SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

* indicates required
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
fracking_radiation

A gas flare is seen at an oil well site outside Williston, North Dakota. (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

New Report Details Fracking's 'Widespread and Severe Harm' to Health and Climate

"From a public health perspective and a climate perspective, stopping fracking is imperative."

Combining findings from more than 2,000 scientific and government studies, a report published Thursday details how hydraulic fracturing has "dire impacts on public health and the climate."

"Fracking swings a wrecking ball at our climate."

Physicians for Social Responsibility and Concerned Health Professionals of New York (CHPNY) released the eighth edition of theirCompendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking, a comprehensive examination of the state of the hydraulic fracturing industry and its impacts.

"The scientific evidence reveals conclusively that fracking causes widespread and severe harm to people and the climate," Sandra Steingraber, CHPNY co-founder and compendium co-author, said in a statement.

"For over 10 years, individual studies have demonstrated impacts in multiple areas, including toxic air pollution, water contamination, radioactive releases, earthquakes, methane emissions, and much more," she added. "The compendium takes stock of all the science together, which shows that continuing and expanding fracking brings with it a grave cost."

The report reveals that:

  • Global expansion of fracking and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is fueling the climate crisis, driving the current surge in global levels of methane, a greenhouse gas that is up to 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and which has contributed 40% of all global warming to date;
  • LNG is even worse for the climate, as the process of liquefying the gas requires tremendous amounts of energy;
  • Carbon capture and storage (CCS) fails to mitigate the dangers of fracking, as it does not actually capture methane emissions but instead makes local air pollution from fracking infrastructure worse;
  • Drilling, fracking, storing, transporting, and disposing of oil and gas cause serious harm to human health, including respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, and impairments to infant and maternal health; and
  • Fracking is an injustice, as toxic air pollution, water contamination, and other impacts disproportionately affect communities of color and low-income communities.

According to the publication:

In sum, the vast body of scientific studies now published on hydraulic fracturing in the peer-reviewed scientific literature confirms that the climate and public health risks from fracking are real and the range of environmental harms wide. Our examination uncovered no evidence that fracking can be practiced in a manner that does not threaten human health directly or without imperiling climate stability upon which human health depends.

"People, nurses, and doctors across the United States have been pointing to harms from drilling and fracking for well over a decade," said Barbara Gottlieb, environment and health program director at Physicians for Social Responsibility. "Now there is clear and overwhelming scientific evidence showing that fracking makes people sick, degrades the environment, and imperils the climate."

"From a public health perspective and a climate perspective, stopping fracking is imperative," she stressed.

Related Content

A drill rig operates near homes in Frederick, Colorado.

Living Near Fracking Sites Linked to Higher Risk of Early Death: Study

Kenny Stancil

Dr. Kathleen Nolan of Physicians for Social Responsibility and Concerned Health Professionals of New York, said, "States and countries that have banned fracking are leading the way to a stable and healthy climate future, preventing poisonous fracking chemicals from causing birth defects, cancer, heart disease, asthma and pneumonia, diseases of other organs and tissues, and early death."

