In the News
Public Trust in Pennsylvania Regulators Erodes Further Over Flawed Fracking Study
InsideClimate News | Lisa Song
October 23, 2014
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Pennsylvania regulators used flawed methodology to conclude that air pollution from natural gas development doesn't cause health problems. The revelation has further eroded trust in an embattled state agency.
Tagged with: fracking, public health, pennsylvania
Supporters of Fracking Ban Face New Wave of McCarthyism in Denton, Texas
DeSmogBlog | Julie Dermansky
October 22, 2014
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Santa Fe, NM—(ENEWSPF)—October 20, 2014. A broad coalition of local and national conservation groups announced plans to sue the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), if the agency proceeds with the sale of 13 parcels (almost 20,000 acres of public lands) in the Santa Fe National Forest for oil and gas fracking. BLM received more than a hundred letters protesting the sale and challenging the agency’s failure to consider potentially serious impacts to the area’s air, water, wildlife, and surrounding communities.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Acid-draining rock poisons water across Montana
The State | Sammy Fretwell
October 14, 2014
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BUTTE, MONT. — Tourism promoters charge people $2 apiece to look at the most notoriously polluted mining site in Montana, an old copper pit filled with toxic water that will likely never be cleaned up.
The Berkeley Pit, which dominates the landscape of Butte, is 1,780 feet deep and holds 42 billion gallons of water tainted by metals and acid. The contamination is so severe that site managers operate equipment to scare birds away from almost certain death.
Tagged with: mining, montana, acid mine drainage, berkeley pit
Cómo las petroleras hacen negocio con el agua que sacan de sus pozos en California
BBC Mundo | Jaime González
October 3, 2014
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Los embalses están en mínimos históricos, los acuíferos subterráneos se están agotando y las previsiones meteorológicas indican que en los próximos meses podría seguir sin llover.
Esta es la situación a la que tienen que hacer frente las más de 80.000 explotaciones agrícolas que hay en California, que están buscando desesperadamente nuevos tipos de suministro de agua con los que hacer frente a la grave sequía que afecta al estado desde hace tres años.
Tagged with: fracking, california, spanish, drought
The myth of ethical gold
New Internationalist | Stephanie Boyd
September 16, 2014
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Modern goldmining has developed a Midas touch, turning low-grade deposits into vast wealth but with devastating consequences: over 900 farmers poisoned by a mercury spill in the mountains of Peru; Akyim indigenous people from Ghana forced from their forest homeland; an Indonesian bay and fishing community contaminated by arsenic and mercury; the Western Shoshone nation in Nevada deprived of their treaty rights and ancestral land.
Tagged with: mining, gold, responsible jewellery council
Lachelt leads diverse group looking into well rules
Durango Herald | Peter Marcus
September 9, 2014
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La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt is readying to juggle multiple personalities after the governor announced the 19 members of a gas and oil task force.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, blue ribbon commission
Oil and gas task force expected to find middle ground in Colorado local control issue
Denver Business Journal | Cathy Proctor
September 9, 2014
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Gov. John Hickenlooper said Tuesday that he expects the newly named 21-memberoil and gas task force to find areas of compromise on one of the state’s most important issues.
In a meeting with reporters in his office, the governor also thanked the members of the task force for their willingness to step into one of the state’s most controversial issues, and the organizations who submitted nearly 300 names for consideration.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, blue ribbon commission
RJC Revealed
Rappaport | Brian Bossetta
September 1, 2014
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Across the many links in the jewelry supply chain, there are significant issues regarding human rights and the environment with which the industry must grapple, especially in light of increasing demand among consumers for ethically sourced products. And while there is no easy panacea for human rights abuses or harmful environmental practices, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a not-for-profit organization based out of London, promotes a climate of social responsibility that works to mitigate and eliminate harmful, negative practices within the industry.
Tagged with: mining, jewelry, rjc
Inside Energy: Fracking and health, part 1
Prairie Public | Jordan Wirfs-Brock and Leigh Paterson
August 25, 2014
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The oil and gas boom of the 21st century has been fueled - largely - by a technique called hydraulic fracturing. Its given access to massive shale gas and oil formations in states like Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. But what’s different about this boom, is that drilling is bumping right up against communities. And people are worried about the health impacts.
