The Obama administration issued comprehensive rules on hydraulic fracturing, trying to set a national standard for controversial drilling practices that have helped fuel the U.S. oil and natural-gas boom.

Friday’s move sparked immediate criticism from energy companies that claimed the rules are too onerous. Two industry groups filed a lawsuit minutes after the announcement, seeking to block the rules in a federal court. Env

The Interior Department is set to announce major restrictions on the controversial drilling technique. Expect blowback.

The earthquakes come nearly every day now, cracking drywall, popping floor tiles and rattling kitchen cabinets. On Monday, three quakes hit this historic land-rush town in 24 hours, booming and rumbling like the end of the world.

“After a while, you can’t even tell what’s a pre-shock or an after-shock. The ground just keeps moving,” said Jason Murphey, 37, a Web developer who represents Guthrie in the state legislature. “People are so frustrated and scared. They want to know the state is doing something.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced a statewide ban on the extraction of natural gas using a controversial drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. This was not an easy decision, but it was the right one. Many geologists and industry leaders believe that the deep shale formations underneath the state’s southern tier, known as the Marcellus Shale, contain bountiful supplies of natural gas. But extracting the gas, the governor concluded, carried — at least for now — unacceptable risks to the environment and human health.

Andrew Cuomo's administration is planning to ban fracking in New York State next year.
Since 2008, New York has had a de facto moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting natural gas from shale rock deep underground. But environmental commissioner Joseph Martens said he would move to make that ban permanent in 2015.
The announcement came after a presentation by Health Commissioner Howard Zucker on the possible health risks of fracking — the results of a long-awaited report on the subject.
"The bottom l

Residents of Denton, Texas, voted Tuesday to ban hydraulic fracturing in the city.

According to unofficial results posted on the city's website, 58.64 percent of voters supported banning the controversial drilling method that is also called fracking; 41.36 percent voted against the proposition. It's the first time a city in the energy-friendly state has voted to ban fracking.

The vote is expected to be challenged, but Mayor Chris Watts said he would defend the ban.

Coloradans are poised to vote on multiple ballot measures related to fracking and other forms of energy development this fall, setting up a bitter and expensive election fight.

With a deadline looming Monday to qualify measures for Colorado's November ballot, three initiatives already have enough signatures to appear before voters, backers say.

Two measures supported by environmental groups would require new oil and gas wells to be drilled at least 2,000 feet from homes and schools, and give local governments more power to regulate energy projects.

A Texas family was awarded nearly $3 million in a lawsuit against Aruba Petroleum, alleging that the Plano company’s hydraulic fracturing activity made them sick and forced them to leave their property.

Extensive and rapid development of oil and gas resources by hydraulic fracturing in areas of the U.S. that are already dry or in drought is putting significant strains on water supplies, a new analysis finds.
The report by Ceres, a non-profit that works to mobilize companies and investors to promote sustainability, found that more than 55 percent of the w

Advances in hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, have revolutionized America's energy landscape. However, most Americans are so uninformed about the practice that they don't have an opinion on it according to a new study.

The study, titled "American perceptions of hydraulic fracturing" and produced by scholars at George Mason University, Orego