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Filter by Topic: Order: 98 documents

2024

December (2024)

World of Shale

FracTracker Alliance is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that maps, analyzes, and communicates data on oil, gas, and petrochemical development. Founded in 2010, the organization provides state-by-state drilling maps, pipeline tracking tools, and thematic analyses to advance public understanding of hydraulic fracturing and its impacts. FracTracker connects environmental data with policy, public health, and climate concerns, offering interactive maps and research resources that situate shale development within both national and international contexts.

Source: Fractracker Alliance (2010) Read More

2023

December (2023)

What broke the Safe Drinking Water Act?

Annie Snider wrote in Politico: “There’s perchlorate in this reservoir. Here’s why Washington isn’t doing anything about it.” The story revisits the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), enacted in 1974 as the nation’s primary law to ensure safe public drinking water. Under the statute, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards and oversees state implementation — yet regulatory gaps and political hesitation can leave contaminants in place, testing how far the law’s protections actually reach.

Source: Politico (2017) Read More

June (2023)

Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering

Journalist Charles Duhigg examined how weakened enforcement of clean water laws left communities exposed to pollution. In states where regulators lacked resources or political backing, violations mounted quietly. The cost wasn’t theoretical — it showed up in hospital visits, contaminated wells, and neighborhoods struggling with what flowed from upstream facilities.

Source: New York Times (2009) Read More

2013

January (2013)

Loud and Clear | Rich Pricks and Poor Schmucks

You saw it on ‘Earth To America!’, now see it here. An Inconvenient Truth? The Blue Man Group really gets the message across loud and clear with this great video. Can you hear?

Source: YouTube | Earth to America (2006) Read More

Train

A television commercial about global warming from Environmental Defense and the Ad Council. 11 Apr 2007.

Source: YouTube (2006) Read More

American Petroleum Institute

Critics and investigative reports have accused the American Petroleum Institute (API) of advancing climate change denial and working to block climate legislation in defense of its constituent interests. The organization serves as the principal trade association for the U.S. oil and gas industry, shaping regulatory advocacy and public messaging on behalf of member companies. API has defended hydraulic fracturing as safe when properly regulated and has opposed expanded federal oversight that could alter the industry’s operating framework, placing the trade group at the center of national energy policy battles.

Source: API (2010) Read More

The Yes Men | Climate Pledge of Resistance

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

Beware The Green Dragon! | Right Wing Watch

Beware The Green Dragon! | Right Wing Watch seeks to expose how the “radical environmental” environmental movement is out to control the world and destroy Christianity.

Source: People for the American Way | Right Wing Watch (2010) Read More

Myth Busting | The Marcellus: An American Travesty

MarcellusProtest.org served as an information hub for grassroots opposition to shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania and beyond. Emerging from local demonstrations, the movement connected activists, events, and resources across the Marcellus region while critiquing industry narratives. Participants later formed coalitions such as Protect Our Parks to resist drilling in public lands. The site documented how regional organizing built enduring activist networks that continued influencing environmental campaigns long after initial protests concluded.

Source: YouTube | "The Marcellus: An American Renewal" (2010) Read More

Shell Oil Company

Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States–based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation “oil major” which is among the largest oil companies in the world. It is reported that Royal Dutch Shell Plc agreed to buy closely held East Resources Inc., for about $5 billion.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2010) Read More

Sixty Lame Minutes

Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy blamed “Congressional apathy” for coal’s price advantages. Photo: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg News

Source: Post Carbon Institute | Leading the transition to a resilient world (2010) Read More

Welcome to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

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

2012

September (2012)

Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP)

OGAP tracks drilling impacts with a watchdog’s eye: complaints, enforcement gaps, industry claims, and the fine print of regulation. The hook is accountability — who reports what, who inspects, who pays, who fixes. In boom country, the technical work happens fast and the paperwork trails behind. OGAP exists to pull that trail forward into view, turning scattered incidents into patterns that regulators and communities can’t easily ignore.

Source: Earthworks (2009) Read More

June (2012)

Affirming Gasland

Immediately upon the film’s release, Energy In Depth issued a paper claiming to “debunk” the film’s documentary evidence.

