Tag archives for fracking
South African Anti-Fracking Activist Calls for Global Alliance
Posted by Sandra Postel of National Geographic's Freshwater Initiative in Water Currents on May 13, 2013 
“We’ve got to stop doing this,” said Jonathan Deal, with a sense of urgency tinged with discomfort. Deal could well have been talking about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the oil and gas drilling practice he has tirelessly fought to stop in his native South Africa. But at this moment, he was talking about the energy-guzzling…
As Oil and Gas Drilling Competes for Water, One New Mexico County Says No
Posted by Sandra Postel of National Geographic's Freshwater Initiative in Water Currents on May 2, 2013 
In drought-plagued New Mexico, water is gold. And this week, Mora County in the northern part of the state took a firm stand to protect its precious liquid: it banned all oil and gas extraction from county lands. It is believed to be the first county in the nation to take such action. Big oil…
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This week, Boyd’s guests tell tales of lions stealing camera equipment, former whalers who used 19th-century techniques into the 1980s, how to reveal the magnificence of a chicken, and much more.
Posted by “Don’t Frack My Mother.” That’s the title of a catchy folk song now making the web rounds, written by Beatles scion Sean Lennon and performed by Yoko Ono, Liv Tyler, and assorted other celebrities. The song is intended to send a message to New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who will decide, likely later this month,…
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By Monika Freyman, Manager, Water Program, Ceres This post is the second in a two-part series from Monika Freyman, Manager in Ceres’ water program on hydraulic fracturing, water supplies and energy development. Read part one here. In the morning, we drove from Midland into sparsely populated, brush-dominated country. My colleague Ryan Salmon and I were on our way to…
By Monika Freyman, Manager, Water Program, Ceres This post is the first in a two-part series from Monika Freyman, Manager in Ceres’ water program on hydraulic fracturing, water supplies and energy development. Boarding a puddle jumper in Dallas, I picked up a copy of USA Today and opened to the headline“Wealth Rises in the USA’s Heartland.” It was a fitting…
British Columbia Bans Oil and Gas Development in Sacred Headwaters
Posted by Andrew Howley of NG Staff on December 19, 2012 
The response to a decade of work came yesterday, when the B.C. government announced a permanent ban on oil and gas exploration in the Sacred Headwaters.
Climate Change a Focus for President in Second Term
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on November 15, 2012 In his first press conference since being re-elected, President Barack Obama acknowledged he’ll focus on climate change in his second term. “I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior, and carbon emissions,” Obama said at a televised news conference on Wednesday. “And as a consequence, I think we’ve got an obligation to…
Motivation at Mohonk
Posted by Shari Sant Plummer on October 26, 2012 
“Sometimes you’re in a rut so deep you think it’s a groove” said Annie Leonard at the 25th Annual Environmental Grantmakers Association Retreat held at the Mohonk Mountain House in October. The conversation centered on how to ramp up our efforts and fight smarter on every level to change the environmental trajectory, preferably to one that…
In the second installment of “After the Gas Rush”, a civil engineer takes Roshini to an industry recycling plant, giving viewers get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the processing of fracking “flowback water.”
In the latest installment in the “Journey On Earth” film series, NG Emerging Explorer Roshini Thinakaran takes viewers into a heated public meeting, where they get to meet a working mom turned anti-fracking activist.
Libya’s Revolution Could Provide Stimulus through Cheaper Oil
Posted by Mason Inman on August 25, 2011 After rebel forces swept into Libya’s capital, Tripoli, the country may be able to start to ramp oil production and exports again, which many analysts hope will bring down oil prices. Libya claims Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, and was producing about 1.6 million barrels a day when the production suddenly dropped to near zero in February. Many…
Scrambling to Head Off Power Outages Caused by Heat Waves, Rapid Growth, and Disaster
Posted by Mason Inman on August 18, 2011 Texas has suffered through the worst drought and one of the worst heat waves on record, pushing electricity use to a record high in an attempt to cope. Texas is the state with the largest installed wind capacity, and recently installed wind farms came through to boost the state’s electricity generation just in time. However, even this jump was…
Ailing Economies Push Richer Countries to Tap Emergency Oil Reserves
Posted by Mason Inman on June 30, 2011 In a move that caught many by surprise, the world’s richer oil-importing countries will soon tap into emergency oil reserves, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced, arguing: “Greater tightness in the oil market threatens to undermine the fragile global economic recovery.” In total, over the next 30 days, IEA member countries plan to release 60 million barrels…
Natural Gas Fracking Under Increasing Pressure
Posted by Mason Inman on May 12, 2011 The Oscar-nominated documentary “Gasland” featured dramatic clips of people whose tap water could be set on fire, apparently a side effect of “fracking,” a method of opening up fissures deep underground to unlock natural gas. A new Duke study backs up these residents’ woes, finding that drinking water near fracking sites had average methane levels…
