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the fracking game ....

the fracking game .....

Oil and gas companies injected hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states from 2005 to 2009, according to an investigation by Congressional Democrats.

The chemicals were used by companies during a drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, which involves the high-pressure injection of a mixture of water, sand and chemical additives into rock formations deep underground. The process, which is being used to tap into large reserves of natural gas around the country, opens fissures in the rock to stimulate the release of oil and gas.

Hydrofracking has attracted increased scrutiny from lawmakers and environmentalists in part because of fears that the chemicals used during the process can contaminate underground sources of drinking water.

"Questions about the safety of hydraulic fracturing persist, which are compounded by the secrecy surrounding the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids," said the report, which was written by Representatives Henry A. Waxman of California, Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Diana DeGette of Colorado.

The report, released late Saturday, also faulted companies for at times "injecting fluids containing chemicals that they themselves cannot identify."

The inquiry over hydrofracking, which was initiated by the House Energy and Commerce Committee when Mr. Waxman led it last year, also found that 14 of the nation's most active hydraulic fracturing companies used 866 million gallons of hydraulic fracturing products - not including water. More than 650 of these products contained chemicals that are known or possible human carcinogens, regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, or are listed as hazardous air pollutants, the report said.

A request for comment from the American Petroleum Institute about the report received no reply.

Millions of Gallons of Hazardous Chemicals Injected Into Wells, Report Says

 

at the fracking club ....

Senior executives in the fossil fuel industry have launched an all-out assault on renewable energy, lobbying governments and business groups to reject wind and solar power in favour of gas, in a move that could choke the green energy industry.

Multinational companies including Shell, GDF Suez and Statoil are promoting gas as an alternative green fuel. These firms are among dozens worldwide investing in new technologies to exploit shale gas, a controversial form of the fuel that has rejuvenated the gas industry because it is in plentiful supply and newly accessible because of technical advances in gas extraction that are known as fracking.

Burning gas in power stations releases about half the carbon emissions of coal, allowing gas companies to claim it is a green source of fuel.

For the past two months company lobbyists have been besieging governments in Europe, the US and elsewhere.

Central to the lobbying effort is a report saying that the European Union could meet its 2050 carbon targets more cheaply, avoiding costs of €990 billion ($1.3 trillion), by using gas rather than investing in renewables.

However, The Guardian has established that the analysis is based on a previous report that came to the opposite conclusion: that renewables should play a much larger role. The report being pushed by the fossil fuel industry has been disowned by its original authors, who referred to it as biased in favour of gas.

Oil giants play loose with facts on gas

lock the gate ...

from Get-Up ….

Energy executives have no problem drilling on other people's land without their consent1, but spit the dummy when the same people make them spend time and money on 'onerous' tasks like proving they aren't going to poison our water tables before they do so.

Fortunately, there are increasing signs of a major tipping point against unchecked CSG expansion. In April, Dart Energy suspended all CSG developments in NSW; while just last month Santos abandoned plans to drill 550 mines in the Pillaga State Forest. A huge shout out to our friends at Lock the Gate, who've been leading some of these amazing victories, with the involvement of many GetUp members.

With the tide of public opinion against them, the industry lobby group, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, is now planning a new multimillion dollar advertising campaign - claiming that opposing CSG will ruin Australia's economy[4].

Fortunately, the truth is more powerful than any amount of corporate spin. Just as films like An Inconvenient Truth and Gaslands ignited mass consciousness around threats to our environment like never before, we can help keep CSG companies on the back foot, instead of taking over our land, by sharing these short, powerful videos far and wide.

Click here to check them out: www.welloftruth.org.au

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[1] Lock the Gate Alliance

[2] Ideological activists 'risk gas future', The Australian, July 29, 2013.

[3] "Coal seam gas leader says industry needs support to fight off PR campaign by activists" Courier Mail, July 30, 2013

[4] Ideological activists 'risk gas future', The Australian, July 29, 2013.