Texas based blogger "TXsharon".
"I'm a landowner and a mineral owner on top of the Barnett Shale.
If you want to know how I became known as TXsharon and why industry tries to discredit me by calling me a "left-wing lunatic with a socialists agenda," you can read about it here: How I became a "Far Left Radical with a socialist agenda," etc. And, yes, I'm a mineral owner.
In January 2010, I started working for Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project on a very part-time basis. I am likely the only person in Texas who gets paid for helping Texans who are negatively effected by oil and gas development. We hope to make my position full-time soon."
See: Cheney Helped Halliburton Hide Secrets About Dangerous Chemicals in YOUR Drinking Water. Tue Nov 25, 2008 at 08:36:40 AM CST.
See: "Doodygate".
See TxSharon's Diary on the Daily Kos.
See Barnett Shale: Aerial View and Cattle Drink Drilling Waste
Most Texans don’t know what the Texas Railroad Commission is or does. In 2007, one Texas blogger changed that: Sharon Wilson. Wilson’s reporting on the injection well drilling in the Barnett Shale region and its impact on the water quality and the environment in Wise County and surrounding areas has been exceedingly important to bringing wider attention to the dangers this practice poses across the state.
Wilson has nearly single-handedly stood up to large oil companies and made the companies and state agencies–including the Texas Railroad Commission–take notice. Relentless in her drive to educate the public and elected officials to the damage being done to the Texas environment, Wilson’s investigative reporting and blogging is worthy of recognition.
River Valley Resident. Posted on blog by Liz J. Bucar, Breathing is Political. Thoughtful soul-searching essay on Gas Drilling.
Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy is a volunteer grassroots organization intended to give residents a voice in the emerging energy decisions in the Catskills.
Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy News Page.
See: Steve Coffman. (2009). The Safety of Fracturing Fluids – A Quantitative Assessment
Catskill Mountainkeeper is a member based advocacy organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the long term health of the six counties of the Catskill Region. Up to date news about gas drilling, boating, bears, stories, and more.
See: People's Stories
[Pennsylvania Legislation Activism restricted to residents of Pennsylvania. A good example of citizen activism on clean water legislation.]
In the past two years, the natural gas industry has recklessly endangered the safety of Pennsylvania's waterways. Just this September, thousands of gallons of dangerous fluids, like diesel fuel and hydrochloric acid, have been spilled in multiple incidents in our state. Sadly, that's just the beginning when it comes to kind of accidents that have endangered our environment and our health.
It would not be so bad if we did a better job of watching drillers. That's why Rep. Bud George wants to make it the law that drill sites have to be visited by inspectors multiple times.
Help get your representative to support critical legislation sponsored by Bud George to better regulate the gas drilling. This bill requires the Department of Environmental Protections to:
- Require inspections of every well multiple times during the life of that well.
- Require drillers to take more care when drilling nearby residential drinking water wells.
- Require drilling operators disclose chemical ingredients in hydro-fracking fluids.
- Require realistic bonding on wells to insure the Commonwealth against potential future contamination and leaks.
The gas industry needs to play by the same rules as everyone else. Urge your representative to support HB 2213! (Referred to ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, Jan. 20, 2010)
New York's drinking water is under threat from dirty drilling made possible by "hydraulic fracturing" -- but it doesn't have to be.
We can take a drilling "time-out" -- to learn the hard-won lessons of drilling-polluted communities in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and everywhere drillers pushed ahead without adequate regulation and enforcement.
Filmmaker Josh Fox of WaterUnderAttack.Com shows America how to speak truth to power, and leads us in the required revolution. "I know this is a farce, " he tells DEC at the public hearing they are required to do before shoving this crap down our throats. "You didn't listen to us before and you probably won't listen to us again. But we are willing to engage in civil disobedience."
See Gasland Trailer and See PBS interview with filmmaker Josh Fox.
See: Drilling Isn't Safe.
"I will start this story by saying that Aruba Petroleum has taken a great deal from my family, but they cannot take away our faith in God. This story may sound like one of defeat, but we are not defeated.
My husband Tim, daughter Reilly, and I purchased 10 acres and a wonderful home in Wise County, TX about six years ago. We thought that country life would be the best life for our daughter given her love of animals and nature. We have lived a peaceful life, improving our home when we could and striving to provide the best childhood possible for Reilly.
Aruba Petroleum turned that life upside down on August 29th 2009 with no regard for property or human health. We learned shortly after that day that our 10 acres were, unfortunately, a part of the 920 acre Wright lease held by Aruba Petroleum."
Shale gas drilling is looming in the Upper Delaware River Watershed in NY and PA.
Why is this a threat to our water supplies?
What are the risks involved ?
