There’s a lot of stuff out there about fracking.  But it can be time consuming tracking it down.  The list below is a quick and easy way to access good, credible information that I have come across in my reading.  If you have a suggestion for material that you think would be useful on this list then please leave a comment.

Marcellus Shale Reality Tour (video)

A group of community leaders in the US decided to take a bit of a tour of the Marcellus Shale area, talk to residents, look at the landscape and see for themselves what gas drilling is doing to the area. This is a really interesting, non-sensationalist film that gives residents a chance to talk about how gas drilling effects their day to day lives. 

Dr Helen Redmond from Doctors for the Environment – Lock the Gate conference in Sydney 2011 - (video)

Dr Redmond’s talk gets off to a slowish start but stick with it.  Because it gets really interesting.  It gives a quick overview of coal seam gas extraction in Australia and talks about the human health implications.  Listen out for the really disturbing story about the ICU nurse who treated a drill worker who had been splashed with fracking fluid (around minute 11). 

Taranaki Regional Council report on Fracking

Here’s the report released in November of last year by the Taranki Regional Council.  It assesses the risks of fracking in Taranaki.  Apparently. 

Animal Health Impacts of Fracking

Bamberger_Oswald_NS22_in_press[1]

This report from Michelle Bamberger and Robert Oswald of Cornell University in the US.  They took a look at the impacts of natural gas operations on areas where livestock co-exist with wells.  It was published in January of this year in New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy. An interesting if disturbing read.Human Health Issues

Talk by Dr Theo Colborn on health effects of natural gas operations  (video)

The Endocrine Disruption Exchange is a US based organisation that examines the effects on human health of long term/ambient exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals.  Presented by Dr Theo Colborn, a Professor at the University of Florida, this 47 minute video takes a look at the impacts of the natural gas industry on human health.  Definitely one to watch.

http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/files/Oct2011HERA10-48forweb3-3-11.pdf - This report from Dr Theo Colborn takes a look at the public health implications of natural gas drilling. 

http://www.healthandenvironment.org/partnership_calls/8138 – This is a one hour talk from 4 different researchers about the impacts of fracking.  It’s an interesting discussion but starts off a little slow, stick with it though.  There’s some really interesting stuff in here.  Dr Tony Ingraffea is particularly clear and worth listening to on the process of fracking.  He starts speaking around the 12m30s point. 

http://aoec.org/pehsu/documents/hydraulic_fracturing_and_children_2011_health_prof.pdf – This document is put out in the US by Pediatric Environmental Health Speciality Units.  It’s a concise round up of the health concerns around fracking with a particular focus on the susceptibility of children. 

http://ntn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/NTN-Fracking-Briefing-Paper-2011.pdf – A briefing paper from the National Toxics Network in Australia.  This gives an overview of some of the health concerns of the rapidly expanding CSG operations in Australia.  Clear and concise.

http://docs.nrdc.org/health/files/hea_08091702a.pdf13.. A white paper prepared by the University of Colorado in 2008 looking at the human health effects of oil and gas development.  The paper focuses on Garfield County in Colorado where gas exploration continues apace.  The legislation referred to is obviously not relevant to us in NZ as it’s all US based, but the more general issues covered are more relevant.