blog, but the Yes Men have us wondering about the truth in ways that make us smarter by asking us to verify the legitimacy of the messages we receive through the media.
Source: BeyondTalk.net (2009) Read More
The Environmental Protection Agency weighed how existing federal statutes applied to hydraulic fracturing — parsing authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. As pressure mounted from both industry and environmental groups, the EPA’s interpretations shaped whether certain practices required permits or fell through regulatory gaps.
Source: US EPA: “Eyes on Drilling” Tipline. (2010) Read More
Cabot Oil & Gas signaled plans to slow Marcellus drilling activity amid market pressures and regulatory scrutiny. Production decisions reflect more than geology — they respond to commodity prices, infrastructure constraints, and public controversy. Even major operators adjust course when conditions shift.
Source: ProPublica (2010) Read More
PennFuture mobilized legal and policy expertise to challenge permits, advocate for watershed protection, and press for stronger enforcement as Marcellus development accelerated. Through litigation and legislative work, the organization positioned itself at the intersection of environmental law and civic engagement in a state reshaped by shale.
Source: Penn Future (2011) Read More
Journalist Molly Ivins combined sharp political critique with Texas humor in her 2006 column urging voters to stay engaged during a turbulent election season. She condemned partisan attacks, voter suppression, and what she saw as ethical and policy failures of the Bush administration. Reminding readers that democracy depends on participation, Ivins called for vigilance, fairness, and civic courage—insisting that politics belongs to the people, not merely those in power.
Source: truthdig.com (2006) Read More
YES! Magazine reframes the biggest problems of our time in terms of their solutions. Online and in print, we outline a path forward with in-depth analysis, tools for citizen engagement, and stories about real people working for a better world.
Source: YES! Magazine (2010) Read More
Change.org, the website that allows users to create petitions for social change, received a legal threat from Peabody Energy after Coal Kills Kids (CKK) — a group that partnered with the Yes Men to unveil a faux Peabody charity initiative earlier this week (archived) — continued the hoax with a mock petition.
Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian Online (SFBG) (2011) Read More
A curated collection of bibliographic resources, government documents, letters, and video investigations serves as a crash course in fracking.
Source: Neil Zusman (2010) Read More
The U.S. Energy Information Administration lays out natural gas in plain terms: where it comes from, how it’s produced, where it goes, and what shapes prices. It’s a clean baseline — the institutional map beneath the noise. When public debate turns into slogans, the EIA pages remind you what’s measurable: reserves, production curves, consumption sectors, imports/exports, and the infrastructure that turns gas into power, heat, and revenue.
Source: Energy Information Administration (2010) Read More
This site focuses on one thing: what the Marcellus is, where it sits, and why it matters. It frames shale as geology first — thickness, depth, extent — the underground reality that launched a surface boom. Before the leases and lawsuits, there’s the formation itself: rock you can map, drill, fracture, and monetize. The tension comes when the geological footprint collides with watersheds, towns, and state lines.
Source: The Marcellus Shale Formation Information Site (2009) Read More
In a 2009 report for the Philadelphia Independent Media Center, Nastassja Noell documented escalating tensions in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia over natural gas drilling. Residents described spills, road accidents, and regulatory failures involving Cabot Oil & Gas and Chesapeake Energy, while activist Joanne Fiorito criticized the Pennsylvania DEP for failing to monitor sites. As federal and state oversight faltered, some citizens turned to civil disobedience to defend land, air, and water.
Source: Philadelphia Independent Media Center (2009) Read More
Jonathan McIntoshs’ Remix Video is a critical and transformative work that constitutes a Fair Use in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. Source footage from Chevron TV ads, US Army ad, BBC News, Future Weapons, CSI and several other short clips recorded off television.
Source: YouTube (2009) Read More
has been recalled due to concerns that the bars contain elevated levels of lead.
Source: Examiner.com (2011) Read More
July begins with things changing form: fireworks become rain, a great tree disappears from Washington Park, and small lives continue around what remains. As smoke crosses borders and heat travels beyond where it begins, the walk becomes a way of paying attention—and attention itself becomes a demand for a vibrant, healthful world.
Source: Mixplex (2026) Read More
Neil’s Mellow Pad aligns with the intention of Earthstage: to attend to the living world as active presence—complex, fragile, and ongoing. These fragments are not arguments. They are acts of attention.
