Free Republic

The researchers compiled data from the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, which tracks oil and gas wells around the state. Researchers determined if water had been detected while drilling, and also gathered data about depth, salinity and pressure. After looking at 360 oil and gas fields spread across eight counties, the researchers say that they’ve documented a trove of fresh water just over half the size of Lake Michigan hidden in California’s bedrock 1,000 to nearly 10,000 feet below the surface. This is almost three times more groundwater than what was indicated in previous studies, many conducted...

AUSTIN, Texas— In response to a notice of intent to sue filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Save Our Springs Alliance in May, the Texas Department of Transportation changed course on a major highway project in Austin, withdrawing its finding that the highway would have no impact on three federally protected species (two salamanders and a bird). The state’s transportation agency said in a letter that it has initiated consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the three species.The construction of the MoPac Intersections Project across the environmentally sensitive Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, in...

VICKSBURG, AZ - Like a desert mirage, the Almarai hay farm about 100 miles west of the Valley sprawls out on almost 10,000 acres. Buildings rise from the dust, and an endless stream of delivery trucks come and go. The bustle of activity is from alfalfa feeds as far as the eye can see. Saudi Arabian state-run media reports Almarai bought the land last year. That was after a Saudi government directive to conserve that nation's natural resources. Experts say underground reservoirs and ancient aquifers have almost dried up in Saudi Arabia after decades of modern farming. And since Almarai...

It’s not just producers and farmers who are getting hit with rising costs and growing shortages of water. When it comes to H2O, everyone better get prepared to pay more and get less. In its long history, water has never been more precious, more controversial, more expensive or more essential to agriculture and commerce than it is right now. A symbol of purity in cosmetic ads, a stand-in for quality in beer ads, the poster boy for violence and destruction during floods, hurricanes and tsunamis, water is currently so scarce out West that it threatens to decimate the nation’s most...

In many ways, Terri Hall was on a collision course with Texas toll road policies long before she and her family loaded up their van and drove from California to the Hill Country three years ago. A lifetime of volunteering, a hunger for staying on top of politics, and strong religious and moral convictions helped hone Hall's activist instincts. Her brains, drive, superb speaking skills, engaging personality and wholesome good looks — noted by friends and enemies alike — make Hall especially effective. They help explain why this 37-year-old mother of six is a leading force in a populist assault...

<p>WASHINGTON -- A major battle has flared over granting a liability waiver to producers of the gasoline additive MTBE, and it alone could sink the energy bill in the waning congressional session.</p> <p>Environmental groups and MTBE producers differ over whether this waiver, sought by House leaders, would make it impossible for communities to collect damages from underground contamination.</p>