As part of SkyTruth’s ongoing analysis of gas and oil drilling in Pennsylvania (see HotSpot Map blog and Abandoned Wells blog) we’ve begun exploring the effects of the Marcellus play on national and state forests. This issue has been of concern to environmentalists and residents alike for several years. In 2009 the U.S. Forest Service […]
As part of SkyTruth’s ongoing work to illustrate drilling through images, mapping and raw data analysis, analysts have produced a new map illustrating the startling number of improperly abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania. Drilling in the state goes as far back at 1859 but it was not until the 1920s that legislation required […]
SkyTruth analysts have found that since the beginning of 2011 there have been 2,067 new natural gas and oil wells drilled in the state of Pennsylvania, with the majority being Marcellus Shale gas wells. All of these wells are being hydraulically fractured (fracked). Data are updated daily from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and […]
The one-two rainfall punch thrown by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee landed hard on the chin of the mid-Atlantic and New England, bringing record amounts of rainfall and causing epic flooding from Washington, DC to Vermont. Now we’re seeing one of the results: a torrent of river water laden with runoff is pouring into […]
Today our intrepid water-quality team went up in the air on a reconnaissance flight of new Marcellus Shale gas-drilling sites in northern Pennsylvania, thanks to our flying friends at LightHawk. Paul, intern Ben, and videographer Ed got a great aerial tour of the three watersheds within the Susquehanna drainage that we targeted using satellite and […]