Source: Mixplex (2026) Read More
A portrait of extraction culture with wide-angle scope — land, minerals, money, and the conflicts that follow. The West is often sold as open space; this kind of work shows it as contested space. Leases, roads, rigs, and rights-of-way transform landscapes that once looked permanent. The hook is scale: not one well, but a pattern — and the social tension that arrives when an economy is built on removal.
Source: NOW with Bill Moyers (2002) Read More
Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose take a brisk, sharp tour through the George W. Bush years — from the campaign machine to the policy aftermath. The book treats politics less like abstract ideology and more like a lived system: money, messaging, crony networks, and consequences that land on ordinary people. It reads like a field guide to power — funny, furious, and specific — with names attached and receipts implied.
Source: Random House (2003) Read More
Norse Energy pursued drilling opportunities in New York’s portion of the Marcellus Shale during a period of regulatory uncertainty. As the state debated whether to permit high-volume fracturing, companies like Norse positioned themselves in anticipation of a potential green light — timing their strategy to political outcome.
Source: Norse Energy Corporation (2010) Read More
Halliburton, long associated with hydraulic fracturing technology, became synonymous with the so-called “Halliburton loophole” in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which exempted most fracking from federal Safe Drinking Water Act oversight. As a global oilfield services leader, the company’s influence extends from well design to policy debate.
Source: Solutions for Today's Energy Challenges - Halliburton (2010) Read More
Following ExxonMobil’s acquisition of XTO Energy, analysts suggested the merged giant was unlikely to face sweeping new federal restrictions on hydraulic fracturing. The deal signaled that shale had moved from regional gamble to global asset class. When a supermajor commits billions, regulatory bets are embedded in the transaction.
Source: Bloomberg.com (2010) Read More
Exxon confronted shareholder resolutions from Catholic nuns and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) over climate disclosure and long-term strategy. The religious orders argued that the company’s global warming plans failed to account for environmental and moral risk, while CalPERS — one of the nation’s largest public pension funds — framed climate exposure as a material financial concern. The pressure signaled a shift: climate risk had moved from protest lines into boardrooms and proxy votes.
Source: Bloomberg.com (2007) Read More
The Tennessee Gas Pipeline system connects production fields to distant markets, underscoring that extraction is only part of the equation. Pipelines determine where gas flows — and which communities host compressor stations and right-of-way corridors. Infrastructure redraws maps.
Source: Tennessee Gas Pipeline (2010) Read More
Watchdog reporting scrutinized New York’s regulatory approach to natural gas development as the state weighed whether to permit high-volume hydraulic fracturing. New York–based Toxics Targeting examined the Department of Environmental Conservation’s own spill database, identifying 270 documented cases over three decades involving fires, explosions, wastewater releases, well contamination, and ecological damage tied to gas drilling — many still unresolved. The findings challenged repeated assurances that existing regulations were sufficient to safeguard public health and the environment.
Source: Democracy Now! (2009) Read More
Bill McKibben’s Eaarth reframed climate change as an already altered planetary condition rather than a future threat. In the context of shale expansion, the book’s argument sharpened the stakes: energy choices shape not just markets, but the stability of the planet itself.
Source: Democracy Now! (2010) Read More
The Marcellus Shale Coalition emerged as the industry’s collective voice in Pennsylvania, promoting well-paying jobs, economic growth, regulatory consistency, and expanded development. Representing major operators and service firms, the coalition shaped public messaging and policy advocacy as drilling accelerated across the region. Critics argue that independent analyses have challenged some of the coalition’s economic claims and questioned whether projected benefits outweigh environmental and climate risks — debates that continue to shape responsible energy policy.
Source: Marcellus Shale Coalition (2010) Read More
Senator Lindsey Graham withdrew support from a major Senate climate bill, fracturing a fragile bipartisan coalition. The setback stalled momentum for comprehensive climate legislation. Energy policy once again splintered along party lines, leaving regulatory authority to agencies and states.
Source: The New York Times (2010) Read More
The so-called “Halliburton loophole” — language in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempted most hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act — became a flashpoint. Critics argued the exemption removed federal oversight from underground injection practices. Supporters maintained states could regulate effectively. The loophole wasn’t just statutory text; it defined the regulatory boundary of a boom.