Source: DamascusCitizens.org (2010) Read More

May (2012)

GOP Budget Amendments Would Destroy Health, Economy, Planet

Brad Johnson is a climate researcher-blogger at the Center for American Progress Action Fund . He blogs at the ThinkProgress Wonk Room on the climate crisis, energy policy and building a green economy.

Source: The Wonk Room (2011) Read More

This Website is a Crash Course In Fracking

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

2011

May (2011)

Environmental Advocates New York

The New York Water Rangers, launched by Environmental Advocates of New York, mobilized residents to defend state waters from hazardous fracking waste. Through legislative advocacy, coalition organizing, and narrative strategy developed with SmartMeme Studios, the campaign pushed to close loopholes in state law, extend moratorium protections, and require independent health impact assessments before permitting high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York.

Source: Environmental Advocates New York (2011) Read More

BP Deepwater Horizon Committee Hears From Oil Industry Executives

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as seen from space by NASA’s Terra satellite on May 24, 2010. The spill has yet to be contained and is the worst oil spill in US history.

Source: National Academy of Sciences | News (2010) Read More

The Deep Hot Biosphere : The Myth of Fossil Fuels

This post explores Thomas Gold’s controversial abiogenic theory of petroleum formation, which argues that hydrocarbons originate deep within the Earth rather than from compressed biological matter. While climate policy debates focus on fossil fuel scarcity and carbon removal, the article raises concerns about methane emissions from gas flaring and questions assumptions embedded in mainstream energy narratives. Gold’s “deep hot biosphere” hypothesis challenges conventional geology and reframes discussions about resource limits, earthquakes, and even the origins of life.

Source: Springer | Copernicus (1998) Read More

U.S. Congress. (2009). A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes

$U.S. Congress. (2009). A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing$

Legislation introduced in Congress sought to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to remove exemptions shielding hydraulic fracturing from federal oversight. Supporters argued the change would restore transparency and accountability. Industry groups warned of duplication and delay. The bill spotlighted the “Halliburton loophole” in statutory form.

Source: Library of Congress (2009) Read More

April (2011)

Coalition to Protect New York | Let’s Live Frack Free!

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

E.P.A. Proposes New Emission Standards for Power Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency (archived) on Wednesday (2011-03-16) proposed the first national standard (archived) for emissions of mercury and other pollutants from coal (archived) -burning power plants, a rule that could lead to the early closing of a number of older plants and one that is certain to be challenged by the some utilities and Republicans in Congress.

Source: The New York Times (2011) Read More

March (2011)

Action Center | Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP America)

This conservative organization’s action page has form letters on a number of issues that Republican voters may send to their representatives to let them know that the party line may not be in their best interests.

Source: Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP America) (2011) Read More

Gasland’ Filmmaker Takes on Cuomo and ‘Dot.FlatEarth’

Debates between hydrofracking proponents and critics intensified during the Gasland era, with Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting arguing that existing regulatory frameworks could not ensure safe natural gas extraction. Industry experts and academics countered with calls for improved oversight and technological safeguards, while environmental filmmakers and investigative journalists amplified evidence of methane leakage, cement failure, and groundwater contamination.

Source: Dot Earth | New York Times (2012) Read More

Lenape Resources, Inc.

Lenape Resources operated in upstate New York, exploring gas prospects amid a regulatory landscape that remained uncertain. Smaller operators often navigated tighter margins and local scrutiny, their ambitions tied closely to state permitting decisions.

Source: Lenape Resources, Inc. (2010) Read More

U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi: The Gavel: Draining The Swamp

Then–Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted legislative efforts addressing energy reform and environmental protection. Congressional leadership framed drilling oversight and clean energy transitions as matters of national policy. In Washington, energy debates unfolded not only in committees but on the House floor.

Source: The Gavel (2008) Read More

Digging Deeper Investigation | Underfoot, Out of Reach

“Underfoot, Out of Reach: A series on the conflicts over Southwest Virginia’s natural gas wealth.”

