US shale gas to heat British homes within five years | Environment | guardian.co.uk
March 25, 2013
US shale gas to heat British homes within five years | Environment | guardian.co.uk.
Film Screening “Drill Baby Drill” by Lech Kowalski
March 23, 2013
Film Screening “Drill Baby Drill” by Lech Kowalski | shaleshock.org.
Comment by Mary Menapace:
My (amateur) review and impressions.Attended the American premiere of Drill Baby Drill in Utica this afternoon. Shaleshock blurb on it here. http://shaleshock.org/2013/03/film-screening-drill-baby-drill-by-lech-kowalski/
The director Lech Kowalski.ski was there to answer questions afterwards.
almost three hundred people, theater was near full.The film beautifully lays out the ugly issues, mainly the way they operate as if exempt from any oversight or laws. As they are. Voice over narration by Lech. Polish farmers live simply on beautiful land, produce their own food, milk and eggs each even. Subtitled, their language direct, simple, logic irrefutable. The gathering and swift direct action respectful, effective, inspiring. Interesting that the leader was a woman (familiar?) she spokesperson but the room and fields were filled with mostly men on film anyway. Lech was asked, on film, many times to stop filming, by gov. and Chevron. As he commented afterwards, he coulda made an entire movie of being told not to be filming. To see the same issues laid out across the sea opens up the perspective.
Pennsylvania portion has familiar faces, Carol French piece opens the film. Was good to see her farm, heartbreaking to see her cows. Very powerful was a truck driver, Ray, who quit, his testimony on the status quo of how it all works and home water situation straight up bad. He was present at the screening. So was a psychologist who on film talks about the sand importing facility next door to a day care center in wyalusing. She was to speak afterwards about her work with Fracking victims but disappointingly there was not time.
Afterwards, there was good discussion about the larger picture of corporate power being the enemy, not Fracking. Local county legislator spoke, another truck driver who quit spoke, his story confirming Rachel’s testimony of woodchips being added to liquid for import to Seneca landfill and other NY landfills. He hauled the waste to NY working thirteen hour days and other lawbreaking policies he ultimately could not abide, echoing the driver in the film.
So the film bore good discussion. The distribution will be film festivals and will be available on VOD which I am assuming is video on demand, and Lech is looking to have a tour of dozens of locales across the northeast. He will be figuring out dates sometime shortly.
Unsealed Records in Contamination Case Claim Lax Oversight by DEP | StateImpact Pennsylvania
March 22, 2013
Unsealed Records in Contamination Case Claim Lax Oversight by DEP | StateImpact Pennsylvania.
MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Consol Energy drill rig explores the Marcellus Shale in Greene County.
A Washington County couple settled a high profile Marcellus Shale contamination case for $750,000 and signed affidavits that say no medical evidence ”definitively” connects their children’s health problems to drilling activity. Stephanie and Chris Hallowich also signed an affidavit that says their children were in good health. More than $155,000 will go to the plaintiff’s attorneys. Each Hallowich child receives $10,000 to be placed in a trust. Stephanie and Chris Hallowich receive $594,820.37. The settlement requires arbitration should the children suffer any future health impacts.
On Wednesday, 971 pages of court records were unsealed in a closely watched case where the mother, an outspoken critic of gas drilling, is now under a gag order. A formal complaint was never filed in Hallowich v. Range Resources, but a draft of a complaint was attached as part of the settlement agreement. StateImpact Pennsylvania has uploaded the documents, which can be accessed by clicking here.
The complaint describes how the Hallowich family bought land in rural Washington County to raise their children in a healthy environment. But they soon discovered that the mineral rights beneath their land were already leased to Range Resources by the previous owner. Once gas drilling activity began near their home, they describe foul odors, loud noise, and ill-health, which they connected to air emissions, and contaminated water supplies.
GDACC 
