Amy Mall's Blog

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

It’s rumored that the BLM is about to release the next draft of its proposal for fracking guidelines for public lands.

We’ve been blogging about all the significant failures with the first draft, and why a strong rule is so important, not just to preserve America’s wild places, but to protect...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

Rich Liroff reports in his blog on GreenBiz.com that European banks want more hard data on risks from frackers. According to Rich, some of the world's largest banks, as part of the Climate Principles for the Finance Sector, wish to see quantitative data on key performance indicators in 16 areas of corporate...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

I've blogged before about how many oil and gas activities lead to increased ambient ozone. Ozone causes very dangerous health effects. Some of the most rural areas in Wyoming (and in Utah) have experienced dangerously high ozone levels.

Because residents of Sublette County, Wyoming, have expressed concerns about the high ozone and...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

Mora County, New Mexico is the first county in the country to ban drilling and fracking. They did it to protect their groundwater.  The new county ordinance also established a local Bill of Rights that confirms the county's right to clean air and water, a healthy environment, and self governance.

According...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

Since early March, citizens across Colorado have been hearing about groundwater contamination near the town of Parachute in western Colorado. High levels of benzene--a known carcinogen--have been found in groundwater about 1,400 feet downstream of the presumed source of a leak. A monitoring well about 10 feet from Parachute Creek found...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

The need to protect some of California’s rich agricultural land provides the latest example of how important NEPA is in safeguarding our nation’s natural resources. Last week a federal court ruled that  fracking proposals there need to look at the air and water impacts of fracking more thoroughly. This is just the latest powerful reminder of why "NEPA" is so important. NEPA is...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

I just read this article about the Cerny family from Karnes County in south Texas.

Mike, the father, reports that he gets three or four migraines a day, and that he never had migraines before in his life. He and his wife Myra report mysterious rashes on their arms and legs, and say their teenage son has...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

Last week the Obama Administration issued a new Energy Blueprint. There are some excellent elements in the White House proposal, including doubling renewable electricity generation by 2020, cutting energy waste, and supporting energy efficiency.

But there are also...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

In past blogs, I as well as colleagues at NRDC have expressed our strong support for the authority of local governments to protect their residents from the risks of fracking. I also blogged about my extreme disappointment that the State of Colorado was opposed to local government authority and was even suing a local government...

Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

As I’ve mentioned, we expect the BLM to soon issue a new draft rule for fracking that takes place under federal oil and gas leases. A reporter published a leaked copy of the new draft rule, and my colleagues Briana Mordick and...