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Things To Worry About
Hydraulic Fracturing
"Fracking is one of the dumbest technologies there is." — David Suzuki
"Zero Tolerance For Pollution in New Mexico"
Hydraulic Fracturing Technology
 | "Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know" [2013] by Alex Prud'homme Kindle Edition from Oxford Univ Press [10/2013] for $8.79 Oxford Univ Press 8x5½ pb [12/2013] for $13.56 Oxford Univ Press 8¼x5½ hardcover [12/2013] for $66.60 |
 | "The Oil & Gas Industry: A Nontechnical Guide" [2012] by Joseph F. Hilyard PennWell Corp. 9¼x6½ hardcover [8/2012] for $59.25 |
 | "Oil & Gas Pipelines In Nontechnical Language" [2006] by Thomas O. Miesner & William L. Leffler PennWell Corp. 9½x6½ hardcover [3/2006] for $62.50 |
 | "Oil & Gas Production In Nontechnical Language" [2005] by Martin S. Raymond PennWell Corp. 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/2005] for $55.76 |
 | "The Science Beneath The Surface: A Very Short Guide To The Marcellus Shale" [2013] by Don Duggan-Haas, Robert M. Ross & Warren D. Allmon
Kindle Edition from P.R.I. Publns [3/2014] for $9.99 Paleontological Research Institution pb [10/2013] out of print/used |
The Dangers of 'Fracking'
There is plenty of evidence that hydraulic fracturing technology - now commonly known as 'fracking' - pollutes the groundwater wherever it is being used. Why then is there
controversy or uncertainty? Because the oil & gas industry is stonewalling the matter: oil & gas industry lobbyists bought enough members of Congress to pass a law that exempts
fracking operations from all regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency. The oil & gas industry thus is NOT required to reveal the ingredients of the volatile pressurized
liquid forced into shale formations deep underground. When concerned citizen groups file Freedom of Information Act queries, the oil & gas companies refuse, hiding behind the
'industrial secrets' exemption: if they reveal their recipe, then competitors will gain an advantage. And since the ingredients are kept secret, there can be no field tests to match
those ingredients to the toxic chemicals newly found in local groundwater.
And, oh yeah, earthquake incidents in Ohio, Oklahoma & Colorado have increased fifty-fold near fracking operations.
"Hydraulic fracturing IS pollution until scientifically proven otherwise."
~~ G.E. Nordell
"Deep injection of wastewater [from fracking] is the primary cause of the dramatic rise in detected earthquakes
and the corresponding increase in seismic hazard in the central U.S."
— per February 2015 news release from U.S. Department of the Interior / U.S. Geological Survey
that corroborates a study just published in Science Magazine
A new study from Yale University released in August 2022 shows us a distressing truth that many already suspected: proximity to fracking sites shows a strong link to increased rates of childhood cancer. Per the study, "Pennsylvania children living near unconventional oil and gas (UOG) developments at birth were two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with leukemia between the ages of 2 and 7 than those who did not live near this oil and gas activity, after accounting for other factors that could influence cancer risk."
That's a brutal statistic, and one that has surely brought many families unimaginable grief.
N e w s I t e m s
November 2011: The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota passed a law that bans 'fracking' on its reservation lands.
news story at Indian Country Today tribal website
K.K. Bold's tribal fansite
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 |
October 2014: N.A.S.A./J.P.L.-CalTech scientists looking at satellite photos from 2003 to 2009 found the worst U.S. concentration of methane gas to be in the Four Corners area near Farmington, New Mexico; the obvious source for this 'hotspot' is the thousands of oil and gas wells there that are using unregulated 'fracking' technology. Scientists plan to use more-detailed aerial mapping to try to locate the worst offenders. 'San Juan Basin methane cloud' entry at Wikipedia |
October 2014: The Eastern Band of Cherokees in North Carolina passed a law that bans 'fracking' on tribal lands.
