Read the latest insights and analysis from the experts at Oil Change International.
US regulators reacted to the string of recent crude by rail accidents yesterday by ordering that companies shipping crude out of North Dakota's Bakken fracking fields must undertake extensive testing for signs of dangerous volatility.
California remains gripped in a vice-like drought, with last year being the driest on record in the state. Last month, the situation was so bad that it prompted Governor Jerry Brown to declare that the sunshine state was in a drought emergency. "We ought to be ready for a long, continued, persistent effort to restrain our water use," Brown said.
Slowly the science is catching up with fracking. Nearly every month a new scientific paper is published warning of the serious ecological or health harm caused by the controversial process.
Instead of the rousing call to action on the greatest challenge of our generation that it could have been, what this speech will be remembered for is the President's defense of disastrous energy policy that is doomed to fail.
As the debate on fracking heats up in the UK, politicians are keen to point out that the process is safe. The influential Conservative MP Peter Lilley appeared on TV the other night and arrogantly dismissed any concerns with fracking. “Any problems with the environment, safety and health can be satisfactorily managed”, he told the audience.
The string of oil by rail accidents in recent weeks has forced regulators in both Canada and the US to re-appraise the safety of oil by rail.
If the Governor were to be truly serious about protecting Californians struggling with the drought, he would put a halt to fracking in the state immediately.
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, yesterday dismissed critics of fracking as “irrational”, arguing that their opposition is based on a “religious” hostility to fossil fuels.
An investigation by the Associated Press has found that, in at least four major fracking states, there have been hundreds of complaints from local residents.
It maybe early in a new year, but already new research has been published which raises serious health concerns about fracking. What is most worrying about this research is that it shows that the controversial drilling technique could be impacting the most-at-risk in our society: new born babies.