"Banning fracking also prevents induced earthquakes and greatly reduces emissions of methane, carbon dioxide, toxic gases, and particulate matter into our atmosphere," she added. "We know what must be done: Now we must do it--and do it quickly."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
"),t.type){case"pdf":if(a.default.isFirefox()||a.default.isEdge()||a.default.isIE())try{if(console.info("PrintJS currently doesn't support PDF printing in Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge."),!0===t.onBrowserIncompatible())window.open(t.fallbackPrintable,"_blank").focus(),t.onPdfOpen&&t.onPdfOpen()}catch(e){t.onError(e)}finally{t.showModal&&l.default.close(),t.onLoadingEnd&&t.onLoadingEnd()}else d.default.print(t,o);break;case"image":f.default.print(t,o);break;case"html":u.default.print(t,o);break;case"raw-html":c.default.print(t,o);break;case"json":s.default.print(t,o)}}}},function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(t,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r,o=n(0),i=(r=o)&&r.__esModule?r:{default:r},a=n(1);function l(e,t,n){var r=new window.Blob([n],{type:"application/pdf"});r=window.URL.createObjectURL(r),t.setAttribute("src",r),i.default.send(e,t)}t.default={print:function(e,t){if(e.base64){var n=Uint8Array.from(atob(e.printable),function(e){return e.charCodeAt(0)});l(e,t,n)}else{e.printable=/^(blob|http)/i.test(e.printable)?e.printable:window.location.origin+("/"!==e.printable.charAt(0)?"/"+e.printable:e.printable);var r=new window.XMLHttpRequest;r.responseType="arraybuffer",r.addEventListener("load",function(){if(-1===[200,201].indexOf(r.status))return(0,a.cleanUp)(e),void e.onError(r.statusText);l(e,t,r.response)}),r.open("GET",e.printable,!0),r.send()}}}},function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(t,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r,o=n(1),i=n(0),a=(r=i)&&r.__esModule?r:{default:r};t.default={print:function(e,t){var n=document.getElementById(e.printable);n?(e.printableElement=function e(t,n){var r=t.cloneNode();var o=!0;var i=!1;var a=void 0;try{for(var l,d=t.childNodes[Symbol.iterator]();!(o=(l=d.next()).done);o=!0){var u=l.value;if(-1===n.ignoreElements.indexOf(u.id)){var c=e(u,n);r.appendChild(c)}}}catch(e){i=!0,a=e}finally{try{!o&&d.return&&d.return()}finally{if(i)throw a}}switch(t.tagName){case"SELECT":r.value=t.value;break;case"CANVAS":r.getContext("2d").drawImage(t,0,0)}return r}(n,e),e.header&&(0,o.addHeader)(e.printableElement,e),a.default.send(e,t)):window.console.error("Invalid HTML element id: "+e.printable)}}},function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(t,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r,o=n(0),i=(r=o)&&r.__esModule?r:{default:r};t.default={print:function(e,t){e.printableElement=document.createElement("div"),e.printableElement.setAttribute("style","width:100%"),e.printableElement.innerHTML=e.printable,i.default.send(e,t)}}},function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(t,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r,o=n(1),i=n(0),a=(r=i)&&r.__esModule?r:{default:r};t.default={print:function(r,e){r.printable.constructor!==Array&&(r.printable=[r.printable]),r.printableElement=document.createElement("div"),r.printable.forEach(function(e){var t=document.createElement("img");t.setAttribute("style",r.imageStyle),t.src=e;var n=document.createElement("div");n.appendChild(t),r.printableElement.appendChild(n)}),r.header&&(0,o.addHeader)(r.printableElement,r),a.default.send(r,e)}}},function(e,t,n){"use strict";Object.defineProperty(t,"__esModule",{value:!0});var r,o="function"==typeof Symbol&&"symbol"==typeof Symbol.iterator?function(e){return typeof e}:function(e){return e&&"function"==typeof Symbol&&e.constructor===Symbol&&e!==Symbol.prototype?"symbol":typeof e},c=n(1),i=n(0),a=(r=i)&&r.__esModule?r:{default:r};t.default={print:function(t,e){if("object"!==o(t.printable))throw new Error("Invalid javascript data object (JSON).");if("boolean"!=typeof t.repeatTableHeader)throw new Error("Invalid value for repeatTableHeader attribute (JSON).");if(!t.properties||!Array.isArray(t.properties))throw new Error("Invalid properties array for your JSON data.");t.properties=t.properties.map(function(e){return{field:"object"===(void 0===e?"undefined":o(e))?e.field:e,displayName:"object"===(void 0===e?"undefined":o(e))?e.displayName:e,columnSize:"object"===(void 0===e?"undefined":o(e))&&e.columnSize?e.columnSize+";":100/t.properties.length+"%;"}}),t.printableElement=document.createElement("div"),t.header&&(0,c.addHeader)(t.printableElement,t),t.printableElement.innerHTML+=function(e){var t=e.printable,n=e.properties,r='';e.repeatTableHeader&&(r+="");r+="";for(var o=0;o'+(0,c.capitalizePrint)(n[o].displayName)+"";r+="",e.repeatTableHeader&&(r+="");r+="";for(var i=0;i";for(var a=0;a'+l+""}r+=""}return r+="
