Is Obama's Faith in Carbon Capture a Technicolor Dream?

"President Obama's climate action announcement yesterday relies heavily on carbon capture and storage technology eventually paying off as a commercially viable option. But carbon capture and storage (or CCS) continues to be more of a dream than reality. And a very expensive dream at that.

According to a database maintained atMIT's Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies program, there are currently six large scale CCS projects underway in the United States. Five of the six projects are still in the planning phase, with one project listed as under construction. The current projected price tag of these six projects is a whopping $16.7 billion."

Full story here.

Thank you Steve Horn! Obama Climate Plan a Full-throttle Fracking Endorsement

We have watched Steve Horn grow over the last three years and he is now writing articles that are on Huffington Post. All we have to say is... Steve, you are amazing. Keep up the great work!!!

Here is Steve's latest article: Obama Climate Plan a Full-throttle Fracking Endorsement

EPA delays fracking safety study until 2016

"In 2010, Congress ordered the EPA to look into the dangers posed to drinking water sources by hydraulic fracturing. That research was expected to be completed in 2014. But last Tuesday, an EPA official told attendees of a shale-gas conference in Cleveland, Ohio, that it wouldn’t be done until 2016."

Full story found here.

GE To Invest Billions Of Dollars In Fracking

"One of America's corporate giants is investing billions of dollars in the new boom of oil and gas drilling, or fracking. General Electric Co. is opening a new laboratory in Oklahoma, buying up related companies, and placing a big bet that cutting-edge science will improve profits for clients and reduce the environmental and health effects of the boom.

"We like the oil and gas base because we see the need for resources for a long time to come," said Mark Little, a senior vice president. He said GE did "almost nothing" in oil and gas just over a decade ago but has invested more than $15 billion in the past few years.

GE doesn't drill wells or produce oil or gas, but Little said the complexity of the fracking boom plays into the company strengths. Wells are being drilled horizontally at great depths in a variety of formations all around the country, and that means each location may require different techniques."

The complete article can be found here

This is an event Students Against Fracking hosted at NYU with Ian Urbina, Investigative Journalist from the NYTimes. Thank you The Environment TV for this awesome video! 

Ian Urbina - New York Times
Elisabeth Radow - Attorney at Law
Lauren Singer - Students Against Fracking

Dr. Ingraffea Discusses Gas Well Construction and Hydrofracking

IHT: German Brewers Warn Against Fracking

"German brewers are warning against fracking in their country, invoking the beer purity law of 1516 that only allows basic, and pure, ingredients in real beer. They worry that shale gas removal could lead to a contamination of the water they use to make the national drink." 

The complete article can be found here

June 17th Rally in Albany!

Friends, With the Governor telling us again that the fracking decision for New York is weeks away, it's time to reserve your seat on the bus for a big anti-fracking rally taking place in Albany onJune 17th. New York stands at a crossroads; this is our moment to decide the course of history. Here is the information: WHAT: New York Crossroads: An Anti-Fracking & Pro-Renewables Rally WHEN: Monday, June 17th, 12pm-3pm WHERE: Rally and March in East Capitol Lawn, Albany, NY TRANSPORTATION: Sign up for Buses here. SPEAKERS & PERFORMERS: Natalie Merchant, Arun Gandhi, Sandra Steingraber, Lois Gibbs (and more to be added soon!) Please sign up HERE to RSVP on FACEBOOK and SHARE. Download the NY CROSSROADS FLYER and bring it to events happening in the next couple of weeks. Here is what the event is about: On Wednesday, June 17, 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor, where she has stood as our nation’s symbol of freedom ever since. On Monday, June 17, 2013, citizens from across New York—from Long Island to Niagara Falls—will arrive in Albany to demand freedom from dirty energy, calling on Governor Cuomo to reject fracking and lead the nation in constructing a renewable energy economy here and now in New York. At this march and rally, the anti-fracking movement will, for the first time, join with business leaders, faith leaders, health professionals, elected officials, farmers, and youth to demand the renewable energy jobs that our families and communities want and deserve. New York is at a crossroads. In one direction: more ruinous dependency on dirty, dangerous fossil fuels. This path requires we blow apart the bedrock of our state and inject it with toxic chemicals. Providing only temporary, dangerous jobs, it leads to accidents, explosions, poisoned water, polluted air, contaminated food, public health disasters and climate catastrophe. This road chains us to the past and ransoms our children’s future. Running in the other direction is the road to renewable energy based on wind, water, and sunlight. This path leaves our communities unfractured and provides long-term, safe jobs to New Yorkers. This path creates an infrastructure that will not cost us the water we drink, the air we breathe or the health of our children. This path will make New York a leader in energy independence and, once more, a beacon of hope for the world. This path is the one we demand because our lives literally depend on it. Governor Cuomo has said, “We will not allow the national paralysis over climate change to stop us from pursuing the necessary path for the future.” We agree. Here in New York, where we have watched our subways fill with seawater and witnessed Hurricanes Irene, Lee and Sandy wash away our communities, we now call on our governor to reject the climate-destroying practice of fracking and take aggressive strides towards a 100% renewable energy economy. On June 17th, we invite people from every corner of New York State to gather at the State Capitol in Albany. Here, we will stand united to demand that Governor Cuomo reject fracking and blaze a trail to a renewable energy future. Join us for this historic event as we rally in the East Capitol Lawn and march in the streets surrounding the Capitol building. The moment of power is now! What: New York Crossroads: Rally to Stop Fracking and Demand Renewable Energy When: Monday, June 17th, 12pm-3pm Where: Rally and March in East Capitol Lawn, Albany, NY Transportation: Sign up for buses here Please sign up HERE to RSVP on FACEBOOK and SHARE. Sponsored by: New Yorkers Against Fracking, Food & Water Watch, Frack Action, Catskill Mountainkeeper, NYPIRG, Citizen Action of New York, Environment New York, United for Action, Citizens Environmental Coalition, Alliance for a Green Economy, Sierra Club-Atlantic Chapter, Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, Save The Southern Tier, and many more! Thank you and see you in Albany!

Grist: Fracking accident leaks benzene into Colorado stream

"A plant for fracked natural gas processor Williams Energy, near Parachute, Colo., spilled an estimated 241 barrels of mixed natural gas liquid into the ground, some of which eventually washed as benzene into Parachute Creek." 

The complete article can be found here

FracTracker

FracTracker is an amazing resource. Here is their mission:

"The FracTracker Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the public’s understanding of the impacts of the global oil and gas industry by collecting, interpreting, and sharing data and visualizations through our website, FracTracker.org. We partner with citizens, organizations and institutions – allied in a quest for objective, helpful information – to perpetuate awareness and support actions that protect public health, the environment, and socioeconomic well-being.

To that end, we:

• Believe that data, science, and public participation should and can influence public policy
  and decision-making
• Encourage, seek, and accept data from a variety of sources
• Acknowledge the variable quality of data and provide explanatory “metadata” to
  foster transparency
• Offer our own analyses, articles, and maps to help promulgate knowledge
• Provide outreach and training to news media, community leaders, students, conservationists,
  public health professionals, concerned citizens, and others to encourage use of the website"

This is a group of maps that I absolutely love. The first is a map of fracking bans, moratoria, and movements in new york state followed by a table with the city names. The second is a map of municipalities in NY that support fracking. Go fractracker!