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Why did New York ban fracking? The official report is now public
Posted by InsideClimate: Neela Banerjee on May 15th, 2015
InsideClimate: New York issued its long-awaited environmental assessment of fracking Wednesday detailing a wide range of health and climate concerns that underpinned Governor Andrew Cuomo's decision last December to impose a statewide ban on the practice.
High-volume hydraulic fracturing "raises new, significant, adverse impacts not studied" in the state's last major analysis of oil and gas development in 1992, the 2,000-page report concludes. The negative effects that fracking could bring to the state include:...
EPA’s methane crackdown to come slow and easy
Posted by InsideClimate: Neela Banerjee on February 1st, 2015
InsideClimate: The Obama administration on Jan. 14 announced its long-awaited plan to control the oil and gas industry's emissions of methane, saying it would in the next decade cut in half leaks of the potent global-warming pollutant. The White House called its approach a crucial step to achieving the greenhouse-gas emissions targets President Barack Obama announced in November in Beijing, but some environmental advocates said the plan, which relies heavily on voluntary efforts, does not go far enough. The plan...