Source: Marcellus-Shale.us (2010) Read More
Echoing the slogan popularized by political figures like Newt Gingrich, “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” framed expanded domestic drilling as a direct path to lower energy prices. The handbook distilled an argument that resonated nationally during high gas-price cycles. Critics countered that global oil markets and production timelines rarely bend to slogans.
Source: Regnery Pub. (2008) Read More
“Love Canal 2020” evoked the infamous New York toxic waste disaster as a warning: environmental crises often unfold slowly before erupting into national scandal. The comparison suggested a future headline no one wants — contamination recognized only after years of denial. History, the piece implied, does not repeat itself quietly.
Source: Love Canal 2020 (2010) Read More
Un-naturalgas.org positioned itself as a clearinghouse for research challenging industry claims about hydraulic fracturing. The site compiled studies, regulatory filings, and firsthand accounts, arguing that the “natural” branding masked complex industrial processes. As marketing campaigns framed shale as clean and inevitable, critics built digital repositories to counter the narrative.
Source: un-naturalgas.org (2009) Read More
The Sierra Club’s Finger Lakes chapter compiled local data on gas development proposals in central New York. From watershed maps to permit summaries, the page equipped residents with tools to engage regulators. As the Marcellus debate intensified statewide, the group aimed to ground the conversation in regional facts and familiar landscapes.
Source: Sierra Club (2009) Read More
In the Barnett Shale, industry leaders pushed regulatory changes critics warned would gut local oversight. Supporters framed it as streamlining. Opponents saw a rollback of hard-won protections. At stake: inspection authority, environmental review, and the balance of power between drillers and the communities hosting them. The fight wasn’t just about gas — it was about who sets the rules when billions are underground.
Source: Star-Telegram (2010) Read More
As House Democrats explored new oversight of hydraulic fracturing, an industry coalition called Energy in Depth launched a campaign warning that regulation would kill jobs and harm the economy. Reported in the New York Times by Anne C. Mulkern, the effort illustrated how shale politics had become a high-stakes battle over narrative—economic growth versus environmental protection—at a moment when domestic gas production was rapidly expanding.
Source: The New York Times: Greenwire (2009) Read More
A March 22, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer editorial noted the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s claim that hydraulic fracturing had never contaminated groundwater, while acknowledging environmental risks and New York’s drilling moratorium. What followed was a pointed public exchange: commenters such as Jim Barth challenged industry timelines, cited EPA whistleblower Westin Wilson and ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten, and questioned chemical disclosure, regulatory exemptions, and cumulative impacts on Pennsylvania watersheds.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (2010) Read More
A contentious plan by Chesapeake Energy to convert an abandoned gas well in Pulteney, New York, into a deep-well wastewater disposal site near Keuka Lake is officially dead—though the company left the door open for similar facilities in the future. The proposal, which would have handled more than 180,000 gallons of Marcellus Shale fracking waste per day, drew opposition from local residents, Pulteney Town Supervisor Bill Weber, U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, and Walter Hang of Ithaca-based Toxics Targeting, who argued that grassroots resistance in the Finger Lakes influenced decisions before the EPA and the New York DEC.
Source: Ithaca Journal (2010) Read More
In April 2010, Earthworks criticized the Obama administration for defending a Bush-era policy allowing unlimited toxic mine waste dumping on public lands, arguing the move contradicted stated commitments to environmental reform. The organization framed the decision as another example of federal policy favoring extractive industries over water protection, public lands stewardship, and community health.
Source: Earthworks (2010) Read More
The Rainforest Action Network warned that President Barack Obama’s EPA remained too aligned with coal interests after approving a mountaintop removal permit in Logan County, West Virginia. That warning gained urgency when, in September 2009, 161 aquatic species were wiped out along 38 miles of Dunkard Creek after coal-mine discharges created high conductivity levels that allowed toxic golden algae to flourish. Though state regulators had approved cleanup plans, the EPA later acknowledged additional enforcement might be necessary as restoration costs were estimated at $30 million.
