Daniel Fisher, a senior editor at Forbes has a blog post titled: “A New World of Cheap Gas“. In the post he explores the impact of new gas production on contract rates, natural gas uses, the impact on renewable energy technology, government policy and more.

The Headline article in the West Virginia Observer gives a review of the objections to hydraulic fracturing and discusses potential actions by the West Virginia legislature aimed at protecting public health and the environment.

An article on the Syracuse.com website reports that Chesapeake Energy wants to store 663 million (??) gallons of hydrofrack water produced in Pennsylvania in a well about a mile from Keuka Lake.

The House Commerce and Energy Committee is writing to oil field service companies to get information on the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing and environmental impacts. More in an article in the Houston Chronicle.

Calvin Tillman, the Mayor of Dish, Texas gave a two hour presentation on how to prevent the harmful effects of natural gas drilling at the Elmira Heights Theater in Elmira Heights, New York. He encouraged local officials to “take control” of what happens in their jurisdiction. More at The Online Leader.

Drilling and hydrofracking a well in one of the natural gas plays such as the Marcellus or Haynesville requires at least a million gallons of water with chemical additives and will become salty when it comes in contact with subsurface brines. An article on the Reuters website explores this problem in New York.

Most of the publicity about natural gas drilling in New York has focused on environmental concerns and limiting resource development. A recent assembly of people in Binghamton focused on the rights of property owners to benefit from their resource. More in an article on Reuters.com.

An executive of Gazprom, the largest producer of natural gas in the world, says it is “unimaginable” that Europe will allow the development of its shale gas resources because of concerns with water supply contamination. More in an article in The Telegraph.

An article on the Boston.com website explores the quandary that natural gas shales present: developing them has environmental risk but replacing other fossil fuels with them has environmental advantages. How do they sit on the balance?

The Houston Chronicle website reports on comments made by oil and gas company leaders at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. The comments were consistent… Natural gas can be produced in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

Some legislators in Harrisburg are trying to raise more revenue from the Marcellus Shale while others are trying to put on the brakes to reduce environmental impacts. More in an article at Philly.com.

An AP article in the Charleston Daily Mail says that “gas drilling in Appalachia yields a foul byproduct” – in reference to the wastewater associated with hydraulic fracturing.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality conduced toxic vapor tests to detect hazardous emissions from natural gas drilling sites in the Fort Worth area. None of the 126 sites tested had contaminant levels that exceeded regulatory standards.  More in a Star-Telegram article.

Some people believe that the state of New York is implementing regulatory standards for natural gas drilling that are strict enough to significantly reduce or delay the development of the Marcellus Shale in that state.  More at the Oil and Gas Journal website.

Project Rulison was an experiment done in 1969 to determine if an underground atomic blast would stimulate natural gas production. Today there are concerns because Nobel Energy Production plans to drill gas wells near the test site south of Rifle, Colorado.  More in an article on the Denver Post website.