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We are glad to see that Governor Snyder, in his recent message
Ensuring our Future: Energy and the Environment, acknowledges the
significant public concerns around the impacts of hydraulic fracturing (or
“fracking”) for natural gas and oil on the environment and public health.
We agree with Governor Snyder that scientific analysis should drive the
treatment of hydraulic fracturing in Michigan, and look forward to
working with the state and the University of Michigan in their evaluation
of fracking.
Frack Secrets by Thousands Keep U.S. Clueless on Wells
A subsidiary of Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) pumped a mixture of
chemicals identified only as “EXP- F0173-11” into a half-dozen oil wells
in rural Karnes County, Texas, in July.
Few people outside Nabors, the largest onshore drilling contractor by
revenue, know exactly what’s in that blend. This much is clear: One
ingredient, an unidentified solvent, can cause damage to the kidney and
liver, according to safety information about the product that Michigan
state regulators have on file.
On Our Radar: New York State Delays Fracking Rules
The administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the deadline for
its pending regulations on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a controversial
technique used to extract natural gas from shale formations. The governor
said the delay would allow time for completion of a state-authorized
health study. [WNYC]
Fracking Our Food Supply
In a Brooklyn winery on a sultry July evening, an elegant crowd sips
rosé and nibbles trout plucked from the gin-clear streams of upstate New
York. The diners are here, with their checkbooks, to support a group called
Chefs for the Marcellus, which works to protect the foodshed upon which
hundreds of regional farm-to-fork restaurants depend. The foodshed is
coincident with the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation that arcs
northeast from West Virginia through Pennsylvania and into New York
State. As everyone invited here knows, the region is both agriculturally
and energy rich, with vast quantities of natural gas sequestered deep below
its fertile fields and forests.