Portal:Water

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The Water Portal

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"Gasland," the New Silent Spring

Gasland is a 2010 movie directed by Josh Fox, which exposes the dangers of drilling for methane gas in the United States. Fox won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming in 2011 for the film, and it was a nominee for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards the same year. Fox's production company, "The International WOW Company," describes the movie as follows: "The film is about the largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. What is uncovered is truly shocking--water that can be lit on fire right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of drilling areas from disparate locations in the US all with the same mysterious symptoms, huge pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and vegetation well blowouts and huge gas explosions consistently covered up by state and federal regulatory agencies."

Robert Koehler of Variety referred to the film as “one of the most effective and expressive environmental films of recent years… "GasLand" may become to the dangers of natural gas drilling what Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" was to DDT.” Bloomberg News critic Dave Shiflett wrote that Fox "may go down in history as the Paul Revere of fracking."

Immediately upon the film's release, Energy In Depth issued a paper claiming to "debunk" the film's documentary evidence. Kevin Grandia, former editor of DeSmogBlog, in an article written on the Huffington Post titled "Who are the spin doctors behind the attack on Gasland?," stated "[I]t looks like Gasland is starting to get under the skin of the oil and gas industry. I guess the dinosaurs in the dirty fuel lobby don't like videos of people who can light their tap water on fire after their wells are contaminated with methane gas." The article can be seen here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-grandia/who-are-the-spindoctors-b_b_621190.html.

Energy in Depth (EID) is a pro-oil-and-gas drilling industry front group formed by the American Petroleum Institute, the Petroleum Association of America and dozens of additional industry organizations for the purpose of denouncing the FRAC Act proposed by Colorado U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette to regulate underground fracking fluids. They have crafted an entire campaign to delegitimize Fox's film, coining itself "Debunking Gasland." Many Facebook and Google users have even reported "Debunking Gasland" ads popping up on those respective websites. That can be seen here: http://www.energyindepth.org/2010/06/debunking-gasland/

‎Josh Fox has responded to every claim in "Debunking Gasland" put forth by Energy In Depth in a piece titled "Affirming Gasland," which can be seen here: http://www.damascuscitizens.org/Affirming-GASLAND.pdf. The 41-page report was co-written with Weston Wilson of the Environmental Protection Agency, Professor Anthony Ingraffea of Cornell University, and Barbara Arrindell of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, among others. The document addresses industry smear campaign talking points on a point by point basis. Steve Horn of the Center for Media and Democracy also wrote an article on the topic, titled, "Energy in Depth's Disinformation Freakshow," which can be seen here: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2010/07/9248/energy-depths-disinformation-freakshow.

After Josh Fox's film was nominated for the Academy Award, Energy in Depth went on the attack again, writing a press release titled, “This nomination is fitting, as the Oscars are aimed at praising pure entertainment.” The Guardian debunked the propaganda here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/21/oscar-buzz-gasland-engery-lobby

The film has been such a powerful force in fueling activism against fracking that even the gas industry acknowledges its role. In September 2011, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association Tisha Conoly-Schuller said she hates to credit the film, but notes that Gasland has played a significant role in the growing opposition to fracking: "These nuts make up 90 percent of our population so we can't call them nuts any more." She then advised the industry to make fracking "hipper" to appeal to young people and reframe the debate in terms of jobs and the economy. The Center for Media and Democracy's Anne Landman reported on this PR spin here: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/2011/09/11021/colorado-oil-and-gas-association-ceo-describes-pr-strategies-deal-nuts

Gasland links:

• http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
• http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/GASLAND/238848283364?ref=ts
• http://twitter.com/gaslandmovie

A video of an interview that took place with director Josh Fox on March 4, 2011 that took place on 'Democracy Now!' can be seen here: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/4/natural_gas_industry_attacks_oscar_nominated

Another film changing the terms of the debate on fracking for methane gas is called "Split Estate," a trailer of which can be seen here.

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Highlighted Heroes

Josh Fox is the director of the groundbreaking documentary Gasland. He is the founder and artistic director of the International WOW Company. Josh earned his BA from Columbia University. He is the founder and Artistic Director of International WOW Company, a film and theater company that works closely with actors and non actors from diverse cultural backgrounds, including members of the United States military, activist communities in sustainable energy and design and actors, dancers, designers and filmmakers from around the world to create new work that addresses current national and global social and political crises. Josh's work is known for its mix of gripping narrative, heightened imagery and its commitment to socially conscious themes and subjects.