Tagged with: fracking, health, north dakota
Watch Six Months of Fracking Fires Blaze Across the Country
National Journal | Clare Foran and Stephanie Stamm
August 22, 2014
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Massive fires light up the sky in U.S. states at the center of a fracking boom.
The fires—known as flaring—are a symptom of the rapid spread of the controversial drilling technique. Cities and towns across the country are scrambling to keep up with a newfound surplus of natural gas, and towering flames arise when excess gas is burned off at drill sites.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, north dakota, flaring
The long shadow of a decade of loose enforcement
Boulder Weekly | Elizabeth Miller
August 14, 2014
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Pennsylvania and Colorado may be a nation apart, but they’re side-by-side when it comes to having recently seen explosive increases in oil and gas development, specifically through the use of hydraulic fracturing in shale formations that are often drilled horizontally. Findings from a report from Earthworks — a nonprofit working to protect communities and the environment from the adverse effects of oil and gas development — that examined the oversight and the operational record of wells in Pennsylvania sheds light on the concerns people in Colorado express when it comes to oil and gas development.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, enforcement, ballot intiative
Black Butte Mine aquifer tests move ahead
Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Laura Lundquist
August 7, 2014
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The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has given Tintina Resources the go-ahead to dig four new deep wells to test the aquifer near the proposed Black Butte Copper Mine but has added one safety requirement for the project.
Tintina will be drilling to depths of between 200 and 400 feet through mineral deposits that could cause chemicals in the upwelling water to exceed safety limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. In particular, samples from other wells have exceeded EPA limits for arsenic.
Tagged with: mining, montana, tintina
Imperial’s Mount Polley mine shuttered after tailings discharge
Mining Weekly | Henry Lazenby
August 6, 2014
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – After a tailings dam broke at the Mount Polley mine, discharging about five-million cubic metres of mine waste in the early hours of Monday, operator Imperial Metals on Tuesday said the copper/gold mine had been placed on care and maintenance pending a full investigation.
The TSX-listed firm said the water and tailings discharge had by Tuesday stabilised, with no persons reported missing or injured.
Tagged with: mining, tailings, canada, tailings dam
Hickenlooper seeks to halt oil-gas initiatives
The Coloradoan | Ryan Maye Handy
August 5, 2014
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Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday created a task force to address oil and gas development in Colorado, in an eleventh-hour attempt to foster compromise over the highly divisive topic before it hits the polls in November.
With Congressman Jared Polis by his side, Hickenlooper announced a "blue ribbon" commission of 18 people will be tasked with studying oil and gas development in the state. The plan is for the group to make recommendations to the state Legislature in 2015.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, vote, ballot intiative
Colorado Fracking Opponents Losing Local Control Fight
Bloomberg | Bradley Olson and Jennifer Oldham
August 5, 2014
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Colorado’s compromise with drilling opponents has dealt a blow to environmentalists’ expanding battle to give local communities more control to limit fracking.
Governor John Hickenlooper and Representative Jared Polis agreed to a deal that weakened the prospects for two proposed ballot initiatives aimed at restricting oil and gas activity, the two men said at a news conference in Denver yesterday. Polis, who was expected to help finance the campaign for the measures, agreed to withdraw his support after Hickenlooper promised to create a task force to study the industry’s impact on local communities.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, vote, ballot intiative
Fracking ban court decision pushes conversation toward constitutional rights
Boulder Weekly | Elizabeth Miller
July 31, 2014
The lawsuit to defend Longmont’s voterapproved fracking ban is moving on from the district court, where a judge issued a summary judgment against it, but a stay against fracking in Longmont while the case is appealed to a higher court. It may become increasingly clear as the case advances that the question at stake pits the oil and gas resources under the town against the basic constitutional rights of those who live in the town to determine their exposure to a risk to human health and environment more than half of the town’s voters have said they don’t want in their back yards. The environmental organizations that have signed on as intervenors aren’t going to be shy about framing the debate in terms of whether the state will really choose profits over people.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, ban, longmont
Longmont’s Fracking Ban Tossed as Colorado Vote Looms
Bloomberg | Joel Rosenblatt and Jennifer Oldham
July 25, 2014
A fracking ban in the city of Longmont, Colorado, was thrown out by a judge amid petition drives to hold a statewide vote in November on restricting oil and gas drilling that generate $30 billion a year.