"}(t),a.default.send(t,e)}}}]).default}); document.querySelector('.all-content-wrapper').setAttribute('id','printable'); ChangeListener('.lead_post_body_main .share-pinterest, .mobile_social_links .share-pinterest', function(el) { el.outerHTML=''; }); ChangeListener('.lead_post_body_main .share-print, .mobile_social_links .share-print', function(el) { el.addEventListener("click", function(){ if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox") > 0) {window.print();}else{ printJS({printable: 'printable',type: 'html',targetStyles: ['*'],css: 'https://partners.rebelmouse.com/commondreams/print.css?s=0',style: ".custom-field-after-seconds,.custom-field-popup-bg-color,.custom-field-popup-text-color,.custom-field-location,.no-print { display: none !important; }"}); } }); }); }); window.REBELMOUSE_ACTIVE_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){ if (getCookie("popupShown") || (getCookie("hide_newsletter") != null && getCookie("hide_newsletter"))) { console.log("nothing to do"); return; } if(document.querySelector(".popup-modal .mb-2.popup--article #mc-embedded-subscribe") != null) { const popupform = document.querySelector(".popup-modal [name='mc-embedded-subscribe-form']"); popupform.addEventListener("submit", () => { setCookie("hide_newsletter", "true", 365); }); popupform.addEventListener("click", () => { setCookie("hide_newsletter", "true", 365); }); /*document.querySelector(".popup-modal .mb-2.popup--article #mc-embedded-subscribe").addEventListener("click", function(){ // Set the "hide_newsletter" cookie to "true" for 1 year (365 days) setCookie("hide_newsletter", "true", 365); });*/ } const popupBackdrop = document.querySelector(".popup--backdrop"); const closePopupButton = popupBackdrop.querySelector(".close-button"); const afterSecondsField = popupBackdrop.querySelector( ".custom-field-after-seconds" )?.textContent; const scrollingBeginsField = popupBackdrop.querySelector( ".custom-field-scrolling-begins" )?.textContent; const customFieldObj = document.querySelector(".popup--article .custom-field-visible-to-admin-only"); const customBGColor = popupBackdrop.querySelector('.custom-field-popup-bg-color').textContent const customTextColor = popupBackdrop.querySelector('.custom-field-popup-text-color').textContent popupBackdrop.style.setProperty('--background-color', `${customBGColor}`) popupBackdrop.style.setProperty('--text-color', `${customTextColor}`) const after_seconds = Number(afterSecondsField); const scrolling_begins = scrollingBeginsField === "True"; let lastScrollPosition = 0; let userHasInteracted = false; const scrollDeltaThreshold = 5; const showPopup = () => { console.log("---- showPopup ----") if (((customFieldObj != null && getCookie("userIsAdmin")) || customFieldObj == null) && !getCookie("popupShown") ){ popupBackdrop.classList.add("open"); setCookie("popupShown", true, 30); } }; const hidePopup = () => popupBackdrop.classList.remove("open"); closePopupButton.addEventListener("click", hidePopup); const userEvents = ["mousemove", "mousedown", "keydown", "touchstart"]; let userEventListenersRemoved = false; const userInteraction = () => { userHasInteracted = true; if (userEventListenersRemoved) return; userEvents.forEach((event) => { document.removeEventListener(event, userInteraction); userEventListenersRemoved = true; }); }; userEvents.forEach((event) => document.addEventListener(event, userInteraction) ); if (!scrolling_begins && !isNaN(after_seconds)) { setTimeout(showPopup, after_seconds * 1000); } else if (scrolling_begins) { document.addEventListener("scroll", debounce(handleScroll, 50)); } function handleScroll() { console.log("----handle Scroll----") if (scrolling_begins && !userHasInteracted) return; if (scrolling_begins) { const currentScrollPosition = window.scrollY || document.documentElement.scrollTop; const scrollDelta = Math.abs(currentScrollPosition - lastScrollPosition); if (scrollDelta > scrollDeltaThreshold) { setTimeout(showPopup, 0); document.removeEventListener("scroll", debounce(handleScroll, 50)); } lastScrollPosition = currentScrollPosition; } } function debounce(func, wait, immediate = false) { let timeout; return function (...args) { const context = this; const later = function () { timeout = null; if (!immediate) func.apply(context, args); }; const shouldCallNow = immediate && !timeout; clearTimeout(timeout); timeout = setTimeout(later, wait); if (shouldCallNow) func.apply(context, args); }; } // to be implemented: cookies function setCookie(name, value, days) { let date = new Date(); date.setTime(date.getTime() + days * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000); let expires = "expires=" + date.toUTCString(); document.cookie = name + "=" + value + ";" + expires + ";path=/"; } function getCookie(cname) { let name = cname + "="; let decodedCookie = decodeURIComponent(document.cookie); let ca = decodedCookie.split(";"); for (let i = 0; i < ca.length; i++) { let c = ca[i]; while (c.charAt(0) == " ") { c = c.substring(1); } if (c.indexOf(name) == 0) { return c.substring(name.length, c.length); } } return ""; } }); window.REBELMOUSE_ACTIVE_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){ REBELMOUSE_STDLIB.createElementChangeListener('a[data-track-share="Twitter"]', function(twitterEle) { // Check if the element exists if (twitterEle) { // Extract the href attribute from the Twitter link const twitterHref = new URL(twitterEle.href); // Extract the `text` and `url` parameters from the Twitter link const text = twitterHref.searchParams.get("text") || ""; const url = twitterHref.searchParams.get("url") || ""; // Construct the Bluesky compose URL with text first, then the space-separated URL const blueskyHref = `https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=${encodeURIComponent(text)} ${encodeURIComponent(url)}`; // Update the href attribute of the Twitter link to the Bluesky URL twitterEle.href = blueskyHref; } }); }); window.REBELMOUSE_ACTIVE_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){ if(document.querySelector(".body .newsletter-aside") != null && document.querySelector(".body") != null) { var newsletterr_heght = document.querySelector( ".body .newsletter-aside" ).clientHeight; var newsletterr_width = document.querySelector(".body").clientWidth; document.querySelector(".body").style.maxWidth = newsletterr_width + "px"; window.REBELMOUSE_STDLIB.onElementInViewport({ selector: ".body .newsletter-aside", threshold: -newsletterr_heght, oneTime: false, onIntersect: (entry) => { var element = entry.target; document.querySelector(".body .newsletter-aside").classList.add("higlight"); console.log("Intersection******************"); setTimeout(function() { document.querySelector(".body .newsletter-aside").classList.remove("higlight"); console.log("SetTimeout******************"); }, 2000); }, onBelowViewport: (element) => { document.querySelector(".body .newsletter-aside").classList.remove('higlight'); }, onAboveViewport: (element) => { document.querySelector(".body .newsletter-aside").classList.remove('higlight'); } }); } }); window.REBELMOUSE_ACTIVE_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){ var test = 'new-report-details-frackings-widespread-and-severe-harm-to-health-and-climate'; if(test && test != '' && test != 'null' && test != null){ /* Creates comment icon */ const leftButtons = document.querySelector('.lead_post_share_social .posts-custom .widget__shares'); const facebookSpan = leftButtons.querySelector('.share-fb').parentElement; facebookSpan.insertAdjacentHTML('beforeend',''); /* Get Post data*/ fetch('https://commons.commondreams.org/t/new-report-details-frackings-widespread-and-severe-harm-to-health-and-climate/171309.json', { method: 'GET', headers: { 'Accept': 'application/json', }, }).then(response => response.json()) .then(response =>{ replyCount = response.posts_count - 1; document.querySelector('.comment_round_button .comment_count').textContent = replyCount; /* This line shows reply counter in Big Discourse Button:: */ /* document.querySelector('.discourse-btn .btn').textContent += ` (${replyCount})`; */ }); const commentsBtn = document.querySelector('.comment_round_button'); commentsBtn.addEventListener('click', function(ev){ window.open(commentsBtn.dataset.link, '_blank'); }); } /*document.querySelector(".share-plus.js-toggle").addEventListener("click", function(ele){ document.querySelector(".comment_round_button").classList.toggle("hide-button"); });*/ }); window.REBELMOUSE_ACTIVE_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){ REBELMOUSE_STDLIB.createElementChangeListener('.lead_post_tags_seo .social-author__name', function(el) { if(el.nextElementSibling && el.nextElementSibling.classList.contains('social-author__bio')) { el.nextElementSibling.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', '
Full Bio >
'); } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', '
Full Bio >
'); } }); }); window.REBELMOUSE_ACTIVE_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){ REBELMOUSE_STDLIB.createElementChangeListener(".newsletter-campaign .custom-field-source-text", function(button){ button.setAttribute('data-before', ''); button.innerHTML=''; }) }); window.REBELMOUSE_ACTIVE_TASKS_QUEUE.push(function(){ /* Checking the position set with a post custom field, if it is not a default one (above) - change the position to custom */ const blockPlacement = () => { const newsletterBlock = document.querySelector('.js-newsletter-wrapper'); const placementPosition = document.querySelector('.custom-field-newsletter-position') ? document.querySelector('.custom-field-newsletter-position').innerText : false; if (!placementPosition) { return newsletterBlock.classList.remove('visually-hidden'); } const targetBlock = document.querySelector('.tab_wrap'); placementPosition === 'above' || placementPosition === '' ? false : targetBlock.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', newsletterBlock); return newsletterBlock.classList.remove('visually-hidden'); } blockPlacement(); });
OSZAR »