Radical Fractivist Group Tries to Bully EPA Members into Silence
Radical fractivism brooks no dissent. You either agree with them that fracking is evil and from the devil himself, or they WILL attack you–politically, professionally, personally–anyway they can. In other words, fractivists are bullies and not interested in free speech. If you have an opposing viewpoint or try to support your views with science and facts, you’re immediately shut down. That’s how it works with these vicious fossil fuel opponents. We’ve been tracking and telling you about an issue that first began in June 2015. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, after four years of study, concluded that fracking does not contaminate groundwater supplies (see EPA Draft Report Says Fracking Doesn’t Pollute Groundwater Supplies). Such a thing could not stand in the twisted minds of fractivists. They began demanding the EPA change the outcome of its scientific conclusions. Don’t like the science? Just change it! That’s the sentiment of fractivists. Bowing to pressure from the political left, the Obama EPA decided to have an internal board of 31 people–the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB), perform a review of the study. You can guess where this is going. The fix was in with the SAB (see EPA Science Advisory Board Engaging in Fraud re Fracking Study). However, five brave, independent-thinking members of the SAB disagreed, and published their disagreement with the vote taken by the board (see 5 Members of Internal EPA Committee Think Fracking Study Correct). Those five members are now being bullied by Big Green groups, who are trying to silence them for expressing their opinion, an opinion different than theirs…
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On May 18, the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (SGICC) will announce four $20,000 winners of this year’s Shale Gas Innovation Contest. In addition to showcasing the 12 finalists, this year’s event will also feature a Poster Contest highlighting research underway related to the oil and gas sector–from four major regional research universities. Below we have the list of all 12 finalists with a description of their qualifying technologies. Among the list is one of our favorite companies, HalenHardy, a previous winner of another SGICC award for Shale Gas Environmental, Health, & Safety (see 
MDN spotted a fascinating story in NGI’s Shale Daily publication about what may be a new trend developing in the Utica Shale. It all concerns interlateral well spacing. What the heck is that? When you drill a shale well, like a Utica well, you can drill down from a single location (i.e. well pad) multiple times and when you turn the drill bit horizontally, you drill an entirely new well. So each well pad contains, typically, anywhere from 2-12 underground wells. Each horizontal well underground is called a lateral. When you drill a lateral, you frack it–using small explosive charges to crack the rock apart near the lateral, injecting water with sand into the cracks. The water drains out, the sand remains “propping open” the cracks to allow natural gas (or oil, or NGLs) to drain out of the cracks, into the well and up the borehole to the surface. In the past few years most drillers have found putting the laterals about 750 feet apart keeps them far enough apart that the cracks from one well don’t interfere with the cracks from another well (see image below). Ideally you want the laterals to be far enough away that they don’t drain any gas from the next lateral–but close enough that you’re not leaving undrained rock in between. That distance in the Marcellus/Utica seems to be around 750 feet. But Rice Energy and Gulfport Energy, two major players in the Utica, are moving back to 1,000 foot spacing between their laterals. Why?…
Every now and again eCORP Stimulation Technologies, or “ecorpStim” as they are known, reappears with a press release to announce they’re still around. The last such time MDN covered the company was in July 2014 (see 
We don’t automatically believe every poll we read–especially polls by left-leaning pollsters like the Gallup organization. But their latest poll results have the ring of truth–and it’s disturbing. In 2014 and again in 2015 Gallup conducted a nationwide poll of the American public asking this question: “Do you favor or oppose hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as a means of increasing the production of natural gas and oil in the U.S.?” In March 2014 opinion was evenly split–with 40% favoring and 40% opposing and another 19% clueless (i.e. no opinion). One year later, in March 2016, it breaks down thus: 36% support fracking, 51% oppose it and 13% remain clueless. The biggest swing against fracking has been among Republicans. The vast majority of Democrats have been against fracking–for years–and remain so. They are ideologically rigid in their hatred of fossil fuels. The change has come among Republicans. Folks, we’re losing the public relations war with fracking. Fortunately the founding fathers constructed our great country as a republic–not a simple majority “mob rule” democracy. Democratic principles of freedom to be sure–but with safeguards to protect the minority, which the founders realized was often right. We have to do more to win the American public to our side–to show them that fracking is not evil and does not harm the environment but is, instead, a modern day miracle…