Environment
August 14, 2012 -
After coming under fire for releasing what it touted as an independent study of fracking's environmental risks that was in fact led by a director of a fracking company, the school appoints a panel to investigate -- and it's chaired by a former director of a gas giant whose fracking operations have been blamed for contaminating groundwater.
August 14, 2012 -
Local officials in Assumption Parish, La. are upset that they weren't warned by state and corporate officials that a salt mine where a massive sinkhole recently appeared was used for the disposal of radioactive waste from oil and gas drilling.
August 9, 2012 -
Bayou Corne in Assumption Parish has been evacuated after a massive sinkhole opened up last week following months of mysterious bubbling, rumblings and a strong diesel smell. The community sits atop an old salt mine where companies including Chevron and Dow Chemical store gas products, and the structure may be failing.
August 8, 2012 -
The unprecedented use of chemical dispersants following BP's Gulf disaster led to complaints of health problems among cleanup workers and local residents. A coalition of groups is now suing the EPA in hopes of spurring regulatory action.
August 7, 2012 -
As sea levels rise due to global warming, politicians across the hard-hit South are blocking efforts to address the problem.
August 2, 2012 -
Activists are calling for a federal investigation of alleged police brutality and harassment of mountaintop removal protesters following a nonviolent action at a West Virginia mine last week.
August 1, 2012 -
The University of Texas promoted research by a faculty member as an independent study of fracking's environmental hazards -- but it turns out the scientist holds a big financial stake in a fracking company and sits on its board, which he failed to fully disclose. Meanwhile, another conflict-of-interest controversy over fracking arises in North Carolina.
