Acclaimed Canadian author lays out dirty back story of fossil fuel industry and government

NATIONAL OBSERVER

Jessica Ernst, the biologist who on Friday, lost a split decision in the Supreme Court of Canada over suing the Alberta Energy Regulator, is no ordinary person. Story here.

Oklahoma Rattled by Earthquake Near Pipeline Epicenter

CommonDreams

Oklahoma has experienced thousands of earthquakes in recent years, which scientists have linked back to fracking and wastewater disposal. Story here.

Yale Study Finds Fracking Linked to Cancer-Causing Chemicals

Nation of Change

The study also confirms the practice of fracking can contaminate both air and water in nearby communities. Story here.

Hundreds of Offshore Fracking Wells Dump Billions of Gallons of Oil Waste Into Gulf

EcoWatch by Andy Rowell

As the U.S. shale industry comes under increasing scrutiny for its environmental and health impact, it has emerged that the U.S. has approved fracking offshore leading to billions of gallons of wastewater to be dumped at sea. Story here.

Whistleblower Says EPA Officials Covered Up Toxic Fracking Methane Emissions for Years

Nation of Change

Why has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to take adequate action against disastrous, climate-warming methane emissions from the fracking industry? An environmental watchdog alleges that the answer may be…Story here.

Earthquakes Caused by Fracking Way More Common Than Thought

RELATED: "Is the "Dubious Duo" of Fracking & Earthquakes More Common in Canada Than we Know? PinP Wonders..."

RIVER ON FIRE! Gas Explodes From an Australian River Near a Fracking Site.

Fracking Study Finds Toxins In Wyoming Town's Groundwater and Raises Broader Concerns

Inside

climate

news

Study also finds companies fracked into underground sources of water and at much shallower depths than previously known, close to drinking water wells. More here.

Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry

The Nation By Bill McKibben

Fracking rig. By Battenbrook Wickimeda Commons.

Our leaders thought fracking would save our climate. They were wrong. Very wrong. More here.

Fracking Operation at Fox Creek, Alberta Closed Indefinitely After Earthquake

CBC News

Magnitude 4.8 quake rattles area, but no injuries or damage reported, energy regulator says. Story here.

RELATED: "Is the "Dubious Duo" of Fracking & Earthquakes More Common in Canada Than we Know? PinP Wonders..."

UK to Allow Shale Gas Fracking Beneath National Parks

• Reuters

British lawmakers have voted in favour of the use of fracking to extract shale gas under national parks, weakening a decision against fracking in national parks made earlier this year and giving shale gas explorers access to more resources. More here.

Fracking Studies Overwhelmingly Indicate Threats to Public Health

inside

climate

news

A comprehensive new look at a wide range of research concludes that fracking inevitably pollutes water and air and harms people. Story here.

UK Experiences Three Earthquakes a Year Due to Human Activity, Study Says.

theguardian

At least three earthquakes strike the UK every year as the result of human activity, according to a new study. Story here.

RELATED: "Is the "Dubious Duo" of Fracking & Earthquakes More Common in Canada Than we Know? PinP Wonders..." 

Alberta Earthquakes Tied to Fracking, Not Just Wastewater Injection

Inside Climate News

While most fracking-related earthquakes in the U.S. are pegged to wastewater injection, Canadian scientists believe fracking itself is to blame in Alberta. Story here.

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If you liked this one, here's another: "Is the "Dubious Duo" of Fracking & Earthquakes More Common in Canada Than we Know? PinP Wonders..."

Bombshell Study Reveals Methane Emissions Hugely Underestimated

Common Dreams

Findings throw EPA emissions database and countless other fracking studies into question. Story here.

Fracking Study on Water Contamination Under Ethics Review

Inside Climate News

Chesapeake Energy paid undisclosed fees to the lead author, whose study was based on water samples provided by the company. Story here.

Is the "Dubious Duo" of Fracking & Earthquakes More Common in Canada Than we Know? PinP Wonders...

by Larry Powell

PinP has learned that, years before “fracking” was blamed for a significant earthquake in northern Alberta early this year, a whole series of somewhat smaller quakes was happening in the Horn River Basin of northeastern BC, where fracking reached a peak some four years ago. 

Researchers representing the Geological Survey of Canada and the BC Oil and Gas Commission reviewed seismographs from the area from 2002 to 2011. They conclude there is a “high likelihood of a physical relationship” between the quakes and the fracking. They detected only 24 local quakes in the Basin in ’02 and ’03, before fracking began. But, by 2011, when fracking peaked, that number had jumped to 131. And so had the magnitude - from 2.9 (on the Richter scale) before fracking, to 3.6 afterward.

Then this past January, Alberta’s energy regulator blamed fracking for an earthquake in the northern part of that province, near Fox Creek. According to the CBC, it was “of 4.4 magnitude, severe enough to cause minor damage.” It was described as the worst quake of its kind ever attributed to fracking.

Fracking is another term for “hydraulic fracturing.” It’s a technique used in the energy industry. Water and chemicals are injected under tremendous pressure into underground shale formations, forcing the natural gas in them to the surface. Groups such as Physicians for Social Responsibility, have expressed a host of concerns about the practice, including the toxic nature of the chemicals which are suspected of polluting underground wellwater. Fracking has spread to many areas of the world over the past decades, including Canada. 

The research relating to the BC events was published recently in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. But it is not believed to have been widely reported in the mainstream media as yet. 

Which begs the question, just how many other earthquakes linked to fracking may already be occurring in Canada, which we haven't even heard about yet?

Stay tuned!

Crime In North Dakota’s Oil Boom Towns Is So Bad That The FBI Is Stepping In

ClimateProgress

Canadian pump jacks work the same geological 

formation as North Dakota. PinP photo.

High levels of crime in North Dakota’s oil fields have prompted the FBI to set up shop in the region.  Story here.

Wales Says No To Fracking Until ‘Proven Safe’

climateprogress

On Wednesday, the Welsh parliament voted in favor of a measure calling on the government to prevent fracking from taking place “until it is proven to be safe in both an environmental and public health context.” Story here.

As California Water Resources Dwindle, New Fears Over Drilling Waste Contamination

CommonDreams

Situation described as 'unfolding catastrophe' as investigation finds oil drilling companies injected untold amounts of waste into protected groundwater reserves. Story here.