Source: TriCities.com (2009) Read More

Legislating Under the Influence

In the last decade alone, big energy has pumped more than $2.9 billion into electing and lobbying federal officials and candidates, according to campaign finance and lobbying disclosure reports.

Source: Common Cause (2010) Read More

iLoveMountains

Organization web site features a widget that shows how you are connected to mountaintop removal where you live.

Source: iLoveMountains.org -- End Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining (2011) Read More

Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?–A Scientific Detective Story

A broad exposé of how chemicals disrupt the endocrine systems of living organisms.

Source: Plume (1997) Read More

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Fossil Energy and National Energy Technology Laboratory: Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer.

The DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy promotes research and development aimed at enhancing domestic energy production and technological efficiency. During the shale boom, federal research initiatives supported improved extraction techniques even as environmental and regulatory questions intensified.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy (2009) Read More

The Marcellus Shale Formation Information Site

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

WATER | Fracking and the Environment: Natural Gas Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Contamination

ProPublica journalist Abrahm Lustgarten reported that federal officials in Wyoming found at least three water wells containing chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. The investigation brought the groundwater question into sharp focus, linking drilling activity to documented contamination findings. As shale development expanded, water moved to the center of the debate: how much is used, what returns to the surface, and how safely it is managed.

Source: Democracy Now (2010) Read More

Natural Gas – Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy

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

Bushwhacked : Life in George W. Bush’s America

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

Hydro-Fracking Resource and Action Center

Editor’s Note. 9 Aug 2023. Citizens Campaign Re-organized their website in 2015 I and archive.org does not have a good record of their earlier publications. They continue to be

Source: Citizens Campaign for the Environment (2011) Read More

Marcellus Shale Gas: New Research Results Surprise Geologists!

New research results land like a jolt: updated estimates, revised risk, new measurements, better models. In the shale era, “new findings” often shift the argument overnight — especially when they touch methane leakage, groundwater pathways, or production forecasts. This entry is about the churn of evidence: studies that surprise, methods that get challenged, and the constant pressure to translate uncertain science into permits, policy, and public reassurance.

Source: Geology.com (2010) Read More

Hydraulic Fracturing: History of an Enduring Technology

In 1947, Stanolind Oil conducted the first experimental fracturing in the Hugoton field located in southwestern Kansas. The treatment utilized napalm (gelled gasoline) and sand from the Arkansas River.

Source: Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT) Online (2010) Read More

Schlumberger

Meet the oil world’s most secretive operator: Schlumberger. It’s ubiquitous in fossil fuel operations across the world, has more staff than Google, turns over more than Goldman Sachs, and is worth more than McDonald’s — yet you won’t have heard of it. Operating largely behind the public face of oil and gas producers, the company supplies the technical backbone of hydraulic fracturing across shale basins. State regulators have cited the firm for environmental violations in certain jurisdictions, including improper waste handling and permit noncompliance. Even the most expansive service companies accumulate a regulatory record as drilling scales.

Source: Schlumberger (2010) Read More

Gasland vs Big Oil and Gas

This works because people that see this movie are touched. They are touched because they have been directly affected by hydraulic fracturing or they want to be a voice for those that have been and don’t want to become a silent statistic as well.

Source: Lovesocial Communications (2011) Read More

WikiLeaks Saudi Cables Prompt Questions Over Peak Oil | Neon Tommy

Wikileaks has embarrassed the U.S. and a member of the House Homeland Security Committe.

Source: Neon Tommy | USC Annenberg School (2011) Read More

February (2011)

Climate Zombies Now Run The House

Giant new oil and gas wells that require astonishing volumes of water to fracture bedrock threaten America’s fragile aquifers.

Source: The Wonk Room (2011) Read More

FCPA Blog | UK Court Won’t Block Telser Extradition

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

PBS | Need to Know

In its August 27, 2010 Need to Know investigation, PBS correspondent John Larson, working in collaboration with ProPublica, examined claims by Wyoming residents that hydraulic fracturing was contaminating drinking water while regulators insisted they lacked jurisdiction on federal lands. The segment, “The Price of Gas,” highlighted tensions between citizen testimony and EPA oversight, and was briefly removed from the PBS website to clarify the energy-industry affiliations of members of an EPA peer review panel before being restored with edits.