In the film, Fox unmasks truly shocking revelations--water that can be lit on fire right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of drilling areas from disparate locations in the U.S. all with the same mysterious symptoms, huge pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and vegetation well blowouts, and huge gas explosions consistently covered up by state and federal regulatory agencies.

More information on Josh can be seen here: http://gaslandthemovie.com/about-the-film/team and here: http://internationalwow.com/newsite/josh.html.

Abrahm Lustgarten is a former staff writer and contributor for Fortune, and has written for Salon, Esquire, the Washington Post and the New York Times since receiving his master's in journalism from Columbia University in 2003. He is currently employed as an investigative reporter for Pro Publica, a nonprofit investigative journalism news organization whose mission is described as "To expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing."

Lustgarten's reporting has been instrumental in uncovering a plethora of information about natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. His work on the issue has been compared to that of journalist Jeremy Scahill on the wrongdoings of Blackwater. Lustgarten, like Scahill, often seems to be fighting a one-man journalistic battle, as the chief source of uncovering the truth on this particular issue. Lustgarten was a 2009 recipient of a George Polk Award for Environmental Reporting for documenting the deadly side effects of hydrofracking.

All of Lustgarten's reporting on the Marcellus Shale can be seen here: http://www.propublica.org/site/author/Abrahm_Lustgarten. He can be followed on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/#!/AbrahmL.

Mark Ruffalo is an outspoken anti-drilling activist, as well as a formidable actor, most famous for his roles in the movies Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, The Kids Are All Right, Just Like Heaven, Rumor Has It and You Can Count On Me. In the political world, and in particular, in the world of natural gas drilling, he is most well known for his tenacity in fighting against drilling in the Marcellus Shale. In exchange for his outspokenness, Ruffalo was placed on a terrorist watch list by the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security after having shown a screening of the movie Gasland in a public forum in Pennsylvania. This was reported by both the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?entry_id=77671) and Time Magazine (http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/11/30/does-pennsylvania-consider-actor-mark-ruffalo-a-terrorist/). An October appearance by Ruffalo on the Rachel Maddow Show can be seen here: http://www.commondreams.org/video/2010/10/05-0. All of his articles, published by the Huffington Post, can be seen here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-ruffalo. He tweets often about the injustices of fracking--his account can be seen here: http://twitter.com/#!/mruff221.

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Why Worry about Drilling in Marcellus Shale

Marcellus Shale is a region of shale deposits in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and neighboring states. Energy companies have honed in on the region in an effort to tap methane gas within and below the layers of shale that are located there, as well as in many other shale plays throughout the country, including the Haynesville Shale, Fayetteville Shale, Eagle Ford Shale, Barnett Shale, and many others.

This effort is extremely controversial because the method of gas extraction, hydrofracking, uses millions of gallons of drinkable water to drill each well, relies on a cocktail of hazardous chemicals to lubricate the drill and keep the wells flowing, has demonstrably led to the contamination of wells and drinking water, and creates other adverse consequences for people residing near the wells, pipelines, and processing centers, in addition to contributing to greenhouse gases and climate change. Pro Publica has created two very informative illustrations about this: "What is Hydraulic Fracturing?" and "Anatomy of a Gas Well."

Though parroted by the methane gas industry as America's "clean energy future," an April 2011 study shows otherwise--the entire natural gas burning emissions cycle is actually dirtier than coal, as revealed by Cornell Professors Robert Howarth and Tony Ingraffea. The study can be seen here: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April11/GasDrillingDirtier.html.

Hydrofracking, or "fracking, is not regulated by federal statutes governing water safety, because industry lobbyists obtained an exemption from following this law, known as the "Halliburton loophole." Halliburton's former CEO, Dick Cheney, was instrumental in obtaining a loophole from disclosing the chemicals used in this drilling process under the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Although no complete list of all the chemicals used by each drilling company exists, information obtained from environmental clean-up sites demonstrates that known toxins are routinely being used, including hydrochloric acid, diesel fuel (which contains benzene, tuolene, and xylene) as well as formaldehyde, polyacrylimides, arsenic, and chromates. These chemicals include known carcinogens and other hazardous substances. A premium and up-to-date overview of the ecological perils associated with methane gas drilling can be seen here and was done by DeSmogBlog: http://desmogblog.com/fracking-the-future/. It is titled, "Fracking the Future: How Unconventional Gas Threatens Water, Health, and Climate."

