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In Texas, environmental activists renew fight against fracking
FORT WORTH, Texas. — The vast majority of rigs that dotted the landscape here more than a decade ago are long gone, along with the economic boom that natural gas drilling brought to North Texas. But a regional resurgence in hydraulic fracturing this summer dredged up tensions between anti-fracking activists and local government leaders. Over the summer, French energy giant Total submitted at least 26 new gas well permit requests in Fort Worth-area cities, leading to renewed calls for action from local activists concerned about the environmental impact of drilling.
“With Total moving back into Fort Worth, I have been warning people and telling them about this, and they’re just ignoring it,” said Sharon Wilson, a former oil industry employee in Fort Worth who now is a senior field advocate for the environmental advocacy group Earthworks . “They don’t believe it. They think it’s over.” The clash over the environmental impact of drilling in Texas — a state that leads the nation in oil and gas production — comes amid fears that it may be too late to reverse global warming. Recent extreme weather events, including intense hurricanes hitting the Gulf Coast and drought conditions leading […]
