The Gaia Reports

By Theodora Filis NOTE: The original post was in 2012 Josh Fox, writer, and director of Gasland, a documentary that focuses on American communities that have been impacted by the increase in natural gas drilling, specifically hydraulic fracturing or fracking, was arrested when he tried to film a hearing on fracking, in the House Energy and Environment subcommittee examining the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) findings that hydraulic fracturing fluids had contaminated groundwater in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. During the McCarthy era, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations, questioning, and arrests. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence.                             ...

By Theodora Filis In 2007 an unprecedented drought, lasting nearly three years, stretched across the southeastern United States forcing some of the region's largest cities to declare water emergencies. The situation became so serious that officials in Atlanta, where rainfall totals were more than 16 inches below normal, were worried they would run out of drinking water. David Stooksbury, a climatologist at Georgia State, classified the drought as “an exceptional drought... basically [it is] the type of drought that we expect to see about once in 100 years.” When Lake Lanier reservoir, the main source of Atlanta’s water supply, shrank to historic lows in the midst of the drought, Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue called the drought “man-made,” and sought to halt or severely restrict water releases from Lake Lanier reservoir, directly threatening numerous aquatic species downstream, including endangered mussels and sturgeon. This crisis triggered litigation, and a water war, involv...

By Theodora Filis The fossil fuel industry uses its power to control public health and safety agencies as documented health issues continue to surface. The gas industry has begun a powerful assault against anyone who speaks out on the dangers of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and the threat to public health and the environment. Politics is playing a significant role in the EPA's failure to hold the gas industry accountable for its damage to water supplies and public health throughout individual states. For over seven years, environmental and public health advocates have called for full product disclosure of drilling and fracking chemicals. No one has any idea what is in those drums or totes. What we do know is that out of 944 chemicals injected underground, 30-70 percent of that contaminated water can come back up to the surface. We don't know how much stays underground – how much comes back up – or the long-term effects of materials that could appear later in our rivers, st...