The debate over fracking, in which water, chemicals and sand are injected below ground to extract oil and gas from sand and shale formations, has escalated in Colorado as drilling moves closer to suburbs, raising concerns about water and air contamination. Five communities in the state have voted to ban or put a moratorium on such activity.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, lawsuit, ban, longmont
Colo. court strikes down city’s fracking ban
E&E News | Ellen M. Gilmer and Mike Lee
July 25, 2014
A Colorado court yesterday ruled against the city of Longmont in a fight with state and industry officials over whether the city could ban hydraulic fracturing.
The decision could weigh heavily on voters considering potential anti-fracking ballot initiatives in Colorado in November. And the outcome swings the local control pendulum in favor of industry after a series of wins for municipalities in Pennsylvania and New York over the past year (EnergyWire, July 1).
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, lawsuit, ban, longmont
Pennsylvania’s Auditor General Faults Oversight of Natural Gas Industry
New York Times | Jon Hurdle
July 23, 2014
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PHILADELPHIA — Environmental officials in Pennsylvania have failed to adequately regulate the state’s booming natural gas industry, a state report said, reflecting what critics say is weak oversight of the oil and gas industry at a time when drilling is spreading across the United States.
Pennsylvania’s auditor general, Eugene DePasquale, said Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection has been unable to keep up with the workload placed on it by a proliferation of shale gas wells in the last five years, and has failed to respond adequately to many public complaints about water and air contamination resulting from gas development.
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, pennsylvania department of environmental protection, water contamination
Hundreds comment on Black Butte mine proposal
Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Laura Lundquist
July 22, 2014
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For a relatively small project, a mining company's proposal to dig a few test wells generated a significant number of public comments.
By the end of the public comment period on Monday, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality received almost 940 comments on Tintina Resources' proposal to dig deep test wells in advance of a possible underground mining operation north of White Sulphur Springs.
Tagged with: mining, montana, tintina
Texas fracking ban voted down by city council despite residents’ support
AlJazeera America | Renee Lewis
July 16, 2014
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Officials in Denton, Texas, voted Wednesday against a bid to make their natural gas-rich city the first in its state to ban fracking, despite more than 100 residents speaking out in favor of the ban at a public hearing that ran long into Tuesday night.
Some locals said the city council’s 5-2 decision against enacting the ban — instead passing it to a November ballot for a city-wide vote — was influenced by industry pressure.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Denton City Council Rejects Fracking Ban
NBC DFW | Emily Schmalll
July 16, 2014
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The council governing a North Texas city that sits atop a large natural gas reserve rejected a bid early Wednesday morning to ban further permitting of hydraulic fracturing in the community after eight hours of public testimony.
Denton City Council members voted down the petition 5-2 at a 3 a.m., sending the proposal to a public ballot in November.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Breaking: Denton City Council Rejects Fracking Ban: Referendum Will Be on November Ballot
DeSmogBlog | Julie Dermansky
July 16, 2014
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The failure of the Denton city council to pass a fracking ban in Denton, Texas, after a meeting that went on for over eight hours last night, was no surprise to Cathy McMullen, Denton resident and president of Denton Drilling Awareness Group.
“The vote was theater,” McMullen told DeSmogBlog.
Councilman Kevin Roden was the only one to call for ban. His motion was not seconded. A motion to deny the ban was approved 5 to 2, followed by an unanimous vote to put the ban initiative on the next ballot.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Denton City Council Leaves Fracking Ban Decision to Voters
Texas Observer | Priscila Mosqueda
July 15, 2014
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Update 7:45am: Denton voters will decide the fate of fracking in their city come November after the City Council voted against the fracking ban this morning shortly before 3 a.m.
