EARTHblog
More Mine Waste Spills in Mexico: Where’s the Oversight?
A few weeks ago, yet another mine spilled toxic waste into rivers in Mexico, this time in the northern state of Sinaloa – the third reported mine waste spill since August.
Tagged with: tailings, mine waste, mexico, rivers, baja california sur
It’s Time to Act on Climate Pollution From Fracking
Last month, I traveled to New York City to join the People’s Climate March. Over 400,000 people came from across the country to tell President Obama that the time to act on climate is now, because we don’t have time to spare. We are already feeling the effects of climate change across the globe.
Tagged with: fracking, climate change, obama, methane
Flawed studies can make you sick
The idea that “what you don’t know can’t hurt you” may sometimes work on a personal level—but it couldn’t be further from the truth for communities living on the frontlines of gas development. Yet the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) doesn’t seem to have any problem hiding information from the people who most need it.
News broke this week that the basic conclusion of a widely touted DEP study on air pollution near gas wells and facilities—that detected contaminants wouldn’t trigger health problems—was wrong.
Tagged with: fracking, public health, pennsylvania
Imperial Metals Mount Polley Mine Tailings Dam Failure: A First-Hand Look
On the two month anniversary of the Imperial Metals Mount Polley Mine tailings dam failure, I travelled with colleagues from Bristol Bay, Alaska to see the area first-hand. At the hospitality of the Northern Shuswap Fisheries Department, we travelled by boat across Quesnel Lake to see the mouth of Hazeltine Creek where the tailings spill emptied into the lake. Despite two months of cleanup, the mouth is still choked with massive trees that were carried downstream by the powerful force of the tailings breach, which transformed a small salmon stream into a broad corridor piled with mine waste.
Tagged with: mining, tailings, canada, tailings dam
The Most Dangerous Road: fracking increases traffic, puts drivers at risk
A new investigation by Houston Public Media and the Houston Chronicle shows Texas highways are now the nation's deadliest, and fracking is to blame.
Fracking requires thousands of truck trips to haul water, frack fluid and more recently, about 4% of fracked oil.
All the increased traffic has led to more accidents and fatalities. And not just in Texas.
Tagged with: oil and gas, spills, transportation and infrastructure, trucks
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