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Tagged: health

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The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers
2:24 am
Thu May 17, 2012

Fracking's Methane Trail: A Detective Story

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Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A natural gas drilling rig's lights shimmer in the evening light near Silt, Colo.
Credit NPR
Credit Elizabeth Shogren / NPR
Gaby Petron, an atmospheric scientist with NOAA, stands in front of a natural gas well. Several years ago, Petron stumbled upon data suggesting northern Colorado's natural gas production fields were leaking surprisingly high levels of methane into the air.
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Originally published on Fri May 18, 2012 8:36 am

Gaby Petron didn't set out to challenge industry and government assumptions about how much pollution comes from natural gas drilling.

She was just doing what she always does as an air pollution data sleuth for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"I look for a story in the data," says Petron. "You give me a data set, I will study it back and forth and left and right for weeks, and I will find something to tell about it."

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The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers
12:53 am
Thu May 17, 2012

Interactive Map: Conventional Natural Gas Drilling Areas And Shale Basins

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By Tom Gjelten, Alyson Hurt, Andrew Prince and Avie Schneider | NPR

For many years, natural gas companies have been producing the fuel from "conventional" gas reservoirs, relatively close to the surface and easily accessible. New shale gas production techniques have opened much wider areas for exploration, including the Marcellus area in Pennsylvania and Haynesville area in Texas and Louisiana.

 

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The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers
1:42 pm
Wed May 16, 2012

Slideshow: Town's Effort To Link Fracking And Illness Falls Short

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By David Gilkey | NPR

The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers
1:41 pm
Wed May 16, 2012

Town's Effort To Link Fracking And Illness Falls Short

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Credit NPR
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Dish, Texas, was once known for changing its name in exchange for free satellite TV from the Dish network. Now, it's known as the epicenter of the fracking boom.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
About 225 people live in Dish, which sits right on top of the Barnett Shale rock formation. That shale contains one of the nation's largest natural gas reserves.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
While energy companies say their fracking and gas well operations are safe, Mayor Bill Sciscoe, seen here, firmly believes the health of his town is in danger.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Signs of fracking, such as well heads, storage tanks and big rigs, are an ongoing presence in Dish.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Before the wells, says Mayor Sciscoe, "This place was absolutely beautiful. It was serene. It was very quiet. I raised five children here."
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A working gas well head is fenced in just opposite a home. Dish is about 30 miles north of Fort Worth.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Gas infrastructure is mixed in with pasture land. Scientists say they don't yet know whether fracking is endangering the health of nearby residents.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Energy companies surround some well sites with wooden fencing to cut down on the industrial feel of their operations.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Along with drilling comes heavy traffic from big rigs that transport both clean and contaminated water from fracking sites.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A drilling rig (right) marks the spot of an upcoming frack.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A noise-dampening curtain surrounds a drilling rig near Dish.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Dish's Mayor Sciscoe says he has a message for people in places where fracking is just getting started: "Grab up your family and your belongings, and get out."
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Dish, Texas, was once known for changing its name in exchange for free satellite TV from the Dish network. Now, it's known as the epicenter of the fracking boom.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
About 225 people live in Dish, which sits right on top of the Barnett Shale rock formation. That shale contains one of the nation's largest natural gas reserves.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
While energy companies say their fracking and gas well operations are safe, Mayor Bill Sciscoe, seen here, firmly believes the health of his town is in danger.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Signs of fracking, such as well heads, storage tanks and big rigs, are an ongoing presence in Dish.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Before the wells, says Mayor Sciscoe, "This place was absolutely beautiful. It was serene. It was very quiet. I raised five children here."
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A working gas well head is fenced in just opposite a home. Dish is about 30 miles north of Fort Worth.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Gas infrastructure is mixed in with pasture land. Scientists say they don't yet know whether fracking is endangering the health of nearby residents.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Energy companies surround some well sites with wooden fencing to cut down on the industrial feel of their operations.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Along with drilling comes heavy traffic from big rigs that transport both clean and contaminated water from fracking sites.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A drilling rig (right) marks the spot of an upcoming frack.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A noise-dampening curtain surrounds a drilling rig near Dish.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Dish's Mayor Sciscoe says he has a message for people in places where fracking is just getting started: "Grab up your family and your belongings, and get out."
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A working gas well head is fenced in just opposite of a home in Dish, Texas. Dish is about 30 miles north of Fort Worth.
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Originally published on Thu May 24, 2012 10:35 am

Quite a few of the 225 people who live in Dish, Texas, think the nation's natural gas boom is making them sick.

They blame the chemicals used in gas production for health problems ranging from nosebleeds to cancer.

And the mayor of Dish, Bill Sciscoe, has a message for people who live in places where gas drilling is about to start: "Run. Run as fast as you can. Grab up your family and your belongings, and get out."

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