Fracking has raised serious environmental and health concerns. In New Mexico, for example, similar processes for drilling for natural gas have leached toxic chemicals into the water table at 800 sites. Pro Publica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten revealed that as much as 85% of the fluids used during hydrofracking is regularly left after wells are drilled in the Marcellus Shale. He stated in an article titled "New gas wells leave more chemicals in ground," which ran in Politico on December 27, 2009, "[Over] three million gallons of chemically tainted wastewater could be left in the ground forever. Drilling companies say that chemicals make up less than 1% of that fluid...[which] still amount[s] to 34,000 gallons in a typical well."

"American Rivers" has noted that hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale poses enormous threats to the Delaware River watershed, which provides drinking water for nearly 17 million people in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. American Rivers named the Delaware River the number one most at-risk river, due to the threat of tapping into the Marcellus Shale.

Environmental Working Group has even raised the specter that methane gas drilling may be causing the injection of hexavalent chromium into U.S. citizens' drinking water, in a blog post titled, "Chromium-6 in Gas Drilling Wastes?" that can be seen here: http://www.enviroblog.org/2011/03/chromium-6-in-gas-drilling-wastes.html

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The Halliburton Loophole

In 2005, at the urging of Vice President Dick Cheney, Congress created the so-called "Halliburton loophole" to federal water safety laws to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating this process, despite its demonstrated contamination of drinking water. In 2001, Cheney's "energy task force" had touted the benefits of hydrofracking, while redacting references to human health hazards associated with hydrofracking; Halliburton, which was previously led by Cheney, reportedly earns $1.5 billion a year from its energy operations, which relies substantially on its hydrofracking business.

According to Pro Publica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten, the EPA under Christine Todd Whitman's tenure as Administrator engaged in secret negotiations with industry, while supposedly addressing drinking water issues related to hydrofracking. In 2004, the EPA undertook a study on the issue and "the EPA, despite its scientific judgment that there was a potential risk to groundwater supplies, which their report clearly says, then went ahead and very surprisingly concluded that there was no risk to groundwater," Lustgarten said in September 2009. "[P]art of my reporting found that throughout that process the EPA was closer than seemed comfortable with the industry. I filed Freedom of Information Act requests for some documents and found conversations between Halliburton employees and the EPA researchers, essentially asking for an agreement from Halliburton in exchange for more lax enforcement. The EPA, in these documents, appeared to offer that and agree to that. And it doesn’t appear, by any means, to have been either a thorough or a very objective study." (http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/3/fracking_and_the_environment_natural_gas)

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Fracking Front Groups

Here are some of the industry front groups and trade groups advocating for methane gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region:

• Energy in Depth (EID) is a pro oil-and-gas drilling industry front group formed by the American Petroleum Institute, the Petroleum Association of America and dozens of additional industry organizations for the purpose of denouncing legislation proposed by Colorado U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette to regulate underground hydrofracking fluids. Energy in Depth denounced DeGette's proposed fracking legislation as an “unnecessary financial burden on a single small-business industry, American oil and natural gas producers.” In June, 2009, Energy in Depth started a multimillion dollar lobbying and public relations campaign aimed at derailing public health legislation that would require the disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking fluids. In addition to a website, EID's campaign includes a Twitter feed, a Facebook group, a YouTube channel and an aggressive advertising campaign. Shortly before the documentary Gasland first aired on HBO, the organization issued a "Gasland Debunked" article to discredit the film and its director, which does not address many of the facts: http://www.energyindepth.org/2010/06/debunking-gasland/. An inquiry into who was handling the public relations for Energy in Depth is detailed here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-grandia/who-are-the-spindoctors-b_b_621190.html?ref=twitter. Fox, along with numerous scientists and academics, penned a 40-page document titled "Affirming Gasland" in response to "Debunking Gasland," shooting down the Energy in Depth report in its entirety, It can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.damascuscitizens.org%2FAffirming-GASLAND.pdf&h=daa4du0q7YKD4cd7GoBRDDoELGQ. After Josh Fox's film was nominated for the Academy Award, Energy in Depth went on the attack again, writing a press release titled, “This nomination is fitting, as the Oscars are aimed at praising pure entertainment.” The Guardian debunked the propaganda here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/21/oscar-buzz-gasland-engery-lobby.

• Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY): The JLCNY is overwhelmingly supportive of industry drilling into the Marcellus Shale. JLNY describes itself as "a 501c 6 a non-for-profit corporation." It says it "represent[s] 17 counties and 37+ coalitions. Estimated numbers of households are currently over 20,000, representing approximately 70,000 people and over 800,000 acres throughout New York's Southern Tier." JLNY may be an astroturf group made up of a small number of duped supporters, but funded primarily by industry, like FreedomWorks. Astroturfing refers to small grassroots-based citizen groups or coalitions that are primarily conceived, created and/or funded by corporations, industry trade associations, political interests or public relations firms. Like EID, JNLY has its own "Debunking Gasland page, which seems to confuse myths and truths, but consistent with industry propaganda, which can be seen here: http://www.jlcny.org/site/index.php/news/latest-news-articles/192-debunking-gasland-the-movie.

• Marcellus Shale Coalition is the well-funded industry group that is working to oppose efforts to regulate methane drilling and blocking efforts to protect drinking water.

• Marcellus Shale Committee is an earlier industry trade group that appears to be largely superseded by the Marcellus Shale Coalition.

• CNGNow, also known as Clean Natural Gas Now, is a front group for Chesapeake Energy. One can quickly figure this out by seeing how the two entities interact over Twitter, as nearly every tweet that Chesapeake Energy publishes, so too does CNG Now.

• NGVehicles, also known as Clean Natural Gas Vehicles, is an industry-funded lobbying organization. CMD reporter Steve Horn revealed that they were instrumental in writing the NAT GAS Act that was unveiled by the US Congress in April 2011: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/04/10546/fracking-insiders-score-big-new-gas-bill-americans-not-told-true-costs-massive-dr.

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Featured Videos

On the left is a video in which Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer calls plans to drill for methane gas in the New York City watershed, which supplies the drinking water for millions of New Yorkers, the "most alarming environmental news he has heard in a long time, and makes this the number one environmental crisis" they face in the City.

Toxics Targeting created the accompanying video in which they show "ignitible water," caused by chemicals injected into the groundwater to drill for methane gas.

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Interesting Pieces

• "USGS Releases New Assessment of Gas Resources in the Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin." This press release, written on August 23, 2011, highlights the fact that even more methane gas exists in the Marcellus Shale than previously thought. The press release reads, "The Marcellus Shale contains about 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas and 3.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids according to a new assessment by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS). These gas estimates are significantly more than the last USGS assessment of the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Basin in 2002, which estimated a mean of about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCF) and 0.01 billion barrels of natural gas liquids."

• The piece that broke through and highlighted the risks with Marcellus Shale methane drilling was published on June 22, 2008 by Pro Publica. Afterward, the movement to place a moratorium on all natural gas drilling in the region really took off. The article can be seen here. An audio version of it from the radio station WNYC can also be listened to here. Related articles can be found here

• A concise interview with Pro Publica investigative reporter Abrahm Lustgarten on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! summarizes some of the key concerns with drilling for methane gas can be heard here. See also NPR's "Fresh Air" interview with him, available here

• CMD's Steve Horn: "Chesapeake 'Declaration of Energy Independence': NAT GAS Act Embodied"

• CMD's Steve Horn: "MSNBC's (GE's) Dylan Ratigan Show 'Firewater?' Series: Natural Gas Industry-Media Complex Exposed"

• CMD's Steve Horn unveiled the story behind the story of the introduction of the federal-level NAT GAS Act in his story titled Fracking Insiders Score Big In New Gas Bill, But Americans Not Told True Costs of Massing Drilling Plan.

• CMD's Steve Horn also explored the facts surrounding the treatment of anti-fracking activists as eco-terrorists, in an article titled "Welcome Home War!: Pennsylvania and the Marcellus Shale"

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Citizen Groups

• "Environmental Working Group"
• "Catskill Mountainkeeper", a member based advocacy organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the long term health of the six counties of the Catskill Region.
• "Earth Justice", a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment.
• "The Freshwater Society", a non-profit whose mission of the Freshwater Society is to promote the conservation, protection and restoration of all freshwater resources.
• "American Rivers: Thriving by Nature", a leading conservation organization standing up for healthy rivers so communities can thrive. American Rivers protects and restores America's rivers for the benefit of people, wildlife, and nature.
• "Greenpeace USA", a non-profit activist organization dedicated to protecting the environment through research, advocacy and lobbying.

