A million letters may stop hydrofracking in NY | syracuse.com: "The state Department of Environmental Conservation is collecting public comments on fracking until Jan. 11. Please write to Attn: dSGEIS Comments, DEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, N.Y. 12233-6510; or contact Gov. Andrew Cuomo (515 474-8390 or www.governor.ny.gov) and tell him not to allow hydrofracking until New Yorkers have been given adequate and accurate information. We need a million letters to stop hydrofracking. (Go to AmillionFrackingLetters.com.) If we don’t speak up, who will? "
'via Blog this'
Monday, December 5, 2011
Effect of fracking on earthquakes raises concern | syracuse.com
Effect of fracking on earthquakes raises concern | syracuse.com: "Las month, Oklahoma experienced its largest earthquake. Earthquakes take place when two conditions occur: 1) there is a change in pressure or balance along a fault; and 2) water “lubricates” the fault, causing it to quake. Fracking sets up both conditions.
Oklahoma’s fault is lies near many hydraulic fracking wells. Fracking to remove gas can change the pressure balance. Fracking itself explosively injects millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals into rock layers, turning them into an oily slurry. If that liquid mix gets to and follows a fault line, it can have an effect similar to taking an enema.
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'via Blog this'
Oklahoma’s fault is lies near many hydraulic fracking wells. Fracking to remove gas can change the pressure balance. Fracking itself explosively injects millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals into rock layers, turning them into an oily slurry. If that liquid mix gets to and follows a fault line, it can have an effect similar to taking an enema.
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'via Blog this'
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Ask Congress - Protect against Aquatic Invasive Species
Ask Congress TODAY for Strong Protections from Aquatic Invasive Species
November 4, 2011
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote TODAY on legislation that would eliminate the tools used by both federal and state officials to control the introduction of aquatic invasive species from the ballast water of vessels.
We believe that passage of the current version of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2011 (HR 2838), which includes the Commercial Vessel Discharges Reform Act of 2011 (HR 2840), would jeopardize the health of our nation's aquatic ecosystems, exacerbate the spread of invasive species, undermine recreational and commercial fishing interests, and generally threaten regional economies that depend on healthy waterways.
Aquatic invasive species disrupt the food chain, foul beaches, and damage infrastructure. In the Great Lakes alone, more than 185 aquatic invasive species are costing citizens and businesses at least $200 million per year. More than 30 percent of the invasive species entering the Great Lakes have come in through ballast water. Other states also face significant threats from aquatic invasive species.
Preventing the introduction of invasive species is the most effective way to ensure that these problems do not continue to plague our nation's waters. Weakening our ballast water discharge standards and the tools necessary to enforce them set the stage for other aquatic invaders to further threaten the health of these important ecosystems.
Please take a minute to call your U.S. Representative TODAY and urge him or her to vote against the Commercial Vessel Discharges Reform Act. Your call will make a difference.
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this action alert or other IWLA programs, please contact:
The Izaak Walton League of America
707 Conservation Lane
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(301) 548-0150
conserve@iwla.org
www.iwla.org
If you have any questions about this action alert or other IWLA programs, please contact:
The Izaak Walton League of America
707 Conservation Lane
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(301) 548-0150
conserve@iwla.org
www.iwla.org
Energy Department Warns on Hyrdofracking
Energy Dept. Panel Warns of Environmental Toll of Current Gas Drilling Practices
by Nicholas Kusnetz ProPublica, Nov. 10, 2011, 5:55 p.m.A federal energy panel issued a blunt warning to shale gas drillers and their regulators today, saying they need to step up efforts to protect public health and the environment or risk a backlash that stifles further development.
201CConcerted and sustained action is needed to avoid excessive environmental impacts of shale gas production and the consequent risk of public opposition to its continuation and expansion,201D said members of the Energy Department2019s Shale Gas Subcommittee in a draft report released today [1].
The seven-member committee, appointed in January by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, provides a way for the Obama administration to weigh in on gas drilling, which is primarily overseen by state regulatory agencies.
In August, the panel issued a lengthy set of recommendations to state and federal agencies and the gas industry [2] for making gas drilling safer.
Today2019s report 2013 acknowledging that progress on the panel2019s suggestions has been slow 2013 sets out who needs to do what in order to turn recommendations into reality. The panel also stressed the importance of shale gas to the nation2019s energy policy, noting that it already makes up 30 percent of domestic gas production.
The report calls on the EPA to revise a proposed rule on air emissions to include limits on methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and criticizes recent moves by the agency that have hindered efforts to get better data from the oil and gas industry, a crucial step toward improving controls.
The report also concludes that joint federal and state efforts to ensure water quality are 201Cnot working smoothly201D and urges the EPA to move unilaterally to improve oversight as it carries out a study on potential effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water.
The panel2019s recommendations are not binding, but Amy Mall, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said they carry significant weight.
201CWe need more experts acknowledging publicly that there are real risks and they can be addressed,201D she said. NRDC and other environmental organizations sent a letter to President Obama last week, urging him to issue an executive order [3] directing federal agencies to carry out the panel2019s recommendations.
Drilling companies have in the past resisted some policy changes that the panel is recommending, such more stringent federal limits on emissions. Reid Porter, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, would not comment on the specific recommendations, but said API members have begun to implement some of the panel's recommendations, including working with state agencies to strengthen best practices on well design and minimizing water use.
The Energy Department2019s advisory board will hold a public meeting on the draft report on Monday before finalizing it.
Correction (11/10): This story has been changed. An earlier version made it seem as if Reid Porter, an API spokesman, said that drillers have opposed some of the energy panel's recommendations. Porter did not comment on that issue.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
IWLA Action Alert.
This week, the fight to conserve streams and wetlands and to protect drinking water for tens of millions of Americans shifts decidedly to the U.S. Senate. During debate on the budget bill for the Army Corps of Engineers, Senators could vote on an amendment that would block the Corps from taking any action to restore even limited Clean Water Act protections for streams and wetlands.
The Izaak Walton League has been fighting all year to restore these lost protections. We took an important step forward this summer when the Corps and EPA proposed some common sense, science-based guidelines that move us closer to our goal. Strong support from League members and hunters and anglers across the country proved crucial to moving forward.
That progress is at risk right now in the U.S. Senate. Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and Dean Heller of Nevada plan to offer an amendment this week that would block the Corps from taking any action to restore even limited protections to streams and wetlands nationwide. And this isn't a temporary ban – it's a permanent prohibition.
Senators need to hear from constituents who hunt, fish, boat, and enjoy the outdoors in opposition to this amendment. Please call your U.S. Senators today and urge them to vote against the Barrasso-Heller amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill.
If you need phone numbers for your U.S. Senators, please visit the League's Conservation Advocacy Center, which also includes simple talking points for your calls.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Deregulation
Two Environmental Stories in the News today.
G.O.P. Push in States to Deregulate Environment
Legislatures and governors are moving aggressively against conservation measures and regulations they see as too burdensome to business interests. NY Times
Also
Chemicals Were Injected Into Wells, Report Says
Oil and gas companies put toxic chemicals into wells in a drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, according to a Congressional study
NYTimes
Monday, April 11, 2011
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