Posts Tagged ‘fracking’
Hundreds of North Carolinians attend final fracking hearing
Earlier this month, concerned citizens gathered in Cullowhee, N.C., for the fourth and final hearing on rules drafted to regulate hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the state. Throughout the series of hearings that began last month, it has been clear that North Carolinians overwhelmingly oppose the practice, and if the state’s rush to begin fracking can’t be completely stopped, the regulations must be stronger.
Full Disclosure?
As North Carolina considers its first natural gas drilling rules, a survey of the region shows how states are — and aren’t — regulating fracking.
Read MoreNorth Carolina “off the sidelines” to fast-track fracking
Four months after a massive coal ash spill devastated the Dan River, and before the state’s coal ash problem is remedied, North Carolina is poised to open a new can of worms. On Wednesday, Gov. Pat McCrory signed the Energy Modernization Act, lifting a moratorium on natural gas drilling in the state.
Unaddressed Concerns Keep Fracking in the Forefront
By Brian Sewell Nationwide, stories regarding natural gas-related water contamination, waste disposal and property rights concerns keep bubbling up, bolstering arguments used by opponents of fracking. And as natural gas prices rise due to cold weather and a slowdown in drilling, the fuel’s supporters are questioning how long claims of affordability will last. Increased demand…
Read MoreDiane Pitcock Connects Landowners to Fracking Researchers
By Molly Moore When Diane Pitcock and her family retired to rural Doddridge County, W.Va., in 2005, she planned on canning garden vegetables, watching the stars and listening to the owls. Today, however, four Marcellus Shale gas rigs surround her land, and the ridge behind her home hosts an access road instead of a forest.…
Read MoreThousand Cankers Disease Hits East Tennessee
By Meredith Warfield Black walnut trees are dying in Morgan and Rhea counties of eastern Tennessee. The culprit, according to a Tennessee Department of Agriculture announcement made this November, is Thousand Cankers Disease. The disease is a recent phenomenon in the East, but has been wreaking havoc in the western United States for the past…
Read MoreProgress and Setbacks for Appalachia’s Environment
Asheville City Council Approves Clean Energy Resolution In October, the city council of Asheville, N.C., unanimously approved a resolution to phase out the city’s use of coal-fired electricity and increase power generated from cleaner sources and saved through energy efficiency. Led by local citizen groups including the Western North Carolina Alliance and the Asheville Beyond…
Read MoreNew Rules Stoke Fear of Fracking on Public Lands
By Brian Sewell When the U.S. Department of the Interior released updated draft rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing on public and Indian lands, environmental advocates responded much as they did when the initial draft was released in 2012 — with disappointment. In the days following the Interior’s announcement, federal officials and Secretary Sally Jewell were…
Read MoreVirginia Teacher and Landowner Faces Energy Extraction
Landowner and teacher Gail Marney resides on an inter-generational family farm in the south. Her great-great grandfather moved here in the early 1800s and served in the Civil War. Now she finds her home threatened by natural gas extraction.
Read MoreVirginia Bill to Lift Uranium Mining Ban Withdrawn | Inspecting Fracking in Ohio
By Davis Wax On January 31, legislation to lift a 31-year old ban on uranium mining was withdrawn from the Virginia Senate floor before voting could commence that afternoon. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. John Watkins, removed the bill from the agenda of a panel expected to defeat the proposal. Like many others across the state,…
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