The Gaia Reports

By Theodora Filis Environmental and health concerns have people around the world calling for a ban on natural gas drilling. The global warming effects of methane in natural gas are many times greater than the global warming effects of carbon dioxide. Subsidies granted to gas drilling promote the use of fossil fuels and undermine the development of conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy sources. From the Permian Basin (western Texas and the southeastern part of New Mexico) to the Paris Basin, from Pennsylvania to Poland it is clear that in the next 20 years, the global natural gas industry will not only be far bigger and more valuable than it is in 2011, but it will also be much more diversified. Communities around the world will be faced with costs for baseline testing of water pollutants, emergency response, health department monitoring of complaints, property tax assessment changes, building and repairing roads, and wastewater treatment facilities. Samples of flowback...

By Theodora Filis Climate experts predicted that this year’s winter season could bring the snowiest, coldest weather in Europe for the past century. They were right! The timing was a bit off though, winter didn’t officially begin until December 21st, but snow and ice have wreaked havoc throughout Europe and North America all month.  Snowstorms in Europe have caused the death of over 100 people due to the cold weather conditions. The death toll in Poland is now up to 42 people. Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Germany have been hit significantly in the last few days with death tolls rising under cold temperatures as low as -33C: A cold front continues to sweep across Europe with numerous snowstorms and subzero temperatures being reported in Belgium, Austria, France, Italy, the UK, and other places. In the Austrian province of Styria, 2 people froze to death in -20C temperatures trying to get home. Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall have left travelers stranded across Europe...