Inside Energy News

Public Health Impacts Of Oil And Gas Drilling

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The debate over the public health impacts of oil and gas drilling is incredibly polarized.  There’s widespread fear – fear of water contamination, of air and noise pollution.  When a drilling rig literally goes up in your backyard, its a matter of huge concern, as we reported recently in southeastern Wyoming. The problem is, there’s very little science out there backing claims of health impacts, or refuting claims of health impacts.  The drilling boom has happened so quickly that public health departments, as well as regulators and inspectors, have not had enough time to know where the problems are, and what to do about them.

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FULL INTERVIEW: Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper On Debate Over Local Control Of Fracking

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Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper continues his attempts to craft a compromise in the hotly-debated issue over giving local governments some control over oil and gas drilling. New technologies like fracking have brought drilling closer to populated areas in the state, even within the boundaries of some communities, such as Greeley. This encroachment has led to concerns over noise, pollution, and even explosive dangers as many residents consider measures to curtail drilling or ban it all together. Industry officials argue that ownership of the mineral rights makes drilling constitutionally guaranteed.. In this interview, Hickenlooper speaks with Inside Energy Reporter Dan Boyce about this ongoing dispute and his thoughts on convening a special session of the state legislature to head off potential ballot measures to ban fracking.

Inside Energy News

Google Search Face-Off: Fracking v. Frac’ing

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Is it “fracking” or “frac’ing”? As Grace Hood reports for KUNC and Inside Energy, it depends on who you ask. If you ask people who search on Google, “fracking” dominates. This chart from Google Trends shows the relative popularity of “fracking” and “frac’ing” as search terms:

You’re looking at “how many searches have been done for a particular term, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time.” When it comes to Google searches, it’s “fracking” not “frac’ing.”