news story at Daily Kos tribal website
♦ ♦ ♦
blogpost "Constant Toxic Spills in Alberta, Canada" (Nov 2014) at Dateline Chamesa weblog
♦ ♦ ♦
 click for very large view of ND photo (note fracking tower and church) | January 2015: News photo of crews digging up land at the saltwater spill site at Blacktail Creek outside Williston, N.D. A state health official called the 70,000 barrel (3 million gallon) brine spill the state's largest since the current oil boom began in 2006. The new spill is almost three times larger than one that fouled a portion of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in July 2014; another million-gallon saltwater spill occurred in 2006 near Alexander, ND and is still being cleaned up nearly a decade later. |
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August 2017: By late 2015, B.P. {British Petroleum) had snagged 33,000 acres in the San Juan Basin, which stretches across New Mexico and Colorado, from Devon Energy, a year after announcing plans to form a self-contained U.S. shale segment that was first headquartered in Houston. B.P. plans to open a new headquarters for the unit in Denver next year. Dave Lawler, head of B.P.'s shale gas unit, said the discovery means that the Mancos Shale part of the San Juan Basin could become one of the nation's top shale plays.
Houston Chronicle article dated 7 August 2017
L i n k s
Coalition To Protect New York [est. 2010]
New Yorkers Against Fracking [est. 2012]
Responsible Energy Action group in Antigonish, Nova Scotia [est. 2011]
Don't Frack P.E.I. group [est. 1/2013] on Prince Edward Island in Canada
The Council of Canadians activist group [est. 1985] Fracking Dept.
Catskill [NY] MountainKeeper [est. 2006]
Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy
Oil & Gas Journal [est. 1902] of Tulsa & Houston
![Americans Against Fracking: National Coalition To Ban Fracking [est. 2012]](images/AmericansAgainstFracking.jpg)
Propaganda Websites of Oil & Gas Industry Lobbyists
Energy From Shale website [est. 2011] of the American Petroleum Institute
Energy Tomorrow: The People of America's Oil & Gas Industry [est. 2006]
Western Energy Alliance [est. 1974] based in Denver, Colorado
Bakken Shale Formation [MT, ND, Canada] News, Jobs, and [Dis-]Information
Eagle Ford Shale Formation [MX, TX] News, Jobs, and [Dis-]Information
Haynesville/Bossier Shale Formation [AR, LA, TX] News, Jobs, and [Dis-]Information
Marcellus Shale Formation [MD, NY, OH, PA, VA, WV, Canada] News, Jobs, and [Dis-]Information
Niobrara Chalk Shale Formation [CO, KS, NE, WY] News, Jobs, and [Dis-]Information
Permian Basin Shale Formation [NM, TX] News, Jobs, and [Dis-]Information
Three Forks Shale Formation [MT, ND] News, Jobs, and [Dis-]Information
Utica Shale Formation in eastern Ohio
Make Tons of Money by Investing in Polluting Industries
Crude Energy [est. 7/2008] investment opportunities - based in Dallas, Texas
B o o k s
browse bestselling books on Environmental Science at Amazon
 | "Under The Surface: Fracking, Fortunes, and The Fate of The Marcellus Shale" [2012] by Tom Wilber Kindle Edition from Cornell Univ Press [5/2012] for $15.37 Cornell Univ Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [5/2012] for $20.93 |
 | "Shale Gas: The Promise and The Peril" [2012] by Vikram Rao, PhD Kindle Edition from R.T.I. Intl. Press [7/2012] for $7.95 R.T.I. Intl. Press 9x6 pb [7/2012] for $12.56 |
 | "Fracking: America's Alternative Energy Revolution" [2012] by financial consultant John Graves Kindle Edition from Safe Harbor [12/2012] for $6.00 Safe Harbor 9½x6 pb [1/2013] for $15.69 official book site, with online videos |
 | "Fracking Capitalism: Action Plans For The Eco-Social Crisis" [2013] Edited by Paul Feldman concerns the fracking assault on Great Britain by government-sanctioned oil & gas companies; 48 pages of essays by Penny Cole, Matt Worsdale, Gerry Gold, others official booksite Lupus Books UK 8¼x5¾ pb [11/2013] out of print/used |
