fracking

May 23, 2014 - After public outcry over a bill to lift North Carolina's fracking moratorium that made unauthorized disclosure of fracking chemical trade secrets a felony offense, the state Senate changed the penalty to a misdemeanor before passing the bill and sending it to the House, where it appears it might face opposition for other reasons.

May 19, 2014 - Legislation to open the state to oil and gas drilling would impose prison time for unauthorized individuals to disclose chemicals in fracking fluids that the industry wants kept secret. At the same time, it fails to address some of fracking's most serious environmental and public health risks.

April 24, 2014 - In a groundbreaking verdict, a Texas jury has awarded $3 million to a family that sued over shale gas drilling operations that sickened them, their pets and livestock.

February 25, 2014 - The CEO of Houston-based fracking giant ConocoPhillips says the shale revolution is only in its "first inning of a nine inning game."

February 18, 2014 - Following Duke Energy's massive coal ash spill into the Dan River, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has come under scrutiny for his close ties to the Charlotte, N.C.-based utility giant. Other key members of his administration have connections to the company, too.

January 24, 2014 - Before he became infamous for the murder of President Lincoln, the Confederate sympathizer from Maryland was an oilman who used explosives to boost well production. The technique -- refined by another man whose Civil War experiences inspired what he called the "petroleum torpedo" -- was the rock-shattering prototype for modern hydraulic fracturing.

January 6, 2014 - The oil and gas industry says fracking does not endanger groundwater supplies. But an Associated Press review of data from several states offers the latest evidence that the industry's claims are not true.