Federal judge: It's still ok to frack on public lands

Obama tried to restrict fracking on public lands but a federal judge struck down the rule from the Dept. of Interior.

So why does the DOI have no authority to make that rule, while the EPA makes up harmful rules as it goes?


Source
Ecowatch.

Fracking spills poison livestock and people

From The Nation.

1. Fracking fluids (composed of mostly chemicals so toxic the companies won't name them) are poisoning wells in  Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado.
2. Fracking spills poison surface lakes and streams. 
3. The fracking process, putting unknown chemicals under pressure to push out oil, forces these chemicals into aquifers, poisoning them permanently. Aquifers can span multiple counties or nearly a whole state, affection 100,00s of people who can no longer use their wells for drinking or gardening.
4. Jacki Schilke in North Dakota saw fracking begin 3 miles from her house via 32 fracking wells. Then 5 of her cows die. She can no longer sell the cows because they are likely poisoned from the well water. Thus, her livelihood that pays for her food and house, is gone. Schilke has trouble walking, has burning in her lungs, has a rash that hasn't gone away in a year, and sometimes urinates blood.
5. Ambient air testing by a certified environmental consultant detected elevated levels of benzene, methane, chloroform, butane, propane, toluene and xylene—compounds associated with drilling and fracking, and also with cancers, birth defects and organ damage. 
6. Her well tested high for sulfates, chromium, chloride and strontium; her blood tested positive for acetone, plus the heavy metals arsenic (linked with skin lesions, cancers and cardiovascular disease) and germanium (linked with muscle weakness and skin rashes). 
7. Both she and her husband, who works in oilfield services, have recently lost crowns and fillings from their teeth; tooth loss is associated with radiation poisoning and high selenium levels, also found in the Schilkes’ water.
8. 17 cows died in Louisiana after a fracking spill. The following year the sexes of the cows born were skewed: 10 females, only 2 males. 
9. In New Mexico the hair was tested of cows. 54 of 56 (96%) animals showed petroleum residue. That means the cows ate the petroleum. 
10. "In North Dakota, wind-borne fly ash, which is used to solidify the waste from drilling holes and contains heavy metals, settled over a farm: one cow, which either inhaled or ingested the caustic dust, died, and a stock pond was contaminated with arsenic at double the accepted level for drinking water."
11. Cattle that die on the farm aren't used for human food, but they are used for chicken and pig feed. 

What to do
Get a water filter that filters out many of these chemicals AND pathogens. In order to get the right filter, you MUST see third party test results, and these are very rare in the industry. But Berkefeld (Berkey) filters do have test results and they are very good. Activated carbon catches some chemicals but not all. Therefore chemical filters often have multiple stages. Look for a 5-stage filter. Brita filters are not enough!

Tips to buy a filter
Get a silver impregnated filter to reduce bacterial growth while the filter sits.
The bigger counter-top filters like a Berkey (there are other brands like it) general filter 2 liters per hour.

Example units which are good at filtering chemicals

1. Berkey from Amazon with carbon and fluoride filters. $288usd. 
2. Here's an Aquacera carbon filter for $30usd. If you want to make your own filter out of two 5g buckets, make sure the seal between the "dirty" and the "clean" water is 100% tight. You absolutely don't want to get cryptosporidium, as you will never forget it. This is absolutely not for beginners, your health depends on it!

More links

1. See Which water filter is best for you? Has links to reviews of many types of water filters. To remove chemicals you need some type of activated carbon filter, but this won't remove pathogens like bacteria. So you need a combination filter that removes chemicals and pathogens.
2. List of fracking maps. Find out if your aquifer has been poisoned by nearby fracking wells.

More streams contaminated with lead and poisons

Summary

1. North Dakota: fracking spills poison local streams with heavy metals, radioactive materials and toxic, corrosive salts.
2. There are thousands of fracking spills per year. 
3. 21,000 spills took place between 2009 and 2014.
4. ND state law requires special permits to transport or dump radioactive waste of 185bq/kg. Radium was found at levels as high as 4,600 Bequerels per kilogram (bq/kg). 
5. The fracking chemical cocktail is resistant to breaking down in the wild.
6. Radium can last for thousands of years at a site.
7. Find where the fracking is: Fractracker.org. World Fracking Map from Harvard.
8. Find fracking accidents all over the US: Earthjustice.

SourceNatural News. May 17, 2016.

Fracking wastewater used to irrigate California organic crops

WTF people?? How is this is legal?

Apparently it's legal to use fracking wastewater to water organic crops in rather dry California. This water is so toxic, companies won't release what's in it because of liability issues.

This practice certainly must violate the USDA National Organic Program rules here.

The USDA organic regulations describe organic agriculture as the application of a set of cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the cycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. These include maintaining or enhancing soil and water quality; conserving wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife; and avoiding use of synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering.

And more from the NOP PDF...

Organic crop producers are responsible for preventing contact between organic and conventionally-grown crops, as well as contact with prohibited pesticides or fertilizers. Split operations (farms that raise both organic and conventional crops) must make sure that organic crops don’t contact prohibited substances through accidental sprays of conventional agrochemicals, spray drift, or residues on equipment from non-organic fields.

Source
Source: Mar 23, 2016.
Summary of US organic practices. Link to PDF.
This group says US regulations allow fracking wastewater to be used on organic crops.