Kathleen Scatassa's Blog

April 3, 2017

In Trump’s Backyard, Maryland’s Climate Movement Is Winning Big

In 2014, Maryland citizens join together to stop a proposed expansion of the Cove Point liquid natural gas terminal. Last Monday, Maryland became the first state with natural gas reserves to pass legislation prohibiting this dangerous drilling practice.

Even as the president tries to cut federal climate initiatives, the states are forging ahead—with Maryland in the lead.

October 21, 2016

Dirty Energy Interests Are Blatantly Trying to Fool Pro-Solar Voters

Representatives of FL SUN and A1A Solar Contracting, Inc.

Deceptive tricks are afoot in Florida. If they succeed there, we all better watch out. (Spanish language version available).

April 22, 2016

In a Big Win for Climate, New York Rejects Fracked Gas Pipeline

State leaders in Albany, NY, have rejected a key permit for a large fossil fuel infrastructure project that would have created a 125-mile pipeline to transport natural gas from Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing wells. (Spanish language version available.)

March 14, 2016

Anti-Fracking Activists Can't Stop, Won't Stop

Irene Weiser, a councilmember in the Town of Caroline, played an active role in the fight against the Cayuga coal plant bailout.

How activists convinced New York state regulators to invest in a clean energy future instead of sinking $100 million into a fossil fuel bailout. (Spanish language version available.)

November 18, 2015

Natural Gas Industry + Oil Industry = Filthy Bedfellows

America's Natural Gas Alliance and the American Petroleum Institute, the respective lobbying groups for the gas and oil industries, will merge on January 1, 2016.

June 29, 2015

Fractivism 2.0: Fractivists Seek To Make History Once Again

$Activists in New York protesting fracking before the ban.$

The anti-fracking activists of New York made history once. Can they do it again?

December 19, 2014

Refused to Give Up, Refused to Give In

$Leslie Roeder, an advocate with New Yorkers Against Fracking, celebrates in 2014 after Govenor Cuomo announced he would ban hydraulic fracking.$

New York State's ban on fracking is a hard-fought victory that will no doubt have reverberations around the world, so what’s next in the fracking fight?

November 5, 2014

Fracking Ban Victories a Ray of Sun on an Otherwise Gloomy Post-Election Day

$A young fracktivist in Denton, TX.$

Guest blogger Joanne Cipolla-Dennis: We will not give up, give in, settle or walk away

May 8, 2014

Dryden: The Small Town That Changed The Fracking Game

Not only is a change possible, it’s happening

April 30, 2014

Goldman Prizewinner Helen Slottje: The Secret Weapon In the Fight Against Fracking

Helen Holden Slottje, a winner of the 2014 Goldman Environmental Prize.

In 2010, Helen Holden Slottje, a lawyer in upstate New York pioneered a legal strategy to keep fracking out of communities using local zoning laws. Four years later, her hard work and bravery was rewarded with the Goldman Environmental Prize, sometimes referred to as the “Green Nobel.” Read about Helen's work, and listen to an interview where she discusses how and why she became involved in the fracking fight.

August 19, 2013

In The Spotlight: The Town That Beat Fracking

The town of Dryden, NY has earned a spot in the national conversation about fracking.

The town’s story of fighting back against the fracking industry—and winning—was spotlighted on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris Perry Show this weekend.

With her friends and neighbors at home cheering her on, Dryden resident Deborah Cipolla-Dennis made the trek from her quiet rural home to Rockefeller Center in mid-town Manhattan to share the town’s story.

August 8, 2013

Kids Speak Up On Fracking

A group of 5th graders did a special project—on fracking. After considering both sides of the issue, and learning that the chemicals used in fracking are often secret, many of the students decided it wasn’t a good idea. Afterwards, they explained—in their own words—why they felt that way.

August 1, 2013

Fracking Industry Sought Lifetime Gag Order on Kids

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Barray (rebeccabarray.com).

Whatever happened to "sticks and stones"?

January 18, 2013

Journalists Expose Fracking Cover Up

New uncovered documents show that fracking company Range Resources persuaded the Environmental Protection Agency to drop its investigation into water contamination of a Texas home—in spite of the fact that preliminary testing showed that the company could have been responsible for cancer causing benzene and flammable methane in the family’s drinking water.

October 19, 2012

Fracking in California? We're On The Case.

Here’s what we know: Fracking is already happening in California. Based on the oil and gas industry’s own admission, there were 600 wells that were fracked in 2011 alone. Here’s what we don’t know: exactly where, when, or what chemicals the oil and gas industry is blasting into the ground during fracking.

September 26, 2012

VIDEO: Sneak Preview of Matt Damon Fracking Film

Here’s the trailer for Promised Land, a feature film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon that depicts the effects of the fracking boom on a small town.

It is definitely worth a watch:

June 29, 2012

Is The Fracking Boom Doing More Harm Than Good?

