Sustainable Energy

thenextgeneration.org - by Robert Collier - August 8, 2013

This is the first installment of a special series looking at the potential climate and public health implications of a boom in Monterey Shale production.

Over the past few years, the United States has found itself in the midst of a major boom in oil and gas production. Rapid expansion in the use of a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has opened up previously unreachable pockets of oil and gas, and returned the U.S. to its historic position as a major global producer of these fossil fuels.

And it seems the boom may be coming to California.

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ecowatch.com - by Kiley Kroh - August 16, 2013

While the national debate remains largely focused on President Obama’s impending decision regarding the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, communities across the U.S. and Canada are grappling with the oil and gas industry’s rapidly expanding pipeline network—cutting through their backyards, threatening water supplies and leaving them vulnerable to devastating spills.

As production booms in Alberta, Canada’s tar sands and fracking opens up vast oil and natural gas deposits around America, companies are increasingly desperate for new pipelines to get their product to market. “We’ve so narrowly focused on Keystone that a lot of these other projects aren’t getting the scrutiny they probably need,” said Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust.

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Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct

eastbayexpress.com - by Robert Gammon - August 23, 2013

The massive Rim Fire is closing in on Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park and is threatening the main water supply for the City of San Francisco and numerous other Bay Area communities. As of this morning, the fast-moving blaze was about 2.5 miles from Hetch Hetchy, according to a map created by the US Forest Service. If the enormous fire reaches the tinder-dry forests surrounding the reservoir, it could pollute the freshwater with huge amounts of ash. That’s bad news for San Franciscans and other communities that depend on Hetch Hetchy because the reservoir is not equipped with a water-filtration system.

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