Source: Rainforest Action Network (2009) Read More
Futurism Now, a Minnesota-based blog by Shelly Thomas, examines energy policy, climate change, and environmental justice through news aggregation, commentary, and multimedia resources. Active since 2008, the site covers international energy issues, including tar sands development, climate science denial, and corporate political influence. It highlights environmental impacts such as water contamination, carbon emissions, and industrial extraction, while linking activism, investigative journalism, and grassroots advocacy.
Source: Futurism Now (2011) Read More
Last week was an active week for those following regulation of Marcellus Shale natural gas development.
Source: YouTube (2010) Read More
A leading congressional critic of shale drilling is scolding the Obama administration for failing to try to slow drilling in the Northeast’s Marcellus Shale.
Source: The New York Times | Greenwire (2010) Read More
In Crimes Against Nature, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers a sweeping indictment of the George W. Bush administration, arguing that corporate cronyism has undermined public health, national security, and democratic governance. Kennedy emphasizes the enduring importance of the public trust doctrine, which holds that resources such as air, water, fisheries, and wetlands belong to the commons and cannot be diminished for private gain. He contends that protecting these shared resources is essential to preserving democracy itself.
Source: HarperCollins (2004) Read More
Heartland Institute Conference held March 8-10th in New York at the Marriott New York Marquis Times Square Hotel, brought together scientists, economists, legal experts, and other climate specialists to “confront the issue of global warming.”
Source: The Heartland Institute | BBC News (2011) Read More
Max Brantley highlights concerns raised by the Greers Ferry Lake Natural Gas Watch about the risks fracking poses to local water resources, including Greers Ferry Lake and the Lake Maumelle watershed. The post critiques political responses to pipeline spills and questions the transparency of Arkansas’s Rule B19, which purported to require full disclosure of fracking chemicals. Critics argue the rule amounts to a “magic trick,” allowing industry to appear accountable without meaningful disclosure.
Source: Facebook | Greers Ferry Lake Natural Gas Watch (2010) Read More
A woman hurries away from the heat of a gas flare near a flow station belonging to Shell in Warri, Nigeria. Photograph: George Osodi/AP
Source: guardian.co.uk (2010) Read More
The London lawyer accused by American authorities of helping KBR and its partners bribe Nigerian officials lost his battle against extradition, marking a major chapter in one of the largest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases tied to global energy contracts. The prosecution stemmed from a decade-long scheme involving liquefied natural gas projects on Bonny Island, Nigeria — a scandal that ultimately led Halliburton and KBR to pay hundreds of millions in penalties and intensified scrutiny of corruption within multinational energy ventures.
Source: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FPCA) Blog (2011) Read More
Kentucky ranks dead last in healthy behavior (archived), and 49th in overall well-being, ..More mountaintop removal will only make these problems with the health of Appalachian people even worse. Its hard to get worse than worst, but Hal Rogers is doing his darndest.
Source: Appalachian Voices (2011) Read More
For years, a chemical plant in the Chinese village of Qiugang had polluted the river, poisoned the drinking water, and fouled the air — until residents decided to take a stand. The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video co-produced by Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon, tells the story of the villagers’ determined efforts to stop the pollution.
Source: Yale Environment 360 (2011) Read More
Government officials from around the world have recently declared that the risks of natural gas drilling are too great to allow it to proceed without additional analysis.
Source: Amy Mall's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC (2011) Read More
T Boone Pickens has somehow managed to sell President Obama and an astonishing number of Congress members on the myth that nat-gas is a homegrown wonder fuel.
Source: Counterpunch (2011) Read More
The term “natural,” like many other carefully chosen terms used by the extraction industry, is intended to give the false impression that shale gas is a benign and “clean, green” fuel.
Source: Coalition to Protect New York (2011) Read More
Bring everyone you can find as well as your biggest signs and banners. After the rally, we will march to the Governor’s office on the Second Floor of the Capitol to let him know we support his policy that New York’s “watersheds are sacrosanct.”
Source: Walter Hang (2011) Read More
On Friday 25 March, environmental activist Lewis Pugh delivered a passionate call to action at a public lecture in Cape Town. He implored South Africans to stand up for our rights – particularly the right to water, and the right to a healthy environment – and take on corporate bullies like Shell. If you care about the Karoo, if you care about our country, keep reading…
Source: The Daily Maverick (2011) Read More