Articles

A complete list of all FracTracker posts.

FracTracker Blog and Data Tool for Use in Shale Gas and Oil Plays throughout the Country

August 24, 2010/in Articles, Events and Announcements, Our Perspectives /by FracTracker Alliance

Piloting FracTracker in the Marcellus Shale Region By Conrad (Dan) Volz, DrPH, MPH – Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH); Director, Center for Healthy Environments and Communities; Director, Environmental Health Risk Assessment Certificate Program, GSPH This document explains the fractracker.org web-platform for tracking shale […]

Potential Shale Gas Extraction Air Pollution Impacts

August 24, 2010/6 Comments/in Articles, Data and Analysis, Our Perspectives /by Guest Author

How Organic Compounds Contained in the Shale Layer Can Volatilize Into Air, Become Hazardous Air Pollutants and Cause Ozone Formation By: Conrad Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH; Drew Michanowicz, MPH, CPH; Charles Christen, DrPH, MEd; Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH; Kyle Ferrer, MPH – Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC), University of Pittsburgh, GSPH, EOH department […]

New on the Blog: Data Collection Form

August 23, 2010/in Articles, Events and Announcements /by FracTracker Alliance

Due to all of the reports we receive daily about citizens’ experiences with shale gas extraction, CHEC has created an online form that people can use to submit these reports or questions. The information you provide can be anything from a road degradation issue in your municipality, an increase in DUI rates, a spill or […]

Methane and Other Types of Pipelines Being Proposed as a Result of Shale Gas Expansions

August 23, 2010/in Articles, News and Information, Our Perspectives /by Guest Author

Environmental and Environmental Health Considerations and Sources of Data on Pipeline Incidents By Conrad (Dan) Volz, DrPH, MPH [image removed] Two recent articles highlight this activity. The first, published by Greater Binghamton NY pressconnects.com, describes a pipeline that would run through Forest Lake, Susquehanna County, PA and Great Bend PA into Broome County, NY connecting […]

Marcellus Citizen Stewardship Project

August 19, 2010/in Articles, Events and Announcements /by FracTracker Alliance

The Mountain Watershed Association (MWA) is developing a pilot ‘Marcellus Citizen Stewardship Project’ in collaboration with the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and other environmentally-focused organizations to increase public awareness of issues associated with developing the Marcellus shale in western Pennsylvania. As part of […]

Core Habitat Biological Diversity Areas Now on FracTracker

August 19, 2010/in Articles, Data and Analysis /by FracTracker Alliance

CHEC would like to thank the Western PA Conservancy for allowing their raw GIS data to be published online. The following snapshot was creating by layering two separate datasets: Core Habitat Biological Diversity Areas Marcellus Shale Drilling Permits in PA from 2007 to Aug. 2010 A core habitat area is the essential habitat of the […]

EPA Considers Expanding their Fracturing Study to Include Air Impacts

August 16, 2010/in Articles, Guest Commentaries /by FracTracker Alliance

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may consider including in their hydraulic fracturing study the impacts on air quality that the shale gas extraction process could have. Direct conversations with EPA staff indicate that they plan to conduct a full life cycle analysis and assess greenhouse gas issues, and may also look at air quality in […]

Permitted Wastewater Facilities and the Monongahela River

August 13, 2010/in Articles, Data and Analysis /by FracTracker Alliance

During a recent FracTracker training session, CHEC’s director Dr. Conrad Dan Volz used the following maps created with FracTracker’s DataTool to demonstrate the potential impact that additional oil and gas activities in Pennsylvania could have on the state’s watersheds and waterways. The first map you see below shows all of the facilities in PA that […]

Conservation department says no state forest lands are left for gas leasing

August 13, 2010/in Articles, News and Information /by Guest Author

BY LAURA LEGERE (STAFF WRITER) – THE TIMES-TRIBUNE Reposted- Published: August 13, 2010 There are no unleased acres left in Pennsylvania’s state forests where Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling sites, pipelines and access roads could be built without damaging environmentally sensitive areas, according to a new analysis by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. […]

Intriguing Article about Shale Gas and Alternative Energy Sources

August 7, 2010/in Articles, Guest Commentaries /by FracTracker Alliance

Shale gas is considered by many in the industry to be an ideal transition fuel toward renewable energy. This article written in June by Daniel Botkin, professor emeritus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses whether extracting shale gas is worth the risk and also compares the benefits and drawbacks of other energy sources. […]