 | "Fracking Pennsylvania: Flirting With Disaster" [2013] by Walter M. Brasch Greeley & Stone, Publrs 2nd edition 9x6 pb [2/2014] for $20.57 Greeley & Stone, Publrs 2nd edition 9x6 hardcover [2/2014] for $37.56 |
 | "Snake Oil: How Fracking's False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future" [2013] by Richard Heinberg
Kindle Edition from Post Carbon Institute [7/2013] for $4.99 Post Carbon Institute 9x6 pb [7/2013] - status uncertain (2015) |
 | "Fractures: A Novel" [2013] by Lamar Herrin Fictional family drama set against the background of oil companies buying leases for hydro-fracking in a small town that sits atop the Marcellus Shale. Kindle Edition from Thomas Dunne/Macmillan [11/2013] for $10.65 Thomas Dunne Books 9½x6¼ hardcover [11/2013] for $17.20 |
 | "The Boom: How Fracking Ignited The American Energy Revolution and Changed The World" [2014] by Russell Gold, senior reporter at The New York Times
Kindle Edition from Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [4/2014] for $3.99 {sic} Simon & Schuster 8½x5½ pb [4/2015] for $15.64 Simon & Schuster 9x6¼ hardcover [4/2014] out of print/100+ used |
 | "The Real Cost of Fracking: How America's Shale Gas Boom Is Threatening Our Families, Pets, and Food" [2014] by Michelle Bamberger & Robert Oswald, Foreword by Sandra Steingraber Kindle Edition from Beacon Press [8/2014] for $14.55 Beacon Press hardcover [8/2014] for $19.56 |
 | "A Field Philosopher's Guide To Fracking: How One Texas Town Stood Up To Big Oil and Gas" [2015] by Adam Briggle
Kindle Edition from Liveright [10/2015] for $12.99 Liveright 9½x6½ hardcover [10/2015] for $17.91 |
"The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside" [11/2013] by Gregory Zuckerman
http://www.amazon.com/The-Frackers-Outrageous-Billionaire-Wildcatters-ebook/dp/B00C5R7CHK/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Frackers-Outrageous-Billionaire-Wildcatters/dp/1591846455/
"The American Shales" [4/2014] by Nissa Darbonne
http://www.amazon.com/American-Shales-Nissa-Darbonne-ebook/dp/B00K1EY1Z0/
http://www.amazon.com/The-American-Shales-Nissa-Darbonne/dp/1497375622/
"Groundswell: The Case for Fracking" national bestseller [5/2014] by Ezra Levant
http://www.amazon.com/Groundswell-Case-Fracking-Ezra-Levant-ebook/dp/B004J4XG2M/
http://www.amazon.com/Groundswell-Case-Fracking-Ezra-Levant/dp/0771046456/
http://www.amazon.com/Groundswell-Case-Fracking-Ezra-Levant/dp/0771046448/
"The Fracking Truth: Americas Energy Revolution: the Inside, Untold Story" [6/2014] by Chris Faulkner
http://www.amazon.com/Fracking-Truth-Americas-Energy-Revolution/dp/0985070374/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Fracking-Truth-America-Revolution-ebook/dp/B00L8ZRJYG/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Fracking-War-Michael-Fitzgerald/dp/1626527067/
http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Country-Dispatches-Frack/dp/0812980646/
http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Country-Dispatches-Frack/dp/1400068533/
http://www.amazon.com/The-Human-Environmental-Impact-Fracking/dp/1440832595/
"Frackopoly: The Battle for the Future of Energy and the Environment" [] by Wenonah Hauter ISBN: 9781620970072
 | "The New Wild West: Black Gold, Fracking, and Life In A North Dakota Boomtown" [2017] by Blaire Briody Kindle Edition from St. Martin's Press [9/2017] for $14.99 St. Martin's Press 9½x6½ hardcover [9/2017] for $17.80 |
Movies & Television, Other Media
"Crude Independence" documentary feature [indep 2009]