Tune in this Sunday to a debate between environmental advocates and defenders of the fracking industry.

June 22, 2012

Chesapeake Settles $1.6 Million Pollution Case

After being sued by a group of families in Pennsylvania with methane-contaminated water, fracking giant Chesapeake agreed today to pay the families a $1.6 million settlement. What’s particularly noteworthy about this development is this: for perhaps the first time, the details of the case are being made public.

April 5, 2012

Love Matt Damon? Hate Fracking? This Film's For You!

I'm not going to even try to hide my excitement at the news that Matt Damon co-wrote and is starring in a feature film, titled Promised Land, about the controversial gas development technique known as fracking.

February 1, 2012

Gasland Director Arrested At Congressional Hearing

It’s no surprise that oil and gas industry friendly politicians have fought to allow industry to keep secret the list of chemicals they pump underground during the fracking.

September 2, 2011

Only 60 days for New York’s fracking review??

Next week, New York State is planning to release a 1,000+ page document that could guide how the controversial gas drilling technique, called fracking, will proceed in the state.

Hydraulic fracturing, fracking for short, occurs when oil and gas companies blast millions of gallons of chemically-treated water into the ground to force oil and gas from tightly-packed shale deposits.

July 22, 2011

Good News: YOUR Voice Is Being Heard

If—as an Earthjustice supporter and activist—you ever wondered whether your letters and emails to government officials had an impact, we've got news that should give you heart.

May 24, 2011

Jessica Alba’s Late Night Internet Habits

In the quiet moments after her two-year-old daughter has gone to bed, actress Jessica Alba scours the Internet in search of how to protect her children from toxic chemicals in consumer products.

Like so many other parents, she’s distressed by what she finds: BPA in baby bottles, lead and cadmium in toys, formaldehyde in furniture.

“Our children are being used as the testing animals,” she realized.

May 11, 2011

What Does Fracking Industry Have To Hide?

In a hearing on Capitol Hill today, Republican members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee struggled to make the case against an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into the controversial gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) - a process in which oil and gas companies blast millions of gallons of chemically treated water into the earth to extract the gas from underground deposits.

April 21, 2011

Eerie symmetry: Well Blowout on Anniversary of BP Spill

The symmetry is just eerie.

Exactly one year after the BP disaster in the Gulf, natural gas drilling company Chesapeake admitted that a well it was hydraulically fracturing (or “fracking”) for natural gas went out of control in LeRoy, Pennsylvania late Tuesday, spilling thousands and thousands of gallons of frack fluid over containment walls, through fields, farms – even where cattle continue to graze – and into a stream.

April 14, 2011

Gas Drilling Permits While-U-Wait

The Associated Press had a story today detailing how regulators in Pennsylvania spend as little as 35 minutes reviewing gas drilling permits, before giving companies approval to blast millions of gallons of chemically treated water into the earth to extract the gas – a controversial practice known as fracking.

April 12, 2011

Lawmakers Probe Impacts of Gas Drilling Boom

In a hearing, today, lawmakers on Capitol Hill probed the health and environmental impacts of a gas drilling boom fueled by the controversial gas extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Using this technique, companies blast millions of gallons of chemically treated water into the earth to force natural gas from underground deposits.

April 11, 2011

News: Climate Impacts of Gas As Bad Or Worse Than Coal

Natural gas has been touted as a more responsible energy source than coal in the face of climate change, but a new study conducted by researchers at Cornell University argues otherwise.

The study, which is scheduled to be published in the journal Climatic Change Letters, argues the advantages that gas produced from fracking has over coal are offset by the fugitive emissions of methane gas.

March 15, 2011

Ending The Secret About Chemicals In Our Drinking Water

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but secret gas drilling chemicals don’t belong in drinking water.

That’s exactly the kind of sentiment that makes it very inconvenient for Dick Cheney’s buddies at Halliburton who want to use secret chemicals to extract gas from the earth – a controversial method known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”

You see, the pesky Safe Drinking Water Act kept getting in the way. So they asked for special treatment from Congress. And in 2005 they got it.

March 11, 2011

PA Gov. to Energy Exec: You’re the Boss of Everyone

Fresh off his state’s radioactive river scandal, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has once again landed in hot water (no pun intended) over a line in his proposed budget which hands the energy executive he appointed to head the state's economic development agency "supreme" decision-making power to fast-track gas drilling permits in the state.

March 10, 2011

O Give Me A Home, Where The Skies Are…Oh Never Mind

Which has a worse smog problem ? The car-choked sprawling megalopolis of Los Angeles? Or the wide open plains of Wyoming?

If you guessed LA, you’d be wrong. It’s actually Wyoming.

This depressing tidbit comes courtesy of the oil and gas industry, which is in the midst of a drilling boom that has left the air in Wyoming and other areas cloaked in smog and hazardous air pollutants.

