ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources – Gui...

Ice & Dust Control Brine Brine is a saline by-product generated during oil and gas well drilling, completion and production operations. The spreading of oil-field brine is a legal, cost-effective, and efficient way to control dust and ice problems on local roads and private property in Ohio. Ohio’s UIC Program regulates the hauling and spreading of oil-field brine while local authorities, such as the County Commissioners...

Radium found in commercial roadway de-icing, dust ...

An Ohio environmental organization is suing to learn more about unhealthy radiation levels in a commercial de-icing and dust suppression liquid made from gas well brine sold in several states, including Pennsylvania. The Buckeye Environmental Network filed suit against the Ohio Department of Natural Resources last week, claiming the agency has illegally denied its request to inspect public records and documents pertaining to...

1982 American Petroleum Institute Report Warned Oi...

Back in April last year, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency decided it was “not necessary” to update the rules for toxic waste from oil and gas wells. Torrents of wastewater flow daily from the nation’s 1.5 million active oil and gas wells and the agency’s own research has warned it may pose risks to the country’s drinking water supplies. On Tuesday, a major new investigative report published by...

Boom & bust: Low natural gas prices ding Appa...

Booming natural gas production in eastern Ohio and other parts of Appalachia has been a blessing for homeowners and businesses that use natural gas. But all that production has hurt producers suffering from low prices to the point where many have begun to scale back investment. Booming natural gas production in eastern Ohio and other parts of Appalachia has been great for consumers and businesses. It’s a different story for...

Science journalist to give talk about radioactive ...

The presentation will be Friday, Jan. 24 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Ohio University Eastern, Shannon Hall Theater, 45425 National Road West, St. Clairsville. ST. CLAIRSVILLE — On Friday, Jan, 24, Justin Nobel, science journalist writing for the Rolling Stone Magazine, will have an informational meeting regarding the radioactive risks associated with the oil and gas industry at Ohio University Eastern in Belmont County. Nobel...

America’s Radioactive Secret

Oil-and-gas wells produce nearly a trillion gallons of toxic waste a year. An investigation shows how it could be making workers sick and contaminating communities across America. (Ed. Sorry that the formatting cuts off the text. I don’t know how to fix it. Go to the Source for the original story: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/)   Brine...

Microsoft is Now Aiming to Capture All the CO2 The...

Microsoft may have just taken on the most ambitious environmental goals of any corporation to date. This week, the tech company announced they are now working to be carbon-negative by 2030. Furthermore, they plan to remove all the carbon they have ever emitted into the environment—either directly or by electrical consumption since their founding in 1975—before 2050. The technology required to achieve such a feat is either...

How climate change influenced Australia’s un...

The climate factors contributing to Australia’s bushfires are strikingly similar to those at play in California.   Australia’s frightening bushfires, which kicked off an early fire season in September 2019, have already had cataclysmic effects, and the continent is still just in the early months of the southern hemisphere’s summer. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has described the bushfires as unprecedented...

Trump Admin Ordered ‘Climate Censorship’ in Plans ...

An environmental group has uncovered another case of “climate censorship” ordered by the Trump administration. Administration officials had references to the climate crisis removed from a Forest Service notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement on opening national forests and grasslands in Texas to oil and gas leasing. “The Deputy who is reviewing the NOI requested every reference...

Wind, Solar to Dominate New Power Plants in 2020

Our electricity grid is on track to get a lot cleaner in 2020. Of the 42 gigawatts of new power plant capacity projected to go online nationwide—about the capacity in New York State today—76 percent will come from wind and solar, based on the latest batch of data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That would be a record share, up from 64 percent of new capacity added in 2019. And it would be despite the Trump...

BlackRock plans to set stricter standards on clima...

The Wall Street Journal ($): BlackRock said it would take a tougher stance against corporations that aren’t providing a full accounting of environmental risks, part of a slew of moves by the investment giant to show it is doing more to address investment challenges posed by climate change. Among the moves, BlackRock said it would be increasingly disposed to vote against management and boards if companies don’t disclose...

Study Finds Coal Closures Saved Thousands Of Lives...

A new study finds the closure of coal-fired power plants and transition to natural gas generation across the United States over a decade saved an estimated 26,610 lives due to a reduction in air pollution, with about a fifth of those avoided deaths in the Ohio Valley. The coal-rich Ohio Valley states received outsized health benefits from the shift from coal to gas. The analysis found about 5,300 deaths were avoided in ...

Fossil Fuel Knocks the Wind Out of Renewable Energ...

With no shortage of wide-open land, Ohio is ripe for a transition to renewable energy, but instead the state has become a hotbed for corporate-driven attacks on wind energy. As a result of increasingly restrictive laws on renewables, the state was recently ranked second to last among U.S. states in its renewable energy generation, with only 2.3 percent of its energy generated through renewable sources. A closer look at the...

More and more homeowners are renovating existing h...

With the world in an unprecedented climate crisis, many of us wonder what we can do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint. A significant step could begin at home. In Canada, housing and other buildings account for up to 17% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, “operational emissions” — emissions from the energy used to heat, cool, light and operate buildings — accounts for 28% of global carbon...

U.S.: The coal rebound that didn’t happen

Industry continues to struggle against increasingly competitive market forces Some energy pundits have spoken in recent times of an impending U.S. coal renaissance. The Heritage Foundation trumpeted coal’s “Colossal Comeback” in 2017, and a Wall Street Journal reporter in 2018 wrote of its global “resilience.” Industry executives three years ago credited the newly-elected Trump administration with paving the way for fresh...