Source: PBS.org (2010) Read More

Energy Policy Act of 2005-Critique

Critics revisited the Energy Policy Act of 2005, focusing on provisions that limited federal oversight of hydraulic fracturing. The “Halliburton loophole” became shorthand for regulatory exemption. What passed quietly in statute books years earlier now sat at the center of public debate.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2010) Read More

Birth of EPA

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), officially established on December 2, 1970 by President Richard Nixon, emerged from a decade of rising environmental awareness sparked in large part by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. As pollution crises mounted and public pressure intensified following the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Nixon created a strong, independent agency to unify federal air, water, pesticide, and radiation programs under Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus.

Source: EPA Journal (1985) Read More

Triana Energy

Triana Energy operated in the Marcellus Shale during the boom’s early expansion, navigating leasing, drilling, and eventual acquisition in a fast-moving market. In a 2009 case in West Virginia, landowners who sold natural gas to Chesapeake and its predecessors — including Triana Energy, NiSource Inc., and Columbia Natural Resources — alleged they were cheated out of portions of their royalty payments. In shale’s rapid ascent, corporate timing and contract terms often moved just as quickly as the drilling rigs.

Source: Triana Energy (2010) Read More

Global Warming Experts

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

Addressing the Environmental Risks from Shale Gas Development

Our analysis suggests that while shale gas development poses significant risks to the environment, including faulty well construction, blowouts, and above-ground contamination due to leaks and spills of fracturing fluids and waste water, technologies and best practices exist that can help manage these risks.

Source: Briefing Paper (2010) Read More

Freedom of Information in the USA

There are probably no more important reforms to government than the ones that came with the passing of the Federal Freedom of Information (“FOI”) Act. The law recognized in no uncertain terms that if government is to be of the people, by the people and for the people, the decisions and actions of the government must be open for review by the people.

Source: IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors) Journal (2002) Read More

Tox Town – Home Page – Environmental health concerns and toxic chemicals where you live, work and play.

Tox Town is designed to give you information on everyday locations where you might find toxic chemicals; non-technical descriptions of chemicals; links to selected, authoritative chemical information on the Internet; how the environment can impact human health and Internet resources on environmental health topics.

Source: Tox Town (2010) Read More

Halliburton

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

un-naturalgas.org

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

Climate Science Watch

“There is growing evidence from the real world that climate changes are accelerating faster than we originally feared and that impacts—already appearing—will be more widespread and severe than expected. This makes the arguments against taking actions against climate change not just wrong, but dangerous,” Dr. Gleick said in his

Source: Climate Science Watch (2010) Read More

Lisa P. Jackson, EPA (lisapjackson) on Twitter

Twitter is one of the ways the Environmental Protection Agency communicates with the public. She has 13,000 followers and follows

Source: Lisa P. Jackson, EPA (lisapjackson) on Twitter (2010) Read More

Marcellus Shale Coalition

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

January (2011)

Congress Launches Investigation Into Gas Drilling Practices

Members of Congress initiated investigations into gas drilling practices, requesting documents and testimony related to environmental impacts and regulatory compliance. When congressional oversight activates, the technical mechanics of fracking move into public record.

Source: ProPublica (2010) Read More

Barnett Shale

Before the Marcellus became a household term in drilling regions, the Barnett was the proving ground — the early large-scale demonstration that shale could produce at commercial volume. The Barnett story is where techniques hardened into routine: horizontal drilling, multi-stage fracking, pipeline buildout, and flaring. It’s the prequel basin — the place where the modern shale template was refined before it spread across the country.

Source: Wikipedia (2010) Read More

Superior Well Services – Products – Fracturing Systems

Superior Well Services supplied fracturing equipment and services that enable high-pressure injection into shale formations. The technical apparatus — pumps, sand, chemical blends — forms the industrial core of hydraulic fracturing. Behind every well is a logistics network measured in trucks and tons.