Other resources:

• "Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy"
• "Clean Water Action"
• "Delaware Riverkeeper"
• "Hudson Riverkeeper"
• "Oil and Gas Accountability Project" of Earthworks
• "New York Residents Against Drilling"
• "Pacific Institute"
• "Shale Shock"
• "Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter"
• "Trout Unlimited"
• "Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund"

"Gasland the Movie"'s webpage also maintains an entire database of activist organizations, organized on a state-by-state basis, that can be seen here.

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Breaking News

• "Alternet: Exposed: New Documentary About Gas Drilling Hailed as Indie and Balanced, But Here's Why It's Neither"
• "Director of "Gasland" Wins Emmy; Film Fueling Activism"
• "USGS Releases New Assessment of Gas Resources in the Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin"
• "NY Times Dealbook: Noble Energy Buys Consol Shale Stake for $3.4 Billion"
• "Local residential area could be used for oil", an article on natural gas drilling in the Niobrara Shale, located in Colorado
• "Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has 'Gutted' Renewable Energy Programs in Favor of Natural Gas"
• "Washington Post: Obama Energy Department panel to endorse shale gas exploration"
• "Wisconsin Watch: Sand mining surges in Wisconsin -- State feeds national fracking boom; health, environmental concerns rise"
• "AP: Big, new pipelines on tap for Pa., Marcellus Shale"
• "Chesapeake "Declaration of Energy Independence": NAT GAS Act Embodied," Steve Horn -- July 26, 2011
• "MSNBC's (GE's) Dylan Ratigan Show "Firewater?" Series: Natural Gas Industry-Media Complex Exposed," Steve Horn -- June 14, 2010
• "A Laugher: Tom Ridge Says, 'I'm Not a Lobbyist' on Colbert Report
• "3 Massive World Events That Will Change Your Life: Crucial developments taking place in 2011 are changing the way we are likely to live on this planet for the foreseeable future, published on June 6 by Professor Michael Klare of Hampshire College--author of the 2009 book, "Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy"
• "Norway's Statoil to Become Natural Gas Driller in US' Eagle Ford Shale by 2013," written June 3, 2011
• "Legislative Panel To Promote Natural Gas Drilling In Michigan," written June 2, 2011
• "Oil & Gas drilling led to hundreds of spills in Garfield County, CO, new study shows," written May 30, 2011
• "NY Attorney General Sues U.S. Army Coops of Engineers Over Lack of Fracking Studies," written May 31, 2011.
• "EPA Director Lisa Jackson Says She Is 'Not Aware of Any Proven Case of Water Contamination From Hydraulic Fracturing'"
• "Washington Post: Energy Industry Shapes Lessons in Public Schools," written June 2, 2011.
• "UK Halts All Natural Gas Drilling After Link Seen Between Earthquakes and Fracking," written June 1, 2011.
• "TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline Shut Down Indefinitely Due to Safety Concerns," written June 3, 2011

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Take Action

The Gasland website is a great resource for actions you can take. The website can be seen here: http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/take-action/

In mid-August through early-September, numerous prominent journalists and activists will be leading civil disobedience actions in front of the White House to protest the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would run from the Alberta Tar Sands down to the Texas Panhandle. While not directly related to fracking or the methane gas exploration process at face-value, the project is actually deeply intertwined with fracking in that it would also pollute drinking water, namely the Ogallala Aquifer, the United States' largest source fresh drinking water. More information is provided here in this article by The Nation magazine: http://www.thenation.com/blog/161604/bill-mckibben-naomi-klein-wendell-berry-call-civil-disobedience-tar-sands.

On Sept. 7 and 8, 2011, the anti-fracking activist group Protecting Our Waters will play host to Shale Gas Outrage in Philadelphia, PA. Among others, Gasland Director Josh Fox will be in-attendance. More information about the action can be seen here: http://shalegasoutrage.org/ and here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212744612102874

Marcellus Protest has an information clearinghouse for PA fracking action concerning the Marcellus Shale: http://www.marcellusprotest.org

You can stop oil drilling, gas drilling (fracking) and coal extraction by signing the petition: No more "Drill, baby, drill!" http://environment.change.org/petitions/view/no_more_drill_baby_drill

It was the first online petition to stop the fossil fuel industry altogether, and shift to safe, sustainable, renewable energy! One more petition is: "Protect New York from gas drilling": http://environment.change.org/petitions/view/protect_new_york_from_gas_drilling

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Pending Federal Legislation

In March 2011 Representatives Diana DeGette, Jared Polis and Maurice Hinchey and Senator Bob Casey introduced the Fracking Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC ACT), which is a re-introduction of the 2009 version of the bill that was tabled, as the fracking process continued at massive levels throughout the U.S. The act is aimed at closing the Halliburton loophole and requiring the oil and gas industry to disclose the chemicals used in drilling projects. It "amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to: (1) repeal the exemption from restrictions on underground injection of fluids near drinking water sources granted to hydraulic fracturing operations under such Act; and (2) require oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations." The FRAC Act has 9 co-sponsors in the Senate. Predictably, the gas and oil industries pose a strong voice of opposition to the FRAC Act.