Established in 1988 upon the appointment of the Delaware Riverkeeper, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization. DRN's professional staff and volunteers work throughout the entire Delaware River Watershed including portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York.
See Delaware River Keeper. (2009). "Natural Gas Well Drilling and Production in the Upper Delaware River Fact Sheet".
"...An increased risk of stillbirths linked to the flaring of natural gas with high levels of hydrogen sulfide has been reported in cattle in Canada. Incidents in Texas are increasingly reported, especially in the Fort Worth region.
There is a need for thorough study of the environmental and health impacts of well drilling and development; there is very little on record. For instance, in Colorado a Health Impact Assessment has been called for as part of an Environmental Impact Statement due to documented pollution problems from natural gas development in Garfield County that require scientific analysis.
To date, research has been impeded because fracking fluids are protected from disclosure by federal protections granted to the oil and gas industry despite health and environmental impacts..."
Natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale Formation is threatening our health, and our water quality. Local resident gives her account of drilling in her community.
Gingrich, Newt, and Vince Haley. 2008. Drill here, drill now, pay less: a handbook for slashing gas prices and solving our energy crisis. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub.
Statement by the National Council of Churches of Christ (2008). A Call for Faithful Stewardship of God’s Creation: Reflections on Natural Gas Drilling and Leasing. National Council of Churches in Christ. Published by Beach Lake United Methodist Church, Beach Lake, PA.
Beach Lake United Methodist Church. Located in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, near the New York Catskills.
"Biblical and theological considerations are commended to everyone, whether or not they have been approached about a gas lease and regardless of whether they have signed one. People are encouraged to think as broadly as possible and learn all they can in order to make the best possible decisions in the future.
Purpose: To involve church members, wherever in the United States gas drilling is operative or proposed, in biblical and theological dialogue, in order to equip and motivate them to engage in discussions and decisions in their respective communities."
"Read and weep. Here is part of the new brochure: Endless Mountains Visitors Guide. Imagine trying to make a gas well a wonderful and fascinating thing to visit in Pennsylvania. It is almost like trying to make visiting a ward in a VA hospital something to look forward to.
Come see the death and destruction here in Pennsylvania. It will be fascinating. Watch the gas drillers as they work diligently to ruin everything we treasure here in Pennsylvania. Read on.........(from the Endless Mountains Visitors Guide)"
Gasland is going a long way in spreading public awareness about gas drilling and the risks it poses on human and environmental health. Nationwide response to the film has been overwhelmingly positive. The Oil and Gas Industry's response: not so enthusiastic.
"Energy-In-Depth" is a PR Firm/Lobbying Group funded by the American Petroleum Institute. They are putting a misleading spin on information in Gasland to soothe and silence public curiosity about gas drilling.
The work of Energy-In-Depth lacks journalistic credibility and educated opinion. It's nothing short of an attack on truth. For public interest, we’ve prepared a response to their self-serving claims on gas drilling. Click here to learn more and pass along to friends.
See "Let's Talk About Cleavage", Energy In Depth. August 11, 2010.
See: Mike Hale. NYT Review, "The Costs of Natural Gas, Including Flaming Water".
See: PBS Interview with Josh Fox, March 26, 2010.
See: the Water Portal page on SourceWatch with an excellent summary of the Gasland phenomenon.
"Who the Heck is Calvin Tillman?"
"...Texas allows public domain seizure for pipelines. The many pipelines feeding the compressors cross private property rendering it unfit for future development.
Pennsylvania based blog. Includes many links and articles.
- About the writer
- Informational Links
- Listening Projects, Video and Stories
- Maps and Images
- More Blogs
- Take Action!
Updated frequently.
Blogroll links to
Categories include:
- Drilling in NY (28)
- Drilling in other places (26)
- drilling in pa (167)
Ted Williams. Audubon. Jan/Feb. 2010. "Incite".
"...So deficient is the draft that it drew sharp criticism even from the laconic U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA says the draft ignores or glosses over: cumulative impacts, threats to the Catskill reservoirs that supply nine million people in and around New York City with untreated drinking water, maintenance of wastewater pits, threats to air quality, health risks of frack-water flowback, impacts on aquatic ecosystems from water withdrawals, and dangers to Important Bird Areas, which sustain all the forest-interior birds threatened by ongoing fragmentation in Pennsylvania."
WHAT YOU CAN DO
To follow Marcellus gas development and learn how to help control it, go to these websites: PennFUTURE, ConserveLand.org, Pinchot Institute for Conservation, and Penn State College of Agricultural Science’s Cooperative Extension.
Amy is the Pennsylvania campus and community organizer with Energy Justice Network. She helps coordinate PA's KEY Coalition youth network.
I think we need to take a look at the economic justice implications of gas drilling.