Source: Superior Well Services - Products - Fracturing Systems (2010) Read More

FERC: For Citizens: Get Involved

If you think you might be affected by a proposed natural gas or hydroelectric project regulated by the Commission, you have certain rights. These rights range from being able to look at project correspondence to becoming an intervener and being able to appeal any FERC decisions in federal court.

Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (2010) Read More

Greers Ferry Lake Natural Gas Watch

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

Conoco Phillips Remediation

ConocoPhillips, one of the world’s largest energy companies, has faced remediation obligations tied to environmental impacts in various jurisdictions. Cleanup efforts, consent decrees, and negotiated settlements form part of the lifecycle of extraction. Production may be the headline; remediation is the longer ledger.

Source: Conoco Phillips (2010) Read More

Energy in Depth

Energy in Depth continued to advocate for hydraulic fracturing through media outreach and rapid-response commentary, positioning itself as a counterweight to environmental criticism. In the shale era, narrative strategy became as organized as drilling logistics.

Source: Energy in Depth (2010) Read More

Environmental Integrity Project (EIP)

EIP combines research, reporting, and media outreach to spotlight illegal pollution, expose political intimidation of enforcement staff, and encourage federal and state agencies to take enforcement action to stop these practices. EIP’s work has been cited in Congressional hearings and debates, in reports by the US General Accountability Office, and in frequent news articles.

Source: Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) (2011) Read More

2010

December (2010)

American West at Risk, The: Science, Myths, and Politics of Land Abuse and Recovery

The American West at Risk examines the environmental decline of the arid western United States, documenting how resource extraction, energy development, and nuclear experimentation have reshaped fragile landscapes. From depleted soils and waters to nuclear test sites such as Gasbuggy and Rio Blanco, the book traces the consequences of policies that prioritized short-term gain over long-term stewardship. It calls for renewed conservation of soils, freshwater, forests, and fisheries to prevent further degradation of the region’s remaining natural resources.

Source: Oxford University Press, USA (2008) Read More

Sanjel Corporation

Sanjel Corporation was among the companies the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce investigated for potential environmental impacts related to hydraulic fracturing. The firm provides cementing and fracturing services across North American shale basins, supporting well completion at high pressure and high volume. As a service company, Sanjel forms part of the operational backbone of unconventional drilling — translating lease rights into functioning wells through specialized crews and equipment.

Source: Sanjel Corporation :: A Specialized Energy Service Company (2010) Read More

Norse Energy Corporation

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

Exxon Confronts Nuns, Calpers Over Global Warming Plans, Boskin

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

Big Oil Goes to College

Hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from major oil companies may have compromised the ethics of energy research at such institutions as UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Stanford and Cornell.

Source: AmericanProgress.org (2010) Read More

Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP America)

Republicans for Environmental Protection challenged the idea that conservation belonged to one party. As shale politics hardened along partisan lines, REP argued for water safeguards and responsible oversight grounded in stewardship, not ideology. Their presence complicated the narrative: support for environmental protection did not neatly map onto party identity — even in energy-producing states.

Source: Republicans for Environmental Protection (2010) Read More

November (2010)

Chesapeake Energy – Natural Gas: Fueling America’s Future

Chesapeake Energy became one of the most aggressive leaseholders in the shale era, promoting natural gas as a bridge fuel for American energy independence. Its rapid expansion, bold leadership, and financial leverage made it both a driver of the boom and a case study in volatility.

Source: Chesapeake Energy - America's Champion of Natural Gas (2010) Read More

No Frack Mountain

Pennsylvania based blog. Includes a quotes page unique to blogs on the environment, highlighting the struggle between citizens, corporations, and government regulations, providing a larger historical context.

Source: No Frack Mountain (2010) Read More

Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC)

Western Organization of Resource Councils is a regional network of seven grassroots community organizations that include 10,000 members and 45 local chapters. WORC helps its member groups succeed by providing training and coordinating issue work.