On the flip-side, the opposition has formulated its own bill. Big oil and gas shill Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) proposed the Fast Track Shale Act on March 31, 2009. The bill calls for an "open[ing] of Federal Bureau of Land Management and National Forest lands to leasing for exploration, development, and production of oil shale resources, and for other purposes." In short, the bill calls for ignoring all of the environmental conc"erns raised by fracking and pushes to go forward with all proposed methane drilling in the Marcellus Shale region. On the same day this bill was introduced, Bachmann and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina) also introduced what they called the "Emergency Energy Cut the Red Tape Now Act of 2009," essentially calling for the suspension of all environmental regulation for the sake of exploiting environmental resources. The bill bluntly proposes "to terminate or provide for suspension of the application of Federal laws that restrict exploration, development, or production of oil, gas, or oil shale, to facilitate the construction of new crude oil refineries, and for other purposes."

In April 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled the NAT GAS Act, also known as the "New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act," which would offer the fracking industry tax credits to help "drive" consumption. The bigger the vehicle, the more tax credits given. It is the culmination of 2+ years of lobbying by T. Boone Pickens and his Pickens Plan "Army," as he calls it. CMD's Steve Horn unveiled the fact that, by and large, the bill was written by the methane gas industry and its lobbyists. An exposé of the bill can be seen here.

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Key State News

• New York: On June 30, 2011, it was announced that Democratic Governor Anthony Cuomo will call for a lifting of the moratorium on fracking within state borders, first reported by the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/nyregion/cuomo-will-seek-to-lift-drilling-ban.html?_r=1&hp and soon thereafter reported by CMD's Steve Horn here: http://prwatch.org/news/2011/06/10869/new-york-governor-andrew-cuomo-opens-fracking-floodgates. Please see the SGEIS Quick-Start Guide here: SGEIS_(NY), and also a compilation of the flaws with the present document here: 2011_SGEIS_Flaws(NY)

• North Carolina: Shale Gas heading to North Carolina? Looks like it.

• United Kingdom: "Earthquakes in UK suspend hydraulic fracturing": "Europe is getting a taste of fracking earthquakes. Of course industry denies any connection just like they do when water is contaminated but here's what we know: Where drilling and fracking happens, water is contaminated. Where drilling and fracking happens, earthquakes follow."

• Texas: MarketWatch on June 3, 2011: "Like many international oil and gas companies, Norway's Statoil has poured billions into joint ventures with some of the North American independents that in the last decade figured out how to profitably unlock the oil and gas trapped in shale, bankrolling their drilling while hoping to learn some of their techniques. But peering over its partners' shoulders is not enough: Statoil plans to run its own U.S. shale operation in South Texas's Eagle Ford Shale by early 2013, said the company's executive vice president for North America, Bill Maloney."

• Michigan: Legislative Panel To Promote Natural Gas Drilling In Michigan on June 2, 2011: "Natural gas is Michigan's most abundant energy source. Most of it comes from shallow gas wells in a formation called the Antrim Shale that's been drilled in thousands of places across northern Michigan. But environmentalists are worried about new, deeper wells that require large amounts of water and use chemicals that are kept secret. They want a moratorium on these wells and are worried this new subcommittee will head in the opposite direction. A group called Progress Michigan sent out a press release already that criticizes the chair of the panel, Representative Aric Nesbitt, and lists campaign contributions he received from the energy industry."

• Colorado: Oil & Gas drilling led to hundreds of spills in Garfield County - new study shows: "Wildlife and wildlife habitat in Colorado prized by generations of hunters and anglers has been tainted by oil and gas wastewater spills, according to a new analysis by Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance, a national sportsmen group. Oil and gas companies operating in Garfield, Rio Blanco and Mesa counties in northwest Colorado have reported nearly 1,000 spills, that released about 5.6 million gallons of wastewater, oil, and other fluids and chemicals from 2001 to 2010, an analysis of state oil and gas spill data reveals. Less than half of the spilled fluids during that 10-year period were ever recovered. The analysis also reveals that groundwater and surface water have been tainted in at least 77 separate spills in the three counties."

