A former Pittsburgh city councilman,Doug Shields, introduced an ordinance banning corporations from natural gas drilling in the city. Now the state of Pennsylvania cries foul saying the ban has encroached on the state’s authority to create environmental regulations. S
Read MoreIt’s an economics phenomenon known as “leakage” — money that looks as if it is benefitting a particular area is actually going elsewhere. And it’s not an economic phenomenon native to gas drilling: Coal interests, limestone and gravel deposits and other mineral-related economic activity is subject to the same kind of leakage.
Read MoreThe NY Times has revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency has succumbed to political pressure from the oil and gas industry, hid study results, narrowed the focus of its studies and consequently threatened the drinking water of millions of people.
Read MoreHydraulic fracturing requires drillers to use millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals to extract natural gas with serious effects on ground water.
Read Moreabnormally high salt levels in the Monongahela River in 2008 corroded machinery at a steel mill and a power plant that were drawing water from the river. The DEP suspected that drilling wastewater was the cause and ordered upstream treatment plants to reduce their output. But months later levels spiked again.
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