Natural-gas production from shale rock has increased by more than 700 percent since 2007 in the United States alone. Yet scientists still do not fully understand the industry's effects on nature and wildlife, according to a report in the journal Frontiers in Ec
The chemical makeup of wastewater generated by “hydrofracking” could cause the release of tiny particles in soils that often strongly bind heavy metals and pollutants, exacerbating the environmental risks during accidental spills, Cornell University research
A massive landslide swept through Mesa County in western Colorado, U.S., on May 25, 2014. According to the Mesa County Sheriff's Department, three people are missing. The slide occurred after a day of rain and a smaller slide earlier in a day.Acc
In a new study involving researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, scientists observed that a human-induced magnitude 5.0 earthquake near Prague, Oklahoma in November 2011 may have triggered the larger M 5.7 earthquake less than a day later.
This research
Colorado [USA] health and environment officials approved this week a set of new rules to limit air pollution from oil and gas drilling in the state, along with nation's first plan to detect and reduce methane emissions. The
USGS reported today that since January 2009, more than 200 magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes have rattled Central Oklahoma, which marked a significant rise in the frequency of these seismic events.
Important to people living in the Oklahoma City region
Oil companies have started drilling for oil in China's Sichuan region, an earthquake hot bed, where nearly 70 000 people died in devastating M 8.0 earthquake in 2008. The Sichuan province of China has seen many strong and
From the late 1960s until 2000, there were only 21 earthquakes a year with a magnitude greater than 3 in central and eastern United States. But from 2010-2012, the region experienced over 300.
In a paper in Science, researchers think they may have
Hydraulic fracturing uses pressurised fluid to crack open deep shale rocks to release the methane trapped within them. Geologists say this potentially harmful fluid is unlikely to percolate up through a few kilometres of rock to reach the shallow aquifers that supply
Lawsuits from individuals who believe their water has been contaminated by hydraulic fracturing are coming in all across the US and support for stricter regulations is growing. This was backed up by recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) findings that