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Spotlight on Campaign Donations and Lobbying

In the state of Pennsylvania, a clear correlation can be seen between the money given to the state's politicians and their support of drilling into the Marcellus Shale. In a groundbreaking study titled "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets: The Campaign Contributions and Lobbying Expenditures of the Natural Gas Industry in Pennsylvania," Common Cause followed the money, demonstrating that money flowing from oil companies had a clear impact on the behavior of Pennsylvania politicians.

The report reveals that the natural gas industry gave $2.85 million to political candidates in Pennsylvania between 2001 and March of 2010, with the campaign contributions flowing in at a particular prominent level post-2005, and especially post-2008. In addition, the industry spent $4.2 million on lobbying since 2007. The authors point out that the Quaker State has no real limit to campaign contributions and, on top of that, the data is not easily searchable by ordinary citizens; as Common Cause points out, Pennsylvania is often described as the "Wild West" of campaign financing. As the report notes "the Marcellus Shale has enabled the industry to promise a modern-day Gold Rush for the state." The combination of the modern-day Gold Rush alongside Wild West campaign finance laws is a deadly duo, said the report.

The report also reveals that Tom Corbett, the current Republican Governor in Pennsylvania has received over $360,000 dollars in industry contributions since 2001, which is over three and a half times the amount of contributions received by any other politician. And although supportive of a severance tax, former Democratic Governor Ed Rendell also has called himself the industry's "best ally," even though the industry gave nearly four time as much dough to his opponent. Rendell had received over $84,000 in campaign contributions from the gas and oil industry since 2001. Corbett's opponent in the 2010 race for governor, Dan Onorato, received roughly $60,000 in campaign funding, putting him at seventh on the list of top 25 recipients of industry contributions from 2001 through April 2010. While there are three Democrats in the Top Ten of that list, only five in the top 25, with Republicans receiving 84% of contributions ($2.28 million) and Democrats receiving 16% ($428,000), according to Common Cause. Either way, the methane gas industry is working both sides of the aisle, hedging its bets by give significant funds to candidates from both parties in order to obtain favorable policies.

The entire report can be seen here. Common Cause has since created an entire campaign finance database dedicated to tracking the vast influence of money from methane gas drilling companies in the state-level elections in the state of Pennsylvania. That database is titled, appropriately enough, "Marcellus Money," and can be seen here. $3,442,212 was donated to elected officials currently in office in PA, according to the database. The top recipient for the 2010 election was Governor Tom Corbett, with a total $1,634,096 recieved in contributions from the methane gas industry. He was followed by Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, with $293,333.

In June, 2010, Common Cause of New York released a Part One of a report titled "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets: Expenditures of the Natural Gas Industry in New York to Influence Public Policy." The report demonstrated that as the gas and oil industry has begun pushing forward with its drilling campaign in the Marcellus Shale, so too has the magnitude of their lobbying expenses. In 2009, says the report, over $650,000 were spent on lobbying, while in the first four months of 2010, that amount has already nearly been surpassed, with two-thirds of the year still remaining. The report goes on to show that the most active lobbying efforts in New York were put forth by Exxon, Chesapeake Energy, and Cabot Oil and Gas. These companies have melded together as a collective "trade association" that goes by the name of Independent Oil and Gas Association, resembling Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale Coalition.

Compared to the period between the years 2006 through 2009, a period during which lobbying expenditures totaled nearly $110,000, the expenditures jumped six-fold in 2009, totaling nearly $670,000. The entire report can be seen here.

Part two of that report, released in April 2011, also focused on lobbying by methane gas companies, as opposed to the focus of the Pennsylania report, which focused on campaign finance by those same companies. The report's Executive summary states, "Analysis showed that the companies and entities which opposed a moratorium on natural gas drilling outspentthose entities which supported the moratorium by a margin of 4 to 1. Chesapeake Energy, the nation’s second largest producer of methane gas, was the biggest spender among industry advocates of fracking, disclosing a total of $1,090,051 spent lobbying in NY in 2010. [By] contrast, the biggest spender amongthe groups that supported the moratorium, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, an entity which lobbies onnumerous environmental issues, not only natural gas exploitation, spent $159,232 lobbying in 2010." The report, in its entirity, can be read here.