 | When oil was discovered under North Dakota in the Bakken Shale formation in 2006, oil companies swarmed over the land, expecting that they would get rich very quickly using new 'fracking' technologies. Filmmaker Hutton {son of Debra Winger} documented the changes that took place in the tiny (pop. 1,300) town of Stanley. Exec produced by Jonathan Demme; directed by Noah Hutton DVD/Blu-ray not yet available credits at IMDb watch 9/2008 official trailer [4:20] at YouTube |
"Split Estate" documentary film [Red Rock Aug 2009]
 | "What you don't know CAN hurt you" 74-minute documentary showing the very dirty side of hydraulic fracturing {'fracking'} and the natural gas industry which falsely & criminally promotes itself as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Produced & directed by Debra Anderson; narrated by Ali McGraw; aired on Discovery Channel / Network Green in 2010, won Emmy Award for Outstanding Research
Bullfrog color DVD [6/2011] for $20.68 full credits at IMDb official movie site |
"GasLand" documentary film [H.B.O. broadcast June 2010]
 | Halliburton developed a way to get rock-bound natural gas out of the ground, a hydraulic drilling process called 'fracking', and suddenly America finds itself becoming an energy superpower. The downside? The drilling companies are polluting underground water aquifers, some of which deliver so much pollution into homes that you can light a flame to the water coming out of the kitchen tap. Co-produced, written & directed by Josh Fox; featuring energy exec Aubrey K. McClendon and archive footage of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Richard Nixon, T. Boone Pickens & Pete Seeger; nominated for Best Documentary Feature Oscar and for W.G.A. Best Documentary Screenplay, won Emmy Award for Nonfiction Programming, won Special Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, won Special Jury Prize at Sarasota Film Festival, won Environmental Media Award
Docurama color DVD [12/2010] for $13.99 full credits at IMDb official movie site |
 | "TruthLand" [indep June 2012] Propaganda film produced by Energy In Depth [est. 2009], set up by the 6,000-member Independent Petroleum Association of America [IPAA; est. 1929], a right-wing oil & gas lobby; the film is an attempted rebuttal to Josh Fox's 2010 "GasLand" documentary not listed at IMDb official movie site watch online [34:29] at YouTube |
"60 Minutes: Shaleionaires" segment [CBS News 2010]
 | 12-minute segment produced by Shachar Bar-On & Meghan Frank; featuring reporter Lesley Stahl, with Aubrey K. McClendon, C.B. Leatherwood, Mike Smith, Chuck Duginski, Tim Ruggiero, Craig Sautner, Christine Ruggiero, Mike Brune, Bill Ely & Victoria Switzer
CBS News color DVD [11/2010] for $17.95 credits at IMDb [Nov 2010 broadcast] watch original segment [13:26] on CBS website credits at IMDb [July 2011 re-broadcast] |
"The Sky Is Pink" documentary short film [indep June 2012]
 | The State of New York will soon decide on standards for 'fracking' and the oil & gas industry lobby is spending millions of dollars in dis-information campaigns to get the state to allow them to drill for shale gas with no responsibility for the long-term outcomes. Co-produced, written & directed by Josh Fox
credits at IMDb watch complete film [18:33] free online at YouTube |
"The Debate Over Fracking" segment [CBS News Dec 2012]
watch original segment [7:42] on CBS website
"Rooted Lands / Tierras Arraigadas" [indep Dec 2012]
 | The citizens of rural northeast New Mexico became alarmed when the oil & gas companies began buying up mineral leases in Mora and San Miguel Counties, expecting no opposition from the sparsely-settled area. But the citizens rose up to defend the richness of their culture, their heritage, their landscape, and their place. The film also explores how people living in the Four Corners area of northwest New Mexico have been impacted by 'full field development' by the fracking industry.
