Rise of deadly radon gas in Pennsylvania buildings linked to fracking industry. A Cabot Oil and Gas natural gas drill is viewed at a hydraulic fracturing site on Jan. 17, 2012 in Springville, Penn.
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, stimulates gas production by injecting wells with high volumes of chemical-laced water in order to free-up pockets of natural gas below. The process is controversial with critics saying it could poison water supplies, while the natural-gas industry says it's been used safely for decades. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) A new study published Thursday reported a disturbing correlation between unusually high levels of radon gas in mostly residences and an oil and gas production technique known as fracking that has become the industry standard over the past decade. Writing in the journal Environmental Health Perspective, researchers analyzed levels of radon -- a colorless, odorless gas that is radioactive and has been linked to lung cancer -- in 860,000 buildings from 1989 to 2013.
After a Strong Counterattack, Big Coal Makes a Comeback by Jeff Goodell. 09 Nov 2010: Opinion by jeff goodell The coal industry — perhaps the least entrepreneurial, most politically-connected business in America — likes to present itself as a hapless collection of hard-working guys just trying to keep the lights on.
In the run-up to last week’s election, the industry skillfully played up the idea that it was under siege by out-of-control federal bureaucrats, including a president unsympathetic to the idea that burning more coal is the surest route to a healthy economy. In the weeks before the election, I saw banners in several West Virginia towns that said “Stop the War on Coal” and, my favorite, “Legalize Coal.” Luke Popovich, a spokesperson for the National Mining Association, went so far as to accuse the Obama administration of carrying out a “regulatory jihad” against coal. Sen. Bernie Sanders Leaks Oil Trading Data: Americans Have A Right To Know Who Drove Up Gas Prices. Shell admits liability for huge Nigeria oil spill - World news - Africa. LAGOS, Nigeria — Shell and Nigeria's government contributed to 50 years of pollution in a region of the Niger Delta that could need the world's largest ever oil cleanup, the United Nations said in a report Thursday, adding that the work would take up to 30 years and require an initial tab estimated at $1 billion.
The report came after Shell agreed not to oppose a move by one delta community to have their pollution claims heard by a British court, potentially opening itself up to bigger financial damages. Daniel Leader, a lawyer for the Bodo people, told msnbc.com that the case was the first of its kind because it would be heard in Britain, where payouts can be higher and cases tend to get wider media coverage. Nine of the 10 loudest climate-denying scientists tied to Exxon. Climate change deniers like to point out that they have scientists on their side, too.
But an analysis of more than 900 papers supporting climate skepticism showed that about 20 percent of those papers came from the same 10 scientists, and nine of them, according to The Carbon Brief, have ties to ExxonMobil. Oil wealth 'must be shared' with citizens says Soros. 4 March 2011Last updated at 00:02 George Soros: Middle East turmoil caused by 'revulsion against the corruption' Citizens of oil producing nations must see more benefit from their country's national resources, billionaire investor George Soros has told the BBC.
Exxon Profit Surges as Consumers and Lawmakers Fume Over Gasoline Prices. Exxon Mobil Corp.
(XOM), the world’s largest company by market value, posted its largest profit in almost three years as soaring gasoline prices fueled discontent among consumers and policymakers. With U.S. motorists paying the most for gasoline since prices reached a record $4.11 a gallon in the summer of 2008, Exxon said today that its first-quarter net income jumped 69 percent to $10.7 billion. Inhofe Claims Fracking Has ‘Never’ Contaminated Water Supply One Day After Spill Contaminates Stream. By Alex Seitz-Wald on April 21, 2011 at 6:10 pm "Inhofe Claims Fracking Has ‘Never’ Contaminated Water Supply One Day After Spill Contaminates Stream" Sen.
Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is perhaps Congress’ most reliable defender of dirty energy and evangelizer against the “hoax” of global warming. The war in Libya and the new scramble for Africa. 29 March 2011 Today’s international conference on Libya in London will be dutifully reported in the media as a gathering of concerned parties determined to honour their pledge to safeguard civilians from reprisals by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
In reality, state dignitaries from 40 countries—including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Chairman Jean Ping—have gathered like vultures to either take part in or provide political cover for those picking over the spoils of a post-Gaddafi carve-up of Libya and Libyan oil reserves, the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world. The meeting’s agenda in deed, if not in word, is based on the drive for regime change, which will put opposition forces long cultivated by the CIA and other Western intelligence agencies in power. The NEDB has been a key conduit for US and UK penetration of the Libyan economy. Chris Marsden. Why Gas Is So Expensive Today (Hint: It’s Not Libya) - Chris Peterson.
Dirty Money.
Robert L. Cavnar: BP Wins: EPA Will Agree to Cut Oil Spill Estimate. House GOP votes unanimously to protect big oil subsidies. Koch Industries. Fracking. BP Oil Disaster. Marcellus Shale: The Real Price of Compulsory Integration In New York. The natural gas industry made Joe Todd an offer he couldn’t refuse.
WikiLeaks Big Oil spills: BP covers up blowout, blackmails Azerbaijan - National Geopolitics. The latest WikiLeaks US embassy cables reveal that BP suffered a little-reported gas leak in Azerbaijan 18 months before a similar mishap led to the Gulf of Mexico disaster.
Chevron fined $8.6bn for pollution - Americas. A court in Ecuador has told oil giant Chevron Corp to pay $8.6bn in environmental damages, but the US company has termed the court order as "illegitimate and unenforceable" and said it would appeal. An Ecuadorean judge ruled on Monday that Chevron was responsible for oil drilling contamination and also asked it to pay a legally mandated 10 per cent reparations fee. The amount - $8.6bn plus the legally mandated 10 per cent reparations fee - is far below the $27.3bn award recommended by a court-appointed expert, but appeared to be the highest damage award ever issued in an environmental lawsuit. "We plan to appeal that and every other aspect of this illegitimate verdict and see to it that the perpetrators of this fraud are brought to justice," James Craig, a Chevron spokesman, told the Reuters news agency.
In case Chevron appeals, the lawsuit, which dates from drilling in the Andean nation during the 1970s and 1980s, could drag on. "This ruling is an intermediate step.