fyi, paul

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: High Country News enewsletter@hcn.org Date: Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 4:29 PM Subject: Hydrofracked: One man's quest for answers about natural gas drilling To: pjgrunt@gmail.com

View in a browser windowhttp://whatcounts.com/dm?id=E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61 [image: High Country News Commons] Subscribe to the Magazinehttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FED:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Renewhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FEE:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Donate Nowhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FEF:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Feedbackhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF0:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& [image: Better World Club - Get 6 Months Membership FREE]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF1:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FED:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& The Magazinehttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF2:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Topicshttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF3:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Blogs & Opinionhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF4:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Jobs & Classifiedshttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF5:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Conferenceshttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF6:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Hydrofracked: One man seeks answers [image: Hydrofracked: One man's quest for answers about natural gas drilling and water contamination]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF7:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

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 justicehttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF7:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&in a *High Country News* collaboration with the nonprofit news organization * ProPublica*http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF8:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& . *FEATURES* [image: Encountering a California condor takes one writer back in time]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF9:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

Encountering a California condor takes one writer back in timehttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FF9:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& An interaction with a rare vulture sparks reflections on dinosaurs and extinction.

[image: States work conservation into trust lands management]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFA:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

States work conservation into trust lands management http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFA:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Urban sprawl helps spur new efforts at compromise in managing state trust lands.

View the latest issue »http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFB:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& [image: RSS]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFC:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& RSS »http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFC:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFD:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

Listen to* ProPublica* reporter Abrahm Lustgarten discuss new research into the relationship between fracking and water contamination in our latest *High Country Views*http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFE:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&podcast .

[image: High Country Views]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFE:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Also available via our RSS feedhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3777FFF:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&and through iTuneshttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778000:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& . *WRITERS ON THE RANGE* [image: Why the Southwest is burning]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778001:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

Why the Southwest is burninghttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778001:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& This season's wildfires are caused by three things: Climate change-induced drought, bureaucratic blindness and old-fashioned human folly. [image: Subscribers only]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778001:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

[image: ORV riding needs on-the-ground enforcement]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778002:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

ORV riding needs on-the-ground enforcementhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778002:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Reckless, illegal off-road vehicle riding is a serious problem, but better law enforcement -- rather than road closures -- is the way to solve it.

[image: Monster wildfires have become the new normal]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778003:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

Monster wildfires have become the new normalhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778003:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Wildfires cannot be entirely prevented by logging or anything else, but small-scale prescribed burns can help make them less destructive. [image: Subscribers only]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778003:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

More Writers on the Range »http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778004:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& [image: Blog RSS]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778005:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& RSS »http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778005:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& *BOOK REVIEWS* [image: A review of Permanent Vacation]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778006:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

It's not just a job, it's an adventure: A review of *Permanent Vacation*http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778007:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& The 20 essays in this collection take us into the wacky and wonderful lives of some of the many people who work in the country's national parks.

[image: A land of subtle beauty: A review of Llano Estacado] http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778006:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

A land of subtle beauty: A review of *Llano Estacado*http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778006:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& The photos and essays gathered in this collection of photographs and essays celebrate the austere beauty of a vast dry landscape.

More Book Reviews »http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778008:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

*FROM THE BLOGS* The GOAT Blog The wacky world of immigrationhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778009:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Reform still distant but the debate seems at least a little more human

The Range Blog Throw away the old playbookhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800A:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Tribes and counties are better off working together as neighbors.

The GOAT Blog Spotties get a new planhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800B:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& The feds draft a new recovery plan for the Mexican spotted owl.

The Range Blog To Drill or Not to Drill is Not the Only Questionhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800C:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& We may worship the derrick less than polls and reporting suggest

More from the blogs »http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800D:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& [image: Blog RSS]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800E:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& RSS »http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800E:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& [image: Follow us on Tumblr]http://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800F:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& Follow *High Country News *images and musings on Tumblrhttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=377800F:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61& . *Comment of the week* 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. *Matt S.* on Siltation expert: we need more damshttp://wc4.net/t?r=1873&c=2631826&l=58707&ctl=3778010:E61606FADDB7639A154B815D5C014BF6B42BD6281DE2FE61&

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