The Council seemed partial to the ban supporters during the hearing, which lasted eight hours, but in the end no one seconded Councilman Kevin Roden’s motion to pass the ban. The members voted 5-2 for a motion to deny passing the ban, so the initiative will now be on the November ballot. Activists had predicted their City Council would not adopt the citizen-led initiative, but the news was still disappointing and folks took to Twitter to say that industry won once again in Texas. We’ll be watching this come November, so stay tuned.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Council rejects partial fracking ban
Denton Record Chronicle | Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe
July 15, 2014
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The Denton City Council, after hearing more than eight hours of public testimony that lasted until early this morning, rejected a bid that would have made it the first city in the state to ban further permitting of hydraulic fracturing in the community.
Council members voted down the petition 5-2, sending the proposal to a public ballot in November.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Texas town’s fracturing ban appears headed for ballot
Houston Chronicle | Rhiannon Meyers
July 14, 2014
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Denton voters, and not the seven-member City Council, probably will decide whether to ban hydraulic fracturing in the North Texas city, officials said Monday.
The issue is scheduled for a public hearing Tuesday in the gas-rich city about 40 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, where some wells are less than 200 feet from residential areas.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
No Dirty Gold campaign draws another major convert
Mineweb | Dorothy Kosich
July 3, 2014
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BJ’s Wholesale Club, with 202 locations in 15 eastern U.S. states has endorsed Washington D.C.-based environmental NGO Earthworks No Dirty Gold’s Golden Rules.
The No Dirty Gold campaign asks jewelry retailers to pledge to source only from mines who meet the Golden Rules criteria.
Tagged with: mining, gold, no dirty gold, bristol bay pledge
Sitting On a Gold Mine: How Fairtrade Gold Mining in Tanzania Is Set to Change the Jewelry Sector
CSR Newswire | Marc Choyt
June 25, 2014
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In early May, I visited small-scale gold miners in Tanzania who are seeking fair trade certification.
On site, I met with colleagues in from England and Fair Trade Africa, who have been working hard over the past two years to build an understanding of fairtrade* standards and principals with the miners on site. The purpose of the visit was also to bring jewelers and miners together to discuss what was needed to bring fairtrade African gold to market.
Tagged with: mining, gold, no dirty gold, jewelry, fairtrade, tanzania
Proof
Ft. Worth Weekly | Peter Gorman
June 25, 2014
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A geologist who has spent years studying the effects of natural gas drilling on water sources said last week that he has “no doubt” that Range Resources gas drilling activity has contaminated the Trinity Aquifer, ruining several water wells in Parker County — but not due to leaks from the gas wells themselves.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, water contamination
Scientists: Fracking Linked to Groundwater Contamination
EcoWatch
June 9, 2014
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Last week a Texas TV station broke the news that new independent scientific analysis refutes the claim by the oil and gas industry that “there’s never been a confirmed case of fracking polluting drinking water.”
Tagged with: fracking, texas, water contamination
Jewelry gets eco-friendly
Poughkeepsie Journal | Karen Shan
June 8, 2014
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David Walton buys goods made in America. He bicycles to destinations when possible and eats a vegetarian diet.
Plus, Walton, a designer and crafter of fine jewelry and owner/goldsmith of Hudson Valley Goldsmith in New Paltz, uses recycled precious metals, reclaimed stones and conflict-free gems in the design and fabrication of his bracelets, necklaces and rings.
Tagged with: gold, no dirty gold, jewelry, fairtrade
Cracks in the Frack Wall
Ft. Worth Weekly | Sharon Wilson and Cathy McMullen
May 28, 2014
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If it’s a blessing to live in interesting times, those of us affected by the fracking debate — that is, all Texans — are well and truly blessed right about now.
Within the past month, North Texas has seen:
Tagged with: fracking, texas, parr, ban, denton
California Oil Deposit Is Far Smaller Than Predicted
Wall Street Journal | Russel Gold
May 21, 2014
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The U.S. government slashed its estimate of how much crude oil could be extracted from California's Monterey Shale, confirming widespread industry suspicion that developing the massive resource would be difficult.
The Energy Information Administration said there are 600 million barrels of technically recoverable oil, down 96% from its estimate a year ago of 13.7 billion barrels.
