Entries by FracTracker Alliance

Surveying Unassessed Waters in PA

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According to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), only 22,000 of the 86,000 miles of flowing water in PA have been sampled by biologists from their organization. As of 2011, about 12,800 miles were designated as wild trout waters. (It is hard to believe that we have so many streams to begin with!) In recent […]

Drilling Health Concerns and Research Covered at IOM Event

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By Samantha L. Malone, MPH, CPH – Communications Specialist, FracTracker & DrPH Student, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health department Last week I attended the Institute of Medicine’s Workshop on The Health Impact Assessment of New Energy Sources: Shale Gas Extraction in Washington, DC. This was part of a […]

Statewide County Natural Heritage Inventory Map

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We Love Maps At FracTracker, you could say that we are a bit obsessed about maps and data.  The amazing map below was created and is updated by the PA Natural Heritage Program (PNHP). While this is a recurring project for PNHP, with the increase in shale gas activity in recent years it is ever […]

Collaborative Trail Logbook – Reporting Gas Industry Impacts on PA Trail Experiences

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(Harrisburg) – FracTracker.org and the Keystone Trails Association are proud to launch Trail Logbook: Reporting Gas Industry Impacts on Pennsylvania Trail Experiences – an effort to collect information from hikers and other trail users who have had negative or hazardous encounters while recreating in PA. “Throughout the Marcellus Shale region, more and more we’re hearing […]

Stepping into the Utica Shale

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By Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH I recently had the honor of presenting to a well-informed and concerned audience of residents, media, academics, non-profits, and industry personnel in the town of Alliance in Northeastern Ohio. The reason I was asked to participate in this public meeting was to provide some insight into how drilling has progressed […]

Shale Health Office Available for Southwest PA Residents

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It isn’t often that you personally know the personnel responsible for a project prior to its launch, but those of us at FracTracker had that benefit with regard to the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, or SWPA-EHP for short. (Oh how we love our complex acronyms.) Raina Rippel, the project’s director, spoke at the second annual […]

A New Day for FracTracker

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By Brook Lenker, FracTracker Director Like the public’s comprehension of the impacts of the shale gas industry, FracTracker is growing and evolving. We’re becoming better suited to expand that comprehension and nurture more inquiry into this game-changing period in energy development. Our innovative website was launched by the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Healthy Environments […]

Covert Affairs in the Commonwealth

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trans·par·ent  [trans-pair-uhnt, -par-] adjective admitting the passage of light through interstices. easily seen through, recognized, or detected: transparent excuses. antonyms:  opaque  |  secretive  |  HB 1950 While House Bill 1950 is not actually listed as an antonym to “transparent” in the dictionary, its passing certainly acted that way. On February 8, 2012, PA’s HB 1950 was quickly bullied through the Senate and House with very little public transparency on what it […]