General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSpecial Investigation: Fracking in the Ocean Off California Coast (What could possibly go wrong?)..
[font size="4"]T[/font]he Pacific Ocean may be the next frontier for fracking technology. A Truthout investigation has confirmed that federal regulators approved at least two hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," operations on oil rigs in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of California since 2009 without an updated environmental review that critics say may be required by federal law......Oil drilling remains controversial in Santa Barbara, where the memory of the nation's third-largest oil spill lingers in the minds of the public. In 1969, the nation watched as thick layer of oil spread across the channel and its beaches following a blowout on an oil rig, killing thousands of marine birds other wildlife. The dramatic images helped spark the modern environmental movement and establish landmark federal environmental laws that eco-groups continue to challenge the government to enforce.
In 2012, Truthout reported that an oil company called Venoco had quietly used fracking technology to stimulate oil production in an old well off the coast of Santa Barbara in early 2010. A Freedom of Information Act request recently filed by Truthout has confirmed the Venoco operation and revealed that another firm had since received permission for fracking in the Santa Barbara channel, which is home to the Channel Islands marine reserve.
This year, federal regulators approved an application by the Ventura-based company DCOR LLC to use fracking technology known as "frack pack" in a sandstone well 1,500 feet from a seismic fault in the outer continental shelf off the California coast, according to the documents released by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the federal agency that permits offshore drilling...
more -- http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17765-special-investigation-fracking-in-the-ocean-off-the-california-coast
PDJane
(10,103 posts)Now, that's bad enough, but they seem determined to take the rest of the world with them.
Indi Guy
(3,992 posts)...that approves these practices?
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,297 posts)They just never give up, do they? They just keep at it, like the Energizer Bunny.
*sigh*
Indi Guy
(3,992 posts)...and to keep our opposition alive and "kicking"..
Safetykitten
(5,162 posts)Indi Guy
(3,992 posts)...the deniers are protecting personal interests of some sort.
whttevrr
(2,345 posts)Next to a fault...
By the way... Are there any water companies with cheap stock?
I think clean water will be the next boom.
Safetykitten
(5,162 posts)Indi Guy
(3,992 posts)It's always wise to believe and trust in the integrity and competence of big oil & gas. Track record -- schmack record.
Already has that covered...check out his aquifer purchase in Paraguay.
Wasn't there a movie about a village that was poisoned because a water plant filtration thing messed... and then to fix the problem they killed everyone who survived?
whttevrr
(2,345 posts)I was thinking of "A Dark Truth".
That's Ecuador not Paraguay.
Nevermind...
Indi Guy
(3,992 posts)It's not the first time scientists have used that moniker, as earthquakes have been associated with other industrial operations that mess with underground formations such as surface and underground mining or dams that impound water into reservoirs.
Yet, in more recent years, we're seeing more and more of them,
"The number of earthquakes has increased dramatically over the past few years within the central and eastern United States. More than 300 earthquakes above a magnitude 3.0 occurred in the three years from 2010-2012, compared with an average rate of 21 events per year observed from 1967-2000."...
http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/07/19/usgs-study-connects-earthquake-risk-wastewater-injection-fracking-advocates-say-who-cares
Maven
(10,533 posts)This is good news, pretty much no matter where you land on the political spectrum {MAVEN: Yeah, unless you live near a fault line or care about drinking clean water. Moron.}. Burning natural gas produces a lot less air pollution than burning coal and half the carbon emissions. Its also cheap. Which means that fuel switching is economically attractive, it would immediately better Americans health, and it would give renewables and new nuclear time to catch up in the fight against global warming.
But environmentalists, who should want responsible natural gas development, have attacked the process by which energy companies obtain this unconventional natural gas. They say that hydraulic fracturing better known as fracking might taint drinking water or even cause earthquakes. Many want a moratorium.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/in-state-of-the-union-address-obama-says-he-will-push-forward-with-fracking/2012/01/24/gIQAxvt7OQ_blog.html
Indi Guy
(3,992 posts)http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/us-will-begin-exporting-its-fracked-gas-130717?news=850587
The greedy big energy companies have no intention of solving America's energy situation. They protect only their profit margin, at the very expense of America's economy and ecology.