Tagged with: fracking, california, oil, monterey shale, sb1132
Illegal Dumping of Texas Frack Waste Caught on Video
InsideClimate News | David Hasemyer
May 19, 2014
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Under the cover of early-morning darkness in South Texas last March, a tanker truck ferrying fluids from an oil and gas drilling site rumbled down a country road spewing its toxic load all over the place.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, waste, dumping
PA. Dems Fight to Prove they can Milk Fracking for all it’s Worth
AlJazeera America | Peter Moskowitz
May 16, 2014
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Lycoming County looks like a lot of the rest of Pennsylvania: Pothole-marked roads snake through mountains and farmland, leading to little one-street towns that often contain little more than a coffee shop, a bank, a gas station and a bar.
But ever since companies like Anadarko, EXCO Resources, XTO Energy and Range Resources came to town, everyday life has had a little more buzz around here.
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, elections
Texas Mayor Appeals for Fracking Data after Earthquakes Jolt Town
AlJazeera America | Renee Lewis
May 13, 2014
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The state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry in Texas has requested that fracking companies report data related to wastewater disposal wells daily — instead of yearly — after hundreds of earthquakes hit an area with no history of seismic activity, said the mayor of a small Texas town on Tuesday.
At least 300 small earthquakes have hit North Texas — home to the heavily drilled Barnett Shale region — since January, according to United States Geological Survey (USGS) data. Critics say the state has acted too slowly in investigating the unusual seismic activity and its possible links to fracking activities.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, earthquakes, denton
As Denton Voters Come Out Against Fracking, City Council Passes Surprise Temporary Fracking Ban
Dallas Observer | Amy Silverstein
May 9, 2014
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After the Denton City Council had its butt handed to it in court by oil company EagleRidge last Fall, Denton civic leaders decided to pretty much stop fighting EagleRidge altogether and let it drill close to a few residential neighborhoods. Residents complained, but the city said it had no choice, blaming it on the state law and its bias toward oil companies.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Peru’s Conga Mine Conflict: Cajamarca Won’t Capitulate
Upsidedown World | Lynda Sullivan
May 1, 2014
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The fight over the Conga mining project is one of Peru’s largest current social conflicts. Today, the local population continues resisting the imposition of one of Latin America`s largest gold mining projects – Minas Conga. The situation remains tense, and the resistance continues, but with an intensified sense of urgency because as the battles are won and lost, many feel that the conflict is nearing its conclusion.
Tagged with: mining, gold, peru, conga
Are lab-grown gems the key to a sustainable diamond trade?
The Guardian | Leigh Stringer
April 29, 2014
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Long a staple of the industrial diamond industry, laboratory-created diamonds only represent about 2% of the jewelry market. Increasingly, however, they are becoming a force to be reckoned with: some producers have achieved "type IIa" quality, the purest form produced in nature. Only 2% of the global production of mined diamonds qualify for this rating.
Tagged with: mining, no dirty gold, diamond
Texas: When fracking comes to town
AlJazeera America | Alex Halperin
April 27, 2014
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Tagged with: fracking, public health, texas, earthquakes
Barnett Shale Fracking Victims Win First Round in Court Battle With Gas Industry
DeSmogBlog | Julie Dermansky
April 27, 2014
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Legal tremors are reverberating in the Barnett Shale region in Texas after yesterday's $2.925 million dollar verdict in favor of the plaintiffs Bob and Lisa Parr, who sued Aruba Petroleum for damages to their health and the devaluation of their home in afracking nuisance case.
Earthworks energy program director Bruce Baizel stated in a press release that the jury’s decision is important for two reasons:
Tagged with: fracking, texas, lawsuit, aruba petroleum
Time To Update the 1872 Mining Law?
Jefferson Public Radio | Liam Moriarty
April 27, 2014
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The federal legislation that regulates mining for copper, zinc, gold and many other minerals was originally signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant. In ways, the law reflects a 19th century view of natural resources: limitless and there for the taking.
Now, a legacy of pollution at tens of thousands of abandoned mines across the West is prompting an Oregon Congressmember to head a new effort to revise the General Mining Act of 1872.
