Databases

FrackTracker:  f

 

 Skytruth: Database of images of environmental disasters:  skytruth.org

 

Wellwiki: http://wellwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page#close

Other sites also offer oil and gas data to the public. SkyTruth and FracTrackerprovide maps and satellite images of drilled regions, and FracFocus is a registry where operators disclose certain information about the chemicals they use during fracking. WellWiki is different, however, because it combines data extracted from state databases and a Wikipedia-like mentality that allows the public to contribute their own stories.

Each well has its own wiki page with information about its operator, state inspections, violations, waste stream and the amount of oil and gas produced. The Pennsylvania data were extracted from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website using open-source software that automatically updates each page.

Members of the public can create user accounts to add their own notes to the site, but they can’t edit the official DEP data. Some users have already addedcomments about health impacts and environmental concerns, or linked to media stories about a particular facility. The site also allows people to search by company or community in order to view an operator’s compliance history or the number of wells in a town.

 

“MIT Unveils Civic Tools for Communities Affected by Natural Gas: “…”Land owners around the country are facing significant challenges when coping with leaking wells, industrial traffic, and air and water pollution,” Csikszentmihályi told me in the lead-up to extrAct’s release. “They have serious concerns about their health and property value. The extrAct tools give them ways to document, share, and communicate their experiences. For the first time, a rural landowner in Pennsylvania who is contemplating signing a lease can read about the experiences of a rancher in Colorado who has been dealing with these issues for twenty years. And an epidemiologist, journalist, or regulator using extrAct can survey a wide range of citizen’s experiences.”…” ” (PBS)- http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2010/11/mit-unveils-civic-tools-for-communities-affected-by-natural-gas327.html

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