The Issue
Fracking
EWG’s investigations highlight the inherent risks of the current boom in drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations and empower citizens and lawmakers to work for better regulation.
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The Latest on Fracking
We've all seen (or at least heard of) the movie "Erin Brockovich" in which a bold and fiercely determined mom takes on a chemical company for exposing a small town and the families and children that live there to toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer. It's Academy Award winning material.
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People are messy. So is nature. And what people do when nature unleashes its fury often makes things worse.
The staff at Environmental Working Group took a look at the major environmental news stories of the year and came up with two lists: the Top 10 Good News stories and the Top 10 Bad News stories.
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Gas drilling companies routinely warn their investors of a litany of possible disasters – such as leaks, spills, explosions, bodily injury and even death – but regularly fail to mention these risks when persuading landowners to sign leases for drilling rights, an Environmental Working Group investigation found.
Read MoreAs natural gas development has pushed into populated areas, gas drillers have consistently disclosed to shareholders and potential investors daunting lists of possible mishaps, including leaks, spills, explosions, bodily injury, limited insurance coverage – and death
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According to a report by the Associated Press, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has concluded the natural gas extraction process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, could be responsible for groundwater contamination in Wyoming.
Read MoreSince George Washington crossed the Delaware in 1776, the river has become an iconic American image. Nearly 16 million people rely on the Delaware river for drinking water, and every year 5.4 million Americans swim, fish, camp, hike and explore its 330 miles of pristine, un-dammed water.
Read MoreSince George Washington crossed the Delaware in 1776, the river has become an iconic American image. Nearly 16 million people rely on the Delaware river for drinking water, and every year 5.4 million Americans swim, fish, camp, hike and explore its 330 miles of pristine, un-dammed water.
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Dusty Horwitt, EWG senior counsel, testifies before the New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection about the health and financial risks of fracking, particularly potential danger to New York City's water.
Read MoreWhen it comes to drilling in the Marcellus Shale, the natural gas industry leaves no stone unturned.
Read MoreA Department of Energy advisory panel’s draft report has insufficiently examined in depth the health and safety issues raised by natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, according to a detailed assessment by Environmental Working Group.
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Few Californians realize that the highly controversial shale gas and oil extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has been taking place in their state for more than 50 years.
Read MorePeople across the country are rightly concerned about natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing near their homes. Thanks to new technologies, the exploitation of shale gas formations has expanded rapidly and now accounts for nearly 30 percent of U.S. natural gas production.
Read MorePeople across the country are rightly concerned about natural gas drilling and fracturing near their homes. Thanks to new technologies, the exploitation of shale gas formations has expanded rapidly and now accounts for nearly 30 percent of U.S. gas production.
Read MoreIn a draft report on the increasingly controversial practice of shale gas drilling, the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board Subcommittee sidestepped the crucial question of whether hydraulic fracturing technology should remain exempt from most federal environmental regulation.
Read MoreTwenty eight scientists from 22 universities in 13 states have signed a letter objecting to the makeup of an industry-dominated advisory panel named by Energy Secretary Steven Chu to examine safety and environmental issues linked to natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”
Read MoreElected officials from across New York state voiced their disapproval of the U.S. Department of Energy’s advisory board on natural gas drilling, demanding that Secretary of Energy Steven Chu correct the glaring imbalance on the panel he appointed.
Read MoreTranscript from public meeting of the Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board on June 13, 2011 in Washington D.C.
Read MoreImagine, if you can: Nearly overnight, your water well begins producing slimy, off-color foul smelling and worse tasting water. It's unusable. You can't drink it. You can't bathe in it. You can't wash dishes or rinse produce. Your only option is to get clean water trucked in.
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Contrary to the drilling industry claim that hydraulic fracturing has never contaminated groundwater, the Environmental Protection Agency concluded in a 1987 study that “fracking” of a natural gas well in West Virginia contaminated an underground drinking water source. That all-but-forgotten report to Congress, uncovered by Environmental Working Group and Earthjustice, found that fracturing gel from a shale gas well more than 4,000 feet deep had contaminated well water.
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