House Passes Bill Making Protesting Big Oil Punishable by $5,000 Fine

Environmentalists say lawmakers reluctance to address the bill’s environmental concerns is likely a result of not wanting to bite the hand that feeds them.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

Last week the U.S. House passed multiple pro-oil, anti-environmental pieces of legislation that would, among other things, charge a $5,000 fee in order to file an official protest against a proposed drilling project, sparking outrage from environmentalists and First Amendment advocates alike. One of those bills, the Federal Land Jobs and Energy

Read Full Article

Investors Urged To Get In On ‘Gold Rush’ Of US Fracking

Communities against fracking are not only up against oil and gas exploitation companies, but their stockholders, too.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

The nation’s leading financial advisors are looking to turn a profit -- and they’re eyeing the fracking industry as one that’s sure to deliver hefty returns. According to Chen Lin, an investment strategist, fracking is the new frontier for those looking to cash in on the stock market, as projections put the industry at the forefront of the U.S.

Read Full Article

Study: Fracking Sucks Up Freshwater At Alarming Rate

Fracking uses a lot of lake and river water. A new study finds less than a tenth of it ever gets recycled.

Mint Press News Desk
By Mint Press News Desk

Fracking in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania and West Virginia do not only use millions of gallons of water per operation, according to a new report. The study also shows that operations fail to return almost all that water to its purified form. The report, from San Jose State University, focused on water use and reporting in hydraulic

Read Full Article

“The Next Saudi Arabia”: An Australia Desert Town of 3,500

If the preliminary data is true, the Land Down Under will soon have 12 percent of the world’s oil reserves.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

In January, officials in Australia announced they had found a shale oil field that contained more “black gold” than what’s found in Iran (137 billion barrels), Iraq (115 billion barrels), Canada (175 billion barrels) or Venezuela (211 billion barrels). Discovered underneath the small Southern Australian town of Coober Pedy in the Arckaringa Basin

Read Full Article

Fracking Fever Hits The South As Lawmakers Push Industry-Friendly Regulations

Senators have introduced legislation that allows oil companies to skip regulations requiring disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking operations.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

North Carolina senators are taking an American Legislative Exchange Council-style approach in their efforts to push through legislation that allows oil companies a loophole in regulations requiring disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations. This week, a state Senate committee approved a version of what is

Read Full Article