As a kid I played outside in the woods or at the beach most days, followed trails, climbed cliffs and went fishing. Before NRDC I worked in the private sector as well as in the offices of elected officials in county, state and federal government. In 2001 I joined NRDC’s Land and Wildlife Program. Now I work to protect the environment. NRDC is dedicated to protecting our nation’s wildest places and most valuable wildlife habitat from irresponsible industrial development. I've worked to protect old growth forests in Alaska and other western states. Now my work is focused on protecting sensitive lands in the Rocky Mountain region from harmful oil and gas operations, and on advancing public policies to require more environmental protections for oil and gas operations
Posted May 16, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
According to a recent article in Inside EPA (subscription only), the National Research Council (NRC) is preparing to undertake a preliminary review of the potential human and environmental risks of shale gas development, in particular hydraulic fracturing. The article quotes an NRC senior scholar...continued→
Posted May 15, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
A suite of bad bills is scheduled to be considered in the House Natural Resources Committee tomorrow, and NRDC opposes all of them. Here are the details from my colleague Bobby McEnaney on the four worst: H.R. 4383 – This draconian bill is designed...continued→
Posted May 14, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
Anyone who is following the current boom in domestic oil and gas production knows that the e-mails, articles, and reports never stop. I think the information flow will continue to grow as the industry continues to expand closer and closer to...continued→
Posted May 10, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft rule that would govern hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") of federally managed oil and gas resources. There are many reasons why it is essential that the BLM issue strong, protective new rules for fracking. Among...continued→
Posted May 9, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
Today NRDC's clean water experts released an important new report on fracking waste, which concludes that contaminated fracking wastewater is threatening people’s health and the environment, and none of the methods currently used to treat or dispose of that wastewater are safe enough....continued→
Posted May 8, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
We've blogged before about concerns about the potential for mortgages, homeowners insurance, and title insurance being restricted in areas with current or even just planned oil or gas development. For anyone following this issue, a new report from WTAE in Pittsburgh...continued→
Posted May 4, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Earlier today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the Department of the Interior, issued a draft rule that would govern fracking under federal oil and gas leases. Many people have not heard of the BLM, but the agency manages 700 million acres...continued→
Posted May 3, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
I recently mentioned that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the CDC, is conducting field work to assess health risks to oil and gas workers. It turns out that the NIOSH investigation has uncovered appalling...continued→
Posted May 1, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
An independent scientist has confirmed that fracking has clearly contaminated a drinking water source east of the town of Pavillion, Wyoming, supporting the findings in a draft EPA report published in December. This is not only important news for residents of the small...continued→
Posted April 30, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
Today and tomorrow there is an important workshop in Washington, D.C. on the health impacts of natural gas extraction. The workshop is organized by the Institute of Medicine, an independent non-profit organization that is part of the National Academy of...continued→
Posted April 26, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
I recently blogged about Leann Kiner in Harrison County, West Virginia, who found out that her water was contaminated with arsenic from her neighbor--not state regulators or the natural gas producer. When I spoke to Leann on the phone, she told me...continued→
Posted April 19, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
The Obama administration has officially lifted industry's complete stranglehold on new federal health, safety, and environmental rules for oil and gas development and issued the first ever federal rules that cover fracking (in this case the air pollution from fracking operations). For years, the industry has...continued→
Posted April 17, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The following is a guest post from NRDC Legal Fellow Matthew McFeeley NRDC has worked for years to fight irresponsible oil and gas development on federal public lands—primarly in the Rocky Mountain region. But many are unaware that oil and...continued→
Posted April 10, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
The following is a guest post by NRDC Legal Fellow Matthew McFeeley: In late March a natural gas compressor station exploded in northeastern Pennsylvania. Now the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has cancelled its investigation of...continued→
Posted April 5, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
NRDC staff have been blogging a lot recently about the new safeguards about to be issued by EPA to control dangerous air pollution at natural gas fracking sites. NRDC, our partner groups, and technical experts have compiled hundreds of pages...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