Source: Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) (2010) Read More

October (2010)

TckTckTck | I Am Ready

TckTckTck was a global alliance uniting environmental groups, labor organizations, faith communities, and citizens to demand a fair, ambitious, and binding international climate treaty. Formed around the Copenhagen climate summit, the coalition mobilized mass demonstrations and called for strong legal commitments to curb emissions. Although the site is no longer active, its message emphasized climate justice, green jobs, and protection for vulnerable nations, arguing that decisive global action remained urgently necessary.

Source: TckTckTck.org (2009) Read More

Leaking Underground Storage Tanks

Environmental engineer Dr. Joe Ryan of the University of Colorado explained how even small gasoline leaks can contaminate millions of gallons of groundwater, drawing parallels to risks associated with natural gas storage and fracking waste. At a July 9, 2010 EPA meeting in Texas, citizen Tim Ruggiero testified that drilling near his property led to contaminated drinking water resembling MTBE exposure, underscoring growing concerns raised at EPA hearings about benzene, BTEX compounds, and undisclosed fracking chemicals.

Source: Boulder Area Sustainability Network (BASIN) (2010) Read More

Rancho Los Malulos | A satirical view from the McGill Brothers Lease

At Rancho Los Malulos, satire met shale. Through humor and parody, the site skewered industry optimism and political doublespeak. Behind the jokes lay a serious critique: when official narratives grow polished, satire becomes a pressure valve — and sometimes a sharper mirror than straight reporting.

Source: Rancho Los Malulos (2009) Read More

September (2010)

Rainforest Action Network

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

Stripping the West

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

August (2010)

Blackout in the Gas Patch: Blackout Case Study 4 – Angel and Wayne Smith

(Editor’s Note, 15 Dec 2024. The original item is no longer available on the web. The former title of this piece was: Natassaja Noell. Gas drilling and toxic terrorists: New York City Mayor says risks of gas drilling “unacceptable”. 23 Mar 2010.

Source: Earthworks(2014) Read More

Residents near gas leak still live in fear

Long after the headlines fade, the anxiety lingers. Families living near gas infrastructure describe ongoing health worries, property concerns, and distrust of official reassurances. The story underscores how the costs of extraction are often borne by communities far from corporate boardrooms.

Source: Chagrin Valley Times, The Solon Times, The Geauga Times Courier (2009) Read More

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Writing in The Nation, Eyal Press traced the evolution of federal natural gas policy from the Clinton administration’s balanced expansion to the Bush administration’s push to remove drilling restrictions on public lands. The article framed shale development not simply as an energy story but as a political shift in regulatory philosophy—one with implications for environmental protection, public land stewardship, and the accelerating push toward fossil fuel extraction.

Source: The Nation (2004) Read More

People that no one is helping

Elizabeth Berkowitz chronicled families who said drilling changed everything — air quality, property values, even their health — while regulators and companies pointed elsewhere. Complaints lingered unanswered. The people living nearest the wells described isolation more than outrage: feeling small beside billion-dollar operators and distant agencies. In the rush to extract gas, some residents wondered who, exactly, was responsible for them.

Source: Faces of Frackland Read More

Clean Water Not Dirty Drilling

“Clean Water Not Dirty Drilling” became both slogan and organizing banner for activists opposing hydraulic fracturing near critical water supplies. The framing was simple but pointed: if water is nonnegotiable, drilling must meet a higher standard — or be rejected. Rallies and petitions amplified the message as policy decisions approached.

Source: Clean Water Not Dirty Drilling (2010) Read More

Sierra Club Finger Lakes Group Gas Information Page

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

Delaware Riverkeeper Network

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network focused on protecting a watershed supplying drinking water to more than 15 million people across four states. As shale proposals edged toward the Delaware Basin, the organization challenged permits and pushed for basin-wide oversight. When water serves entire metropolitan regions, local drilling becomes a regional calculation.

