as shale drilling expands •Methane Scrutiny in Obama Climate Plan May Cost Drillers
The Mackenzie River Basin, which occupies and protects one-fifth of Canada’s fresh water, could be severely destabilized by climate change as well as unbridled resource extraction, including hydraulic fracturing, hydro dams and oil sands mining.
•Water increasingly crucial in energy policies, experts say •Acidification: the latest unknown for stressed Arctic ecosystem •Rivers Carry Away Waste Heat Form Power Plants at a Cost to the Environment •Safe drinking water disappearing fast in Bangladesh •Land O’ Lakes: Melting Glaciers Transform Alpine Landscape •Our Earth Hangout: Clean Water for All
Energy conservation is our best strategy for pre-adapting to an inevitably energy-constrained future. And it may be our only real option for averting economic, social, and ecological ruin.
If the Arkansas spill is upsetting not for its relative scale, it might be for its proximity to…well, where we live.