February 16, 2011

We're Rolling Out The Red Carpet For 2 Oscar Nominees

As Oscar season enters full swing, two nominees are taking a break from the action in Hollywood to visit Washington, D.C. tomorrow (Thursday) and educate the public and members of Congress about the dangers of gas drilling.

January 27, 2011

And the Oscar Goes To…

I don’t want to jinx anything, but we’re positively thrilled to see GASLAND—the truth-telling/irreverent film about toxic gas drilling—get an Oscar nod for best documentary. If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for? It’s readily available on DVD.

November 30, 2010

Let's Hear It For New York, New York...

The State Assembly approved a time-out on fracking in November 2010.

November 12, 2010

A Fracking Murder Mystery

Controversial gas drilling technique hits primetime television

October 13, 2010

Are Oil Dispersants, Like, Magic? Or Toxic?

We want to know. Preferably before the next oil spill

October 7, 2010

Why Does Stephen Colbert Hate Earthjustice?

Turns out he wants to keep cleaning product chemical info a 'surprise'

September 14, 2010

Is Fracking Coming To A Shale Deposit Near You?

Flaming tap water is usually not a good sign

July 30, 2010

Are YOU An Unwitting Subject In An Industry Experiment?

Under our current chemical law, it’s kind of unavoidable

June 16, 2010

Do you buy Arm & Hammer cleaning products? I used to.

Still waiting to see what’s in their products besides baking soda

June 11, 2010

Hope in the Face of Fossil Fuels Doomsday

Let’s turn this bad action-adventure plot around

June 3, 2010

CNN's 'Toxic Childhood': A Dose of Truth

Toxic America series continues tonight at 8 pm ET/PT

May 19, 2010

How to Detox Your Spring Cleaning

Everybody’s doing it. You can, too! Learn at 'Green Parties'

April 19, 2010

NY Cleans Up Toxic Waste Black Eye

Long after officials went to prison, their dirty work remains

March 16, 2010

What Do These 42,000 People Have In Common?

They all want EPA to protect rural kids from pesticides

March 3, 2010

Be the 10 Billionth Person to Tweet (About Pesticides)

Saving the world 140 characters at a time

March 1, 2010

NPR: Pesticide Drift Plaguing Rural Communities

Five days left to tell EPA to protect rural kids from pesticides

February 4, 2010

Mr. Clean Goes To Court, Pleads the Fifth

Household cleaner giants want to keep chemical ingredients secret

January 28, 2010

Who You Gonna Call? Gas Busters!

Is there something strange in your drinking water?

November 18, 2009

A Story From The Orchards

What we're doing to protect kids from pesticides

November 6, 2009

Why Manhattan Borough President Wants to Kill the Drill

Scott Stringer's constituents like their drinking water the way it is

November 3, 2009

Will Pesticide Industry Have a Permanent Seat at the Table?

Not if we have anything to say about it

October 16, 2009

What Are We Doing Saturday Night?

Watching a gripping documentary about gas drilling, of course!

October 14, 2009

What Procter & Gamble Doesn’t Want You To Know

Earthjustice going to court over cleaning products

September 30, 2009

Your Children's Non-Toxic Future—Coming Soon?

Fans of the precautionary principle, read on

August 25, 2009

Waiter, There's Some 2-Butoxyethanol In My Water

Gas industry has another 'fraccident'

August 19, 2009

Appalachia's Eyes and Ears

Want to keep tabs on mountaintop removal mining? Here's how.

August 19, 2009

X Marks The Spot

Power lines to the people don't serve clean energy sources

July 28, 2009

From Idyll To Drill—A Catskill Travesty

Imagine how drilling will alter the landscape of this special patch of earth

July 15, 2009

Hazardous Coal Ash Sites Made Public

EPA reveals locations—now it must actually regulate coal ash

May 23, 2009

Endangered Wildlife Visit Capitol Hill

The debate over climate change legislation is heating up. And as members of Congress grapple with which position to take, they'll be bombarded with opinions from many different sides of the debate.

But last week, as members of Congress arrived at work in the morning and left in the evening, they were greeted by the silent stares of one important (albeit non-voting) constituency: the plants and animals likely to be impacted by rising sea levels, changing weather patterns, and other impacts of climate change.

February 23, 2009

End of Bush-era Mercury Pollution Trading Scheme

The U.S. Supreme Court ended years of legal battles today by declining to hear industry's appeal of a 2008 Earthjustice victory.

February 19, 2009

Sunlight IS the Best Disinfectant.

Those oft-repeated words by Justice Louis Brandeis—referring to the importance of transparency and openness—took on a special meaning this week when Earthjustice sued Lysol-maker Reckitt-Benckiser and other household cleaners manufacturing giants for failing to disclose the chemical ingredients in their products and the health risks they pose.

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Kathleen Scatassa's Blog