hydraulic fracturing

The anti-frack movement just got a bit cooler thanks to Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG). Today, the citizen-led environmental organization released a hip-hop music video designed to create awareness about the dangers of fracking in South Africa.

The animated music video is a part of TKAG’s larger campaign to prevent fracking in the Karoo region before an adequate scientific evaluation of the process has taken place. “Our drive against fracking has many elements – such as a legal challenge, a challenge to the regulating authority PASA, and community engagements. This music video will become a part of our strategy as we campaign against fracking in South Africa in general and in the Karoo in particular,” said group chairman Jonathan Deal in a press release.

The video features a young Cape Town artist, Jitsvinger, who uses a local dialect to describe social and environmental devastation caused by fracking. The accompanying images are of a young man, who moves through a gradually degraded landscape.

A German member in the European parliament (MEP) is proposing a straightforward way to prevent (or outlaw) exploration and drilling for unconventional gas in the European Union (EU). His plan, bypass national strife and instead build consensus for a European-wide ban.

Jo Leinen, chair of the committee on the environment, public health and food safety, is considered one of the most influential MEP’s. He recently told The Guardian that he wants to work on a new energy quality directive that is expected to focus on penalizing and/or banning the extraction, import and use of fuels which are environmentally destructive – namely unconventional gas and even tar sands oil.

In a major setback for the oil and gas industry, the French Senate last week voted 176 to 151 to ban hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. fracking), the controversial gas industry drilling method facing scrutiny the world over due to water contamination and other concerns. Once the legislation receives presidential approval, France will be the first country to permanently outlaw fracking.

The ban on fracking is a major victory for the French public, wary of the health, safety and water contamination impacts that unconventional gas drilling would have on communities. Still, with up to five billion cubic metres of unconventional gas spread across southern France, the drilling drama is likely far from settled.

The Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting the largest lifecycle analysis of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and unconventional gas drilling to date in the U.S. Both advocates and critics of the process are anxiously awaiting the study’s results, which will have an enormous impact on the way lawmakers address the growing concerns over human and environmental health risks associated with the unconventional gas drilling boom.

The EPA last week released the names of seven case study sites for the congressionally mandated study. The overall scope of the investigation is intended to assess the potential impacts of unconventional gas drilling on drinking water supplies.