Sierra Club Offers Citizen Training Workshop for Gas Well Watchers

May 8, 2012

This is a training workshop for citizen volunteers to become gas well watchers. Goodness knows, there are enough of them to watch – thousands, as old as early 20th century or as new as now. This project will apply to any completed gas well – Marcellus, or not. Working with George Monk and Molly Schaffnit, [...]

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Environmental Groups Call on US EPA to Ban Diesel Fuel in Fracking

May 7, 2012

Earthjustice Speaks Earthjustice reported that national environmental groups are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of diesel fuel in fracking fluids, instead of issuing guidance for regulating the practice, following the agency’s release of draft guidance. Diesel fuel is currently used in many fracking chemical mixtures and poses serious risks to [...]

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Fracking Drillers Collected Huge Revenues from Marcellus Gas Wells in 2011

May 6, 2012

Wet Gas Region Left of Dashed Line PA gas drilling yields $3.5 billion in 2011 revenues, $1.2 billion in WV Marcellus Shale gas wells in Pennsylvania generated about $3.5 billion in gross revenues for drillers in 2011, along with about $1.2 billion in West Virginia, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. However,  the wholesale [...]

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‘State of the Air’ Report: What’s Your City’s Grade?

May 5, 2012

The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2012 report released on April 25 finds that in America’s most polluted cities, air quality was at its cleanest since the organization’s annual report began 13 years ago. This year’s report details the trend that standards set under the Clean Air Act to cleanup major air pollution [...]

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MarkWest Energy Sets Long-Term Plan for Midstream Shale Gas Services in WV

May 4, 2012

From marketwatch.com, MarkWest Energy Partners announced two major agreements related to its ongoing development of the hydrocarbon-rich area of the Marcellus shale.  The first agreement is a long-term fee-based arrangement with affiliates of Chesapeake Energy to expand its Marcellus gas processing capacity in an approximately 185 square mile dedication area, which includes portions of Brooke, [...]

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Ethane Cracker in Sarnia, Ontario (Canada) May Hinder the Shell Cracker in Penna.

May 3, 2012

NOVA Chemicals, Sarnia, Canada A recent article by Sheena Martin for ICIS News reports that the lack of infrastructure for Shell’s proposed western Pennsylvania cracker provides an opportunity for NOVA Chemicals to expand its Corunna ethylene facility and displace Shell’s ethane supply. “If I were NOVA Chemicals,  I would not want Shell in my backyard,” said Peter [...]

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Objections to Drilling near Wheeling Park High School; March at Bethany College Saturday

May 3, 2012

As reported by the Wheeling Intelligencer, the Ohio County Board of Education is objecting to Chesapeake Energy’s proposed natural gas drilling site near Wheeling Park High School. In a letter to the WV Department of Environmental Protection, concern is about evacuation routes and increased truck traffic. The well site is less than 1,000 feet from [...]

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Climate Change Dissenters Looking at Influence of Clouds

May 2, 2012

Clouds & Climate Change According to the New York Times, a small group of scientific dissenters has been trying to shoot holes in the prevailing science of climate change, offering one reason after another why the outlook simply must be wrong. But, polls say 97 percent of working climate scientists now see global warming as [...]

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US EPA Names New Science Advisor, Glenn Paulson

May 1, 2012

EPA administrator Lisa Jackson reported that Glenn Paulson will “soon begin” his new job as the EPA Science Advisor, announced on April 24th. Paulson, who recently served as associate dean for research at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s (UMDNJ) School of Public Health, succeeds Paul Anastas. When the Obama administration nominated [...]

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Silica Dust from Frack Sand is a Real Health Hazard for Well Pad Workers

April 30, 2012

According to reporter Alex Wayne of Business Week, fracking sand dust from the hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas is one of the most dangerous threats to workers on wellpads reports a government safety researcher. Eric Esswein, an industrial hygienist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says that over 75% of air [...]

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