Hydrofracked: One man seeks answers 
In many ways, it's a sad story: The groundwater a Wyoming couple relies on to sustain their little farm suddenly turns foul. So landowner Louis Meeks embarks on a six-year crusade to discover how it happened, suspecting that nearby natural gas wells are somehow involved. He battles corporations and federal and local governments and alienates many of his neighbors, yet today his water is still contaminated. There's no justice in sight.
But Meeks has accomplished something important: He and other activists have drawn attention to the possible risks of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." When a gas or oil well is fracked, chemicals and water are injected deep underground to fracture rock formations and release gas and oil. The industry insists that fracking is safe. But some of the chemicals used in the process are carcinogenic. And though fracking is used in many thousands of gas and oil wells from the Southwest to New York state, there's never been a comprehensive scientific study of its possible impacts on drinking water.
That is now changing, thanks to people like Meeks and determined staffers within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA is finally launching the first real study of the risks posed by fracking. So the saga of Louis Meeks is not just sad; it also offers hope. Determined citizens can make a difference. Read about Meeks' quest for justice in a High Country News collaboration with the nonprofit news organization ProPublica.
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| Big surprise. This guy makes money as a consultant from dam owners and those proposing new dams. More dams are not the answer, at least not main stem dams. |
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Matt S. on Siltation expert: we need more dams
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