An important story written by ProPublica on the same topic is titled "Opponents to Fracking Disclosure Take Big Money From Industry" and can be seen here: http://www.propublica.org/article/opponents-to-fracking-disclosure-take-big-money-from-industry. CMD's Steve Horn also wrote on the topic of the nexus of electoral funding and methane gas companies, which can be seen here.

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(In)Famous Foes

• 
  Dick Cheney: Mr. Cheney is infamous for many things, including his role in the Halliburton Loophole to exempt the chemicals used in drilling for methane from the disclosure rules and limitations in federal law. Cheney deserves a permanent place in the hall of infamous foes.

• 
  T. Boone Pickens: Author of the PickensPlan, a program launched in July 2008 by Texas tycoon T. Boone Pickens promoting drill-baby-drill policies in the name of national security. Originally a combination of the promotion of methane drilling, and wind energy, the plan has transformed into the promotion of methane gas drilling exclusively. Pickens' full plan can be seen here. Pickens was very influential in the introduction of the 2011 NAT GAS Act, as covered by CMD's Steve Horn. Pickens is also a big proponent of water privitization, and is the owner of Mesa Water. He is also the owner of the energy hedge fund BP Capital. He is the author of two autobiographies, his most recent one titled, "The First Billion is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future"

• 
  Aubrey McClendon is the CEO of Chesapeake Energy. He is also in the chair of the board of directors of the front group American Clean Skies Foundation. The channel produces what is notoriously known as Branded News. He is also a Managing Partner and Founder of Deep Fork Capital. He has been a Director of Chesapeake Energy Corp. since 1989. At the 2011 winter meeting for the Independent Oil and Gas Association, McClendon stated that Chesapeake planned on investing some $40-50 billion in methane gas drilling in West Virginia in the next few decades. He also stated that Chesapeake had already spent some $600 million in capital investment since 2008 in the state. Short profiles about McClendon on Sourcewatch can be seen here and here.

• 
  Kathryn Klaber: the new President and Executive Director Kathryn Klaber of the drilling industry-backed Marcellus Shale Coalition (and the former Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Economy League).[1], "President & Executive Director." Marcellus Shale Coalition. In an interview with the so-called "Clean Skies TV Network," a channel affiliated with the American Clean Skies Foundation (which is largely funded from profits from gas drilling), Klaber stated that toxins entering into peoples' oil wells was a myth (though debunked by investigative journalists and scientists), and also stated that the FRAC Act was unnecessary because other organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency already have regulations in place to serve as a watchdog, neglecting to mention that the chemicals used in methane drilling are not regulated by federal water protection rules, thanks to the Halliburton loophole, and the process is subject to woefully inadequate state inspection agencies. The interview can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-pOqZVHvc&feature=player_embedded

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Opportunities for Citizen Journalists

We need your help to uncover the oil and gas industry public relations and propaganda efforts regarding the push for fracking. If you see an ad from a company or front group minimizing the consequences of drilling for methane and its effects on drinkable water please contact our new tipline: tipline AT sourcewatch.org. We also need your help researching the profits, executive pay, lobbying expenditures, and safety records of the companies pushing to expand methane drilling. Here is a research guide on:

• How to Research U.S. Companies:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Help:How_to_research_U.S._corporations

• How to Research Front Groups:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch:How_to_research_front_groups

And here are some of the companies that need greater scrutiny on these issues (there are dozens of corporations listed on the Marcellus Shale page):

• 2011 NAT GAS Act
• America's Natural Gas Alliance
• Atlas Energy Resources or Atlas Inc.
• Apache Corporation
• Cheniere Energy, Inc.
• CNG Now ("Clean" Natural Gas Now)
• Devon Energy Company
• EnCana Corporation
• Gazprom
• Statoil
• XTO Energy, Inc.

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Links to Related Issues

• SourceWatch Corporate Rights Portal, a portal page that explains how corporations are exerting undue influence on public policy and identifies responses to the Supreme Court's efforts to expand corporate rights and undermine the democratic process.
• SourceWatch Global Corporations Portal, a portal which began as a collaborative project with Global Corp Forum to build an information resource investigating international corporate conduct, especially as it relates to labor, human rights, public health and social responsibility.
• SourceWatch Climate Change Portal
• SourceWatch Coal Issues Portal

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