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New executive order on natural gas

By

I do not want to blog about this so…

Read about it on Politico.

The White House has released an executive order that will coordinate the administration’s activities on natural gas. It creates a working group that includes various White House offices such as the Council on Environmental Quality and National Economic Council, as well as agencies like Interior and EPA.

Here is Earthworks’ statement:

“While we support the Obama administration’s efforts to protect air, water, communities and public health from the impacts of gas drilling, no amount of coordination changes the facts on the ground. Loophole-riddled laws and inadequate and underfunded enforcement passes the heaviest costs of drilling onto communities.”

About Sharon Wilson

Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.

Comments

  1. meonymous says

    Can’t understand all this stuff on the post; but, I’ll bet at the end of the day the FEDs will cave in to the Gas Mafia and things will continue as usual. I’ll bet there will be no protection for us that have had to live in the Shale Gas areas–nor will there be any thing done to make us whole and restore us from damages already done. Let’s see.

  2. Nick says

    Wow, for an industry unregulated, that’s a a lot of governmental departments that are getting together to coordinate the unregulation.

    I have to wonder if an actual energy policy for our nation would make any sense? Naw, that would require getting facts, productive discussion AND compromise from all involved..That’s never been good for reelection. Why would any elected official want to do that?

    • TXsharon says

      Compromise? Don’t you think Americans who live in zones of extraction where their health, safety, wellbeing and private property is sacrificed for our energy needs is enough compromise? Of course, people who work for the Big Oil & Gas Mafia never live in these sacrifice zones so the compromise doesn’t bother you much at all.

      I can’t get excited about political theater when people need help immediately. People are suffering NOW because of fracking and THAT is a FACT.

      • Nick says

        I agree that people affected by ANY private industry activity, that has done permanent harm, has the right to pursue just compensation. That is not the compromise I was suggesting.

        I have said may times, I would not enjoy living next to a drilling operation. Even though it is temporary, I truly understand the conditions that exist in close proximity to an active drilling well. Oilfield workers wear protective clothing and breathing devices, when required. They are in and around the conditions every day. It would only seem reasonable to me that IF the effect of the operation is substantial, the operating company should do everything they can to protect the people around it. Even if it was to put the people up in hotels during the offensive operation would be a start.

        • TXsharon says

          Thanks, Nick.

          What we are learning is that the impacts are far, FAR from temporary. Early on, I thought it would only be an inconvenience of a few weeks or months. But now we know that a few weeks or months can stretch on times 20 plus. Then comes all the other infrastructure like the pipelines, compressor stations and processing facilities that they are plopping down right in people’s back yards.

          It’s not sustainable unless they want to depopulate entire regions.

  3. endfracking says

    This is a joke…according to another article I read on it:

    The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs gets in a room with the Chamber of Commerce, the American Petroleum Institute and every other lobbyist with a tenuous connection to fracking…Who wasn’t in the meeting? The Natural Resources Defense Council. The Sierra Club, Water Defense, Josh Fox. I guess President Obama believes their concerns have nothing to do with the “safe and responsible development of unconventional domestic natural gas resources.”

    http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/04/13/administration-meets-with-industry-trade-reps-moments-after-announcing-interagency-group-on-fracking/

  4. Kim Feil says

    Yeah like Obama parrots the industry touting the 100 year supply…I feel so frackin’ safe now.