By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebel There are a lot of things happening on our planet you wouldn’t really think are funny, but that doesn’t mean we can’t laugh about them. Laughter helps us cope with the chaos, and being willing to joke about sensitive issues can…
By John Vibes Hydraulic fracturing is a natural gas extraction method that has become extremely controversial for its environmental impacts. Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water,…
By Julia Conley (COMMONDREAMS) — Environmental groups from around the world applauded Scotland on Tuesday for its decision to ban fracking, following an overwhelming public outcry against the practice—and called for the United States and the rest of the United Kingdom to follow suit. The Scottish government held…
By Vic Bishop The global movement to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a method of extracting petrochemicals from shale rock deposits underneath the ground, is gaining steam as Ireland has just announced a ban on onshore fracking. After passing the ban within the Irish parliament, The Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Prohibition…
By Catherine J Frompovich I remember the celebration of the first “Earth Day” in the United States. It was April 22, 1970, founded by then U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson. I recall how moved I was driving to work down a lovely then-country, now urbanized, road….
By Nadia Prupis The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed on Tuesday that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, contaminates drinking water—but claimed a lack of information makes it impossible to determine how widespread the risks are. In a final report issued Tuesday, Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and…
By Whitney Webb The Bureau of Land Management plans to hold an online auction next month which will grant fossil fuel companies the right to frack Ohio’s only national forest. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) claims to manage public land for the “common good.”…
By Dierdre Fulton As yet another study links fracking to cancer-causing chemicals, Pennsylvanians opposed to oil and gas drilling in their state are reiterating their call for a statewide moratorium on the practice. A new analysis from the Yale School of Public Health “confirms that…
By Whitney Webb Though many believe that the Gulf of Mexico is “back to normal” following the 2010 BP oil spill, the Gulf has continued to suffer silently in the years since. Natural gas and oil companies, with full approval of the EPA, have been…
By Whitney Webb For years, scientists and other have speculated that the spike in earthquakes in Oklahoma was linked to natural gas extraction via the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as “fracking”, is hugely controversial due to its permanent destruction…
By Sue Sturgis When you think of a fracking site, the image that comes to mind is probably a bare-scraped well pad in a rural or maybe suburban landscape, topped with a drilling rig and other industrial infrastructure, and a fleet of trucks to haul…
By Danielle Filson New research indicates that living near a natural gas hydraulic fracturing site is associated with increased rates of sinus problems, migraines and fatigue in Pennsylvania residents – a state that has over 9,700 fracking wells. This study is the latest in mounting…
By Christina Sarich California — 350,000 people just asked California’s governor to halt the dangerous practice of irrigating crops with oil-contaminated wastewater from Chevron. A petition representing more than a quarter million Californians was delivered by activists who gathered outside the state capitol this past…
By Brandon Turbeville After years of discussion and debate, Germany’s Coalition Government has finally agreed to ban shale gas fracking. While some are hailing the decision and praising the new policy others do not believe the law goes far enough. The question of fracking has been…
The Massachusetts Senate approved a bill yesterday to place a ten-year moratorium on fracking and the disposal of fracking wastewater in the Commonwealth. “Across the country, fracking is polluting drinking water and making families sick,” said Ben Hellerstein, State Director for Environment Massachusetts. “We applaud…
By Claire Bernish Scotland — In one fell swoop, Scotland banned fracking — permanently — when parliament narrowly voted in favor of cementing the country’s temporary moratorium on the controversial practice. With the original intention of conducting full health and environmental impact assessments before continuing…
By Natural Blaze Barium leaches directly from fracked rocks, Dartmouth team finds Barium is a silvery heavy metal that is toxic to mammals. It is also found in another practice that happens without any consultation of the people – geoengineering, aka chemtrails in the sky,…
By Vandita In an attempt to draw attention to the dangerous effects of fracking — a technique designed to extract natural gas and oil by fracturing shale rocks through drilling and injecting water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure — Greens MP…
By Nadia Prupis Residents of Pavillion, Wyoming, central town in fracking debate, began complaining of tainted water in 1990s A study published Tuesday has found that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, had a “clear impact” on the groundwater in Pavillion, Wyoming, raising new concerns over the drilling…
By Claire Bernish Though fracking industry proponents scoff at any intimation their so-called vital industry poses even scant risks to the public, a new study published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology just proved those critics right — fracking wastewater causes cancer. Using human bronchial epithelial cells, which…
