Coverage of University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher, who disrupted a federal oil and gas lease auction by purchasing drilling rights to protect wilderness lands. The segment highlights civil disobedience as a response to last-minute public land sales and raises questions about climate justice and accountability.
Source: YouTube (2008) Read More
Gas drilling companies such as Halliburton say the gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is safe, but opponents contend it pollutes groundwater with dangerous substances.
Source: YouTube | DemocracyNow! (2009) Read More
Efforts by lawmakers and regulators to force the federal government to better police the natural gas drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” have been thwarted for the past 25 years, according to an exposé in the New York Times .
Source: Democracy Now! (2011) Read More
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
Some of the new data coming out today makes it clear that everyone’s suspicion that the U.S. was both bullying and buying countries into endorsing their do-little position on climate were even sort of worse than we had realized…
Source: Democracy Now! (2010) 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
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
Dr. Theo Colborn, founder of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, warned that chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing could interfere with hormonal systems at low concentrations. Her research focused on endocrine disruption — subtle biological effects not always captured by traditional toxicology thresholds. The implications extended beyond spills to long-term exposure science.
Source: Democracy Now! (2010) Read More