The Obama administration has announced new regulations on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on federal lands. But while the oil and gas industry is predictably upset about the new rules, environmentalists think the government needs to do more.
If there is anything people in Pennsylvania can agree on, it is that no one can agree whether the fracking boom has been a blessing or a curse for the state. A now a proposal to use abandoned mine water for tracking is causing more confusion and concern.
Fracking is already a controversial topic, with environmentalists charging that the technique could ruin drinking water, along with other pollution problems. But now, radioactive waste from drilling the wells is raising a whole new environmental concern.
For the first time, a jury has awarded nearly $3 million in a case claiming that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, caused health problems for a Texas family. It's too soon, though, to know if it's a turning point in the legal battle over fracking's environmental effects.