Despite diplomacy and threats of sanctions from the West, Russia is moving forward on Tuesday with plans to annex Crimea after a referendum on Sunday that was boycotted by the opposition. In this context, some are saying that Europe needs to rethink policies on hydraulic fracturing, lifting bans and regulations.…
On Saturday, the largest anti-fracking protest in California’s history took place in Sacramento. Organizers called on California Gov. Jerry Brown to ban fracking in California. The rally, which was organized by Californians Against Fracking and a long list of partner organizations, drew thousands of people who came from all over…
California’s Oil and Gas industry may be on the verge of rapidly expanding unconventional oil and gas exploration, and because “unconventional” means fracking this immediately raises fears of earthquakes. On Thursday, Clean Water Action released a report (co-written with Earthworks and the Center for Biological Diversity), On Shaky Ground, discussing…
As the crisis in the Ukraine deepens with Russia’s invasion of Crimea and other military maneuvers, several members of the US Congress have called on the Obama Administration to start Natural Gas exports. On Thursday, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said in a statement “Colorado and our nation’s clean-burning and job-creating…
Last week US Secretary of State John Kerry went to Indonesia and called Climate Change “perhaps the worlds most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.” I’m happy that someone in his position has said such a thing, especially following President Obama’s declaration in January that Climate Change is not debatable, it’s…
The protesters in Ukraine have succeeded in ejecting Yanukovych from Kyiv (Kiev), with protesters taking control of the government buildings and the Parliament voting unanimously to remove Yanukovych from power. At the same time he has fled to Russia-friendly eastern half of the country, Kharkiv, where an assembly of regional…
The popular uprising in Ukraine has resulted in ex-President Yanukovych fleeing the capitol on Saturday, apparently retreating to the safety of Kharkiv, a city in Russia-friendly Eastern Ukraine. While it’s extremely historically significant that a popular uprising has overthrown a Russia-backed government, the events also illustrate a global power struggle…
This morning’s news tells us that the Ukranian government has begun an attack on protesters camped out in the Maidan, or Independence Square, known now as the Euromaidan. Reports say that over 25 have been killed including several police officers. The fighting follows several months where protesters have taken over…
There hasn’t been a lot of news about Fracking protests in Romania, but what we’re interested in anyway is the higher level issues. Is the development of shale gas using hydraulic fracturing a good idea environmentally, economically, etc, and is it contributing to the destabilization of democracy in countries like…
According to a blog post on the Frack Off Romania website, the hydraulic fracking activity near Pungesti Romania is not the only fracking activities in that country. When I first started covering the anti-fracking protests in Pungesti, the activists claimed that Pungesti was the first instance of fracking in Romania,…
Since October 2013 a remote village in Romania has been the site of increasingly difficult protests against a Chevron hydraulic fracturing operation, originally believed to be the only so-called fracking site in all of Romania. According to a report posted Sunday on the Frack Off Romania blog, activists have located…
Green European Parliament MP’s from six countries (France , Germany , UK, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg) have sent an open letter to the European Parliament President, Martin Schultz, protesting government abuses against the citizens of Pungesti, Romania. I’ve covered these issues recently, but essentially the Romanian Government is throwing its…
Buried among my last report on anti-fracking protests in Romania I’d reported on another village, Izvoarele, near Galati Romania, where fracking had already occurred in secret. According to a report on the anti-fracking protesters website, Frack Off Romania, the only reason the fracking was discovered was because of a series…
I want to answer – why am I covering the story of hydraulic fracturing protests in Pungesti Romania? I normally cover electric vehicles, why am I suddenly covering fracking in Romania? To me these issues are tied together. Generally speaking, hydraulic fracturing is a symptom of Peak Oil. The resources for “conventional oil”…
Anti-fracking protests are continuing in Pungesti, Romania, despite government efforts to squash the protests so that Chevron can go about its desired business. This may be the mechanism by which the presence of oil companies in a country causes governments to become draconian. The local people don’t want the ick…