Tagged with: mining, regulation, 1872 mining law, taxpayers
A golden opportunity
Corporate Knights | Stephanie Boyd
April 27, 2014
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Raul Chavez has spent nearly 30 years toiling for gold in the parched rocky hills of Peru’s southern desert highlands. He is small, muscular and deeply bronzed from years of tough physical labour under the hot sun, but he laughs and jokes about the hardships of his early years as a miner.
In the 1980s, thousands of indigenous peasants like Chavez were forced to leave their homes and farms because of Peru’s civil war, coupled with an agricultural crisis and job shortages. Some of these internal refugees set up shop in abandoned mines, or areas where gold had already been discovered. Their equipment was rudimentary and conditions were precarious.
Tagged with: no dirty gold, gold mining, peru, jewelry
Fracking: In apparent first, family gets courtroom victory in health case
Christian Science Monitor | Gloria Goodale
April 24, 2014
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In what is being hailed as a landmark victory for opponents of hydraulic fracturing, a Texas family has won a $2.95 million verdict against a Plano oil and gas firm.
Robert and Lisa Parr and their daughter claimed that airborne toxins from the 22 wells run by Aruba Petroleum near their 40-acre Decatur ranch affected their health and poisoned their livestock and drinking water. The process that the firm used, also known as fracking, involves water and chemicals being injected deep underground to release natural gas trapped in rock formations.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, health, lawsuit
Plano company loses $3 million verdict in Wise County fracking case
Dallas Morning News | James Osborne
April 23, 2014
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A Wise County couple has been awarded $3 million by a Dallas jury in their suit against a Plano gas drilling company.
Bob and Lisa Parr sued Aruba Petroleum of Plano in 2011, claiming spills and emissions from the company’s hydraulic fracturing operations had contaminated their 40-acre ranch in Decatur. They argued the pollution made them sick, as well as their pets and livestock. At times they were forced to evacuate the property, they said.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, health, lawsuit
Political Battle Lines Blurred By Fracking, Keystone Debates
AP | Nicholas Riccardi
April 19, 2014
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DENVER (AP) — The U.S. energy boom is blurring the traditional political battle lines across the country.
Democrats are split between environmentalists and business and labor groups, with the proposed Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline a major wedge.
Some deeply conservative areas are allying with conservationists against fracking, the drilling technique that's largely responsible for the boom.
Tagged with: fracking, keystone xl, energy
Smith River depends on our vigilance
Great Falls Tribune | Gloria Flora and Steve Gilbert
April 17, 2014
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First the Blackfoot and now the Smith?
You’d think after the tens of millions we have had to spend cleaning up after mining companies that they’d stop targeting our finest rivers with their experiments.
Tagged with: mining, montana, smith river, tintina
Following EPA Action, Rio Tinto Exits Alaska Pebble Mine Project
Circle of Blue | Codi Kozacek
April 11, 2014
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Six weeks after the Obama administration said it would act to protect one of North America’s last wild salmon fisheries in Bristol Bay, Alaska, one of the world’s largest mining companiesannounced on Monday that it is withdrawing from the Pebble copper mine development project there. The company, Rio Tinto, also said it was gifting its shares in the project to two Alaska public interest foundations.
Tagged with: mining, alaska, pebble, pebble limited partnership
Copper mine project backer drops plans for tunnel
Businessweek | Matt Volz
April 7, 2014
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HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A mining company dropped plans to dig a mile-long tunnel for a copper development project near the Smith River after two environmental organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the proposal, state environmental regulators said Monday.
Tintina Alaska Corp. sent the state Department of Environmental Quality a letter withdrawing its request to amend an exploration license to build the tunnel at the Big Butte Copper Project in central Montana, DEQ spokesman Chris Saeger said.
Tagged with: mining, montana, smith river, tintina
Rio Tinto pulls out of polemic mine project
Cordova Times | Margaret Bauman
April 7, 2014
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Global mining giant Rio Tinto is bailing out of the controversial Pebble mine project in Southwest Alaska, and donating its 19.1 percent share in the project to two Alaska charities that support educational programs.
The international mining group said April 7 that a strategic review of Rio Tinto's interest in Northern Dynasty, the Canadian mining firm behind the Pebble project, concluded that the Pebble project does not fit with Rio Tinto's strategy.
Tagged with: mining, alaska, rio tinto, salmon, pebble limited partnership
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