Co-produced, written & directed by Renea Roberts; narrated by Fredrick Lopez purchase DVD from producer website for $19.95 or less + s/h, via PayPal full credits at IMDb official movie site watch official trailer [3:25] at Vimeo |
"Promised Land" [Participant Media/Focus Features Dec 2012]
 | Fictional drama about a powerful natural gas company that infiltrates a small rural town to tap into subterranean resources and the effect on the residents lives. Co-written by & starring Matt Damon & John Krasinski; directed by Gus Van Sant; also starring Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook, Titus Welliver; won Special Mention Award at Berlin Intl. Film Festival, won 2 awards from National Board of Review
Universal Studios widescreen color Blu-ray/DVD/digital combo [4/2013] 2 disks for $24.96 Universal Studios widescreen color DVD [4/2013] for $19.96 full credits at IMDb official movie site |
 | "FrackNation" [AXS-TV Jan 2013] A right-wing oil & gas lobby propaganda film as response to the "Gasland" 2010 documentary and also an attempt at an antidote to the "Promised Land" drama film going wide in January 2013 Co-produced & co-directed by and starring Phelim McAleer; co-directed by Ann McElhinney & Magdalena Segieda Magnolia Home Ent./Magnet widescreen color Blu-ray [6/2014] for $18.49 Magnolia Home Ent./Magnet widescreen color DVD [6/2014] for $14.49 credits at IMDb official movie site movie entry at Wikipedia prior 10/2012 docushort "The Dinosaur Election" [5:26] at YouTube |
"La Malιdiction du Gaz de Schiste" TV documentary [Europe Jan 2013]
  | English title: "Drill Baby Drill" Farmers in a small village in eastern Poland discover that megacorporation Chevron is planning to drill for shale gas, and they revolt, starting a chain of events that are quite surprising.
Written & directed by Lech Kowalski credits at IMDb available at producer website for €4,99 for 2-day window Arte TV movie page (France) director's official movie site (France) |
"GasLand Part II" documentary sequel
[H.B.O. broadcast July 2013]
 | "The issues have reached new depths" Shown at Tribeca Film Festival in April 2013, oil industry-hired 'protesters' got upset at being turned away; broadcast on HBO July 9th; the gas industry's portrayal of natural gas as a clean & safe alternative to crude oil is a myth: 'fracked' wells inevitably leak over time, which will inevitably contaminate water and air - hurting families and the economy, and endangering the earth's climate with the potent greenhouse gas methane Co-produced & directed by Josh Fox New Video Group widescreen color DVD [1/2014] for $16.48 credits at IMDb HBO-TV 6/2013 official trailer [0:49] at YouTube |
"Shattered Ground" TV movie [CBC-TV Canada Feb 2013]
 | Hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' is a new technology that has opened up immense resources of natural gas buried in deep shale beds, but is also opening up health & environmental concerns on a scale that has never been seen before. Broadcast as an episode of David Suzuki's "The Nature of Things" TV series.
Co-written & directed by Leif Kaldor; produced & co-written by Leslea Mair; hosted by David Suzuki
full credits at IMDb official movie site |
"No Gazaran" documentary [France April 2014]
 | When citizens of southern France discovered in 2011 that a series of secret permits for shale gas 'fracking' were issued without environmental safeguards, 20,000 demonstrators gathered to protest, and the permits were cancelled. But the oil & gas industry proceeded with exploration anyway and the citizens stepped up their resistance, passing laws and taking other democratic measures to prevent the Oligarchs from poisoning the land.
90-minute documentary co-written & co-directed by Doris Buttignol & Carole Menduni full credits at IMDb official movie site watch French-language official trailer [2:04] from Nour Films at Vimeo |
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