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Story category: energy
Fracking: Energy Solution or Environmental Hazard?
Story air date: Thursday, May 03, 2012
Hydraulic fracturing – a process used to collect and extract natural gas – has been around for decades. But how and where it’s done today is new…and it has some worried about what it means for air and water quality. Several drilling companies have moved into southern Illinois to extract natural gas by using horizontal fracking, deep underground beneath shale. They could begin within a month.
Legislation in the Illinois General Assembly that has passed the Senate would allow the state's Department of Natural Resources to regulate hydraulic fracturing that cracks open fissures in southern Illinois' roughly 4,500-foot-deep New Albany Shale and other formations to get to trapped oil and natural gas. The legislation also would require energy companies to disclose the chemical makeup of the fracturing fluids and to test the integrity of the cement and steel well casings meant to protect groundwater during drilling.
Since October 2010, more than 100 bills across roughly 20 states have been introduced relating to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. David Morse from the Illinois State Geological Survey assesses the state of fracking with Illinois Public Media’s Sean Powers.
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)
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- Find out what other states are doing to regulate hydraulic fracturing
- More coverage on fracking from ProPublica
- “Fracking” Comes to Southern Illinois (Related))
- Is Fracking Making People Sick? (Related)
- New Study Fuels Hydraulic Fracking Debate (Related)
- Fracking Byproducts May Be Linked To Ohio Quakes (Related))
- A Debate Over Who Regulates Gas 'Fracking' In Pa. (Related)
Story categories:
energy • government • Illinois • healthUS Rep. Shimkus Talks about Health Care, Energy
Story air date: Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Congressman John Shimkus (R-Collinsville) is running for re-election in the re-drawn 15th Congressional District, which includes parts of Champaign County, and all of Vermilion, Douglas, Edgar, Coles and Moultrie Counties.
Last week, Shimkus sat in on the U.S. Supreme Court’s final day of hearings about the federal health care law. He told Illinois Public Media’s Sean Powers that there are parts of the law he supports, but he said requiring people to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty goes a step too far.
He also discussed a bill he has introduced that would protect retailers, engine manufacturers, and fuel producers from lawsuits related to E15, a new fuel combination that is made up of 15-percent ethanol. And Shimkus looks ahead to the November general election.
(Photo by Sean Powers/WILL)
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- More on Congressman John Shimkus
- US Rep. Shimkus’ Bill Would Prevent E15 Lawsuits (Related)
- US Rep. Shimkus Meets with Champaign County Chamber of Commerce (Related)
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economy • energy • government • elections • United States • health care • people • politicsWind Energy Makes its Mark on the Region
Story air date: Monday, February 27, 2012
East central Illinois has become a popular location for wind farms, with several facilities up and running and more being proposed. Illinois Public Media’s Jeff Bossert visited wind farms in Ford and Iroquois Counties. He spoke with residents, officials and experts to learn why the region is such a draw for wind energy, and if the benefits outweigh the concerns.
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energyChampaign Native Living in Tokyo Reflects on Earthquake, Tsunami
Story air date: Thursday, March 17, 2011
When a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan last week, Michael Bekiares was on the 19th floor of an office building in Tokyo. The building shook for 11 minutes during the quake. Bekiares grew up in Champaign and studied economics at the University of Illinois. He moved to Japan about 13 years ago for a job in finance, and now lives about 200 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter. Illinois Public Media’s Sean Powers spoke to Bekiares from Tokyo using Skype.
(Photo courtesy of Michael Bekiares)
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energy • media • people • technologyMaking the UI's Footprint Smaller
Story air date: Thursday, October 09, 2008
Everyone is spending much more on energy these days, and the University of Illinois is no exception. Curbing the cost is just one goal of a new Office of Sustainability on the Urbana campus. It’s meant to draft and supervise new conservation efforts, but also to reduce the amount of pollution the University creates – whether it’s exhaust from Abbott Power Plant or old computers and other electronic waste. The office’s first director is Richard Warner, a wildlife ecology professor and formerly an administrator in the College of ACES. He tells AM 580’s Tom Rogers that his first priority is simply to take stock of all the programs already in place.
