Colorado and Texas to Require the Disclosure of Fracking Chemicals

Author: Rachel Cernansky

Colorado and Texas have recently adopted rules that require oil and gas companies to reveal the chemicals that are used in the fracking process. These laws will require companies to disclose all the chemical names and the concetrations that they are using. The governor of colorado thinks the state's legislation will be a model for the other states. Most other states don't require the discloser of the fracking. This may help the fracking situation unlike the clean water act and the safe drinking water act which don't help since the oil and gas companies aren't forced to follow them.

I think its good that some progress has been done to stop fracking. The biggest problem is how much influence fossil fuel companies have in our government. These companies use the government to get what they want. Fracking is not the only way to secure jobs and strenghten our economy. There are many alternative energy resources that will not run out and they will not pollute the environment. I don't to live in a world with a toxic environment where everybody is regreting the desicion to continue fracking.

Why do some people want fracking to continue despite the environmental threat?

What do you think would happen if fracking continued?

Do you think the government officials who support fracking are in it for the people or the money?

http://www.treehugger.com/fossil-fuels/colorado-and-texas-require-disclosure-fracking-chemicals.html

As Gas Drilling Spreads, Towns Stand Ground Over Control by Sabrina Tavernise December 14th, 2011; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/us/towns-fighting

The picture displays what natural gas can do to ordinary tap water.

There is a lot of controversy going on over shale gas. The Republican legislature is trying to give the natural gas companies more power to drill where they want and how they want to. It's safe to say citizens were not happy about this. They are trying to push a bill which would force the drilling companies to drill far away from population dense areas to avoid water contamination. Each side haas fair arguements. The drilling companies claim their drilling will give energy more natural resources for energy and give our economy a much needed boost. On the other hand the citizens say they own the right to say what happens on their land.

Personally I'm on the side of the citizens. I find it un-Constitutional to tell a citizen that they have little say in what companies do their land. Also I think it would help the environment greatly to cut down on all this drilling. We put so much money into drilling for natural gas when we could just as easily turn to renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power. Also these renewable resources will most likely have far less controversy and will be less likely to make your water flammable.

Is it un-Constitutional to say a citizen has no say in what happens on their land?

Is drilling a waste of money compared to using renewable resources for energy?

Who do you think will ultimately win this debate?

Oil Prices Spiking by Lloyd Alter; December 6, 2011. http://www.treehugger.com/fossil-fuels/oil-prices-spiking-again-when-will-we-ever-learn.html

This graph displays how we are using a lot of oil and how much it costs.

In 2004, the price for a barrel of oil cost $25. In 2008, it was $150. In just these 4 years, oil prices went up $115. This is causing the U.S. to have a bad economy. We have been relying on getting oil from other parts of the world for many years now. Because there is a limited amount of oil in the world, the prices just keep getting higher and higher. Another bad thing is all of this oil coming from cars is bad for the environment.The oil goes into the air and it effects the environment. If we do not do something soon, our economy will be ruined and the air would be very polluted.

It's crazy how much oil we use and how much we depend on it. This doesn't end well for a lot of people. People won't have fuel for their cars, and gas pump companies will go out of business and those people working there won't have jobs. I think people should start to buy electric cars now before the oil runs out. I personally would not want to buy an eletric car right now because of how expensive they are, but when I get older I will have to drive one. If I don't, how will I get to the car dealership if it is far away?

Why aren't more people switching to electric cars?
What will happen to all of the people who will still have cars that run on oil when there is no more oil left?
Do you think car dealerships that do not sell electric cars will eventually go out of business?

Fossil Fuels and the Environment

http://www.greenenergychoice.com/green-guide/fossil-fuels.html

fossil fuels contribute the most to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; just about 75% of it to be exact. though the atmosphere does naturally absorb greenhouse gases, the amount that we are producing is causing 25% more or the sun's radiation to get trapped. more than 2.5 million tons of carbon comes from power plants alone. almost all of us production comes from these non-renewable sources.

why don't we do anything about this?

why aren't more people doing anything?

do people even realize what's actually going on when they contribute to these statistics?

what could we change in our everyday lives to help stop this?

what will happen if things continue on this way?

Entire Island Nation Runs Out of Water

This island could be threatened by rising sea levels

Author: Brian Merchant 10/18/2011

http://www.treehugger.com/clean-water/entire-island-nation-runs-out-of-water.html?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

The small island nation of Tuvalu only has few days worth of fresh water reserves. Global warming caused the rising sea level. The rising sea level caused the aquifer to become salty and drought which prevents rainwater harvesting. Tuvalu is now dependent on desalination equipment and hydration packets from New Zealand and Australia. Tuvalu is a low lying island so if the sea level keeps rising it will eventually sink into the ocean. Other island nations will also experience this in the near future if the sea level continues to increase. This crisis in Tuvalu foreshadows what could happen all over the world in the future.

I'm really surprised that an entire nation ran out of water.I think its ridiculous that this is happening and that people are still polluting the environment. The problem is that people don't know about this. I'm sure that if enough people were more aware of the affects of pollution then something would be done about this.

1. Do think that the sea level will become high enough to make islands go underwater?

2. Why don't people evacuate those islands?

3. Could rising sea levels affect aquifers on the mainland?

Uranium in the Navajo Nation's Water Supply By: Margot-Perez Sullivan, 11/07/11, http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/73115D51AB9860568525794100

Several federal agencies are meeting to address the very serious problem of uranium in the Navajo Nation's water supply. The Navajo Nation spans three states and is around the size of West Virginia. This meeting is to address the problem and to see about how to clean it up. The agencies addressing this problem are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The meeting is being held in Farmington New Mexico. This will be the first comprehensive strategy to address uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation.

I can't believe that there is something so deadly in our water supply. It's a surprise that the people of the Navajo Nation were comfortable with their water for so long. If there was something so deadly in my drinking water I would be surviving off bottled water for a long time. It's a relief to know that something is being done about the uranium though.

How long do you think people knew the water was contaminated?

What do you think will be done about this problem?

How do you think the uranium got in the water?

Water Availability in Africa

Water availability in Africa under stress due to increasing population pressure and climate change.
http://www.grida.no/publications/vg/africa/page/3116.aspx

the image displays how Africa's annual precipitation is very low in most areas of Africa.

Africa's water resources are highly dependent on the climate. since there is very little precipitation, there is a very limited supply of water. this creates pressure on the human population of Africa. climate changes such as droughts will cause even more pressure to that issue as well. though those who are poor in Africa have it the worst as they cannot afford water or they don't have access to good clean water. the main reason that no one has water is because it isn't there for the majority of the people, only those in good areas or the rich (whicch is extremely rare). because of this, there will be many economical restraints in Africa as well.

i think that people should be more aware of this problem. it isn't fair for these people to be suffering when other people have the capability to help. the problem is that many people don't have the full picture. sure, they know that Africa is lacking the right amount of water, but no one really knows the extent to which that goes.

how could people help more?
why aren't people talking about this more?
do people find this issue to even be important?