Source: Delaware Riverkeeper Network (2009) Read More

Drill here, drill now, pay less : a handbook for slashing gas prices and solving our energy crisis

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

Exxon, XTO Probably Won’t Face U.S. Fracturing Rules, FBR Says – Bloomberg.com

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-Xto Deal Forces Congress to Reconsider Natural Gas

Rex Tillerson — a former tuba player in the University of Texas Longhorn Band who once supplied the band’s bottom register — would later rise to become ExxonMobil’s CEO. In global energy markets, he built a reputation as a disciplined negotiator, forging high-level relationships including with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. When Exxon moved to acquire XTO Energy, doubling down on U.S. shale, the scale of the bet drew renewed congressional attention to natural gas policy and market concentration. When a supermajor commits billions, energy independence narratives and oversight frameworks shift with it. Scale reshapes politics.

Source: The New York Times : Climatewire (2010) Read More

Tennessee Gas Pipeline

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

Oil150, 1859-2009: Celebrating the Story- Progress from Petroleum

The Oil150 program marked 150 years since the first commercial oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859. Celebratory events traced the arc from Titusville’s wooden derricks to modern shale pads. The commemoration linked historic petroleum origins to contemporary extraction — a reminder that today’s boom rests on a century-and-a-half industrial lineage. Yet alongside celebration, critics point to documented cases of regulatory lapses and community health concerns tied to contaminated drinking water and air pollution in drilling regions.

Source: Oil150, 1859-2009: Celebrating the Story- Progress from Petroleum (2010) Read More

Exxon Mobil Corporation

ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest publicly traded energy companies, expanded its unconventional portfolio through major acquisitions and strategic positioning in shale basins. With global capital and political influence, Exxon’s moves reverberate beyond individual wells. When Exxon commits, markets, lawmakers, and competitors take notice.

Source: Exxon Mobil Corporation (2010) Read More

Chief Oil & Gas

Chief Oil & Gas became a significant leaseholder in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, operating as a privately held company with extensive acreage positions. Independent operators like Chief helped seed development before larger corporate consolidation accelerated.

Source: Chief Oil & Gas (2010) Read More

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE): Landowner Information

Cornell Cooperative Extension provided educational resources to landowners navigating gas lease offers, surface-use agreements, and royalty terms. In shale regions, access to clear, research-based guidance became essential as contracts multiplied.

Source: Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) (2010) Read More

Pit Pollution

Reports of pollution from open waste pits highlighted risks associated with storing drilling byproducts on-site. Wildlife mortality, groundwater concerns, and surface runoff raised questions about containment practices. Waste management remains one of the less visible — yet consequential — aspects of shale development.

Source: Earthworks (2004) Read More

Shale gas in the United States – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A high-level snapshot of how shale gas moved from experimental technique to dominant source of U.S. natural gas production. It traces the arc: horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, major basins (Barnett, Marcellus, Haynesville), and the policy fights that followed. Useful as a fast orientation tool — a place to collect names, dates, and terms — before you dive into the messier record of spills, exemptions, and enforcement.

Source: Wikipedia (2010) Read More

Marcellus Shale – Subject Guides at Binghamton University Libraries

A curated academic gateway: reports, agencies, research centers, and key organizations tied to Marcellus development. Instead of one narrative, it offers a controlled door into many — science, policy, public health, law, economics. The hook is the curation itself: a university quietly assembling the documents that everyone argues about. When the public conversation gets heated, a subject guide can function like a calm shelf of evidence.

Source: Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling Research Guide (2010) Read More

Hydraulic Fracturing of Oil and Gas Wells

A nuts-and-bolts explainer of the process: drilling, casing, perforation, high-pressure fluid, sand, and chemical additives — engineered force applied underground to release gas. It’s operational clarity in a debate that often floats above the mechanics. The hook here is not ideology — it’s process: how a well becomes productive, where failures can occur, and why “how it’s done” matters when water, cement, and pressure are the core ingredients.

Source: Earthworks (2010) Read More

Longtime landowner advocate reflects on decades of activism

A landowner advocate looks back over years of leasing battles, negotiations, and the slow lessons of contract language. The drama isn’t abstract — it’s clauses, deductions, surface rights, and the moment someone realizes what they signed. Retrospective voices like this become a record of learning under pressure: what worked, what backfired, and how communities adapted as the boom rolled in faster than most legal advice could travel.

Source: Wyofile (2020) Read More