Stories by Abrahm Lustgarten

Abrahm Lustgarten is a former staff writer and contributor for Fortune, and has written for Salon, Esquire, the Washington Post and the New York Times. subscribe to Abrahm Lustgarten's feed

EPA Abandoned Fracking Investigation, and Will Do it Again

Posted on: Jul 9, 2013, Source: ProPublica

Environmentalists are seeing an agency that is systematically disengaging from any research that could be perceived as questioning the safety of fracking or oil drilling.

Fracking-Fueled Land Grab Cheats North Dakota Tribes Out of $1 Billion, Suits Allege

Posted on: Feb 25, 2013, Source: ProPublica

The rush to get access to oil on tribal lands is part of the oil industry's larger push to secure drilling rights across the United States.

Poisoning the Well: How the Feds Let Industry Pollute the Nation’s Underground Water Supply

Posted on: Dec 13, 2012, Source: ProPublica

The government has allowed energy and mining companies to pollution aquifers in more than 1,500 places in the U.S.

Latest Sanction Against BP Goes Beyond Gulf Spill

Posted on: Nov 29, 2012, Source: ProPublica

The Obama administration temporarily banned BP from federal contracts, but the sanction has been years in the making.

The Trillion-Gallon Loophole: Shockingly Lax Rules for Drillers that Inject Pollutants Into the Earth

Posted on: Sep 20, 2012, Source: ProPublica

Despite huge dangers, injection wells have proliferated because they are the fastest, cheapest way to take care of industrial waste.

Drinking Water Under Threat: New Study Predicts Frack Fluids Can Migrate to Aquifers Within Years

Posted on: May 2, 2012, Source: ProPublica

But the study concluded that natural faults and fractures in the Marcellus, exacerbated by the effects of fracking itself, could allow chemicals to reach the surface.

Billions in Fines Don't Matter -- Here's How BP Should Be Punished for the Gulf Disaster

Posted on: Apr 20, 2012, Source: ProPublica

What is missing is a criminal prosecution that holds responsible the individuals who gambled with the lives of BP's contractors and the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico.

What to Make of EPA Test Results: Is Water in Dimock, PA Really Safe to Drink After Fracking Contamination?

Posted on: Mar 20, 2012, Source: ProPublica

But what the EPA didn't say publicly is that the water samples contained dangerous quantities of methane gas and other chemicals.

Feds Link Water Contamination to Fracking for the First Time

Posted on: Dec 11, 2011, Source: ProPublica

The agency's findings could be a turning point in the heated national debate about fracking.

Gas Execs Call for Disclosure of Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing

Posted on: Sep 19, 2011, Source: ProPublica

Environmentalists have long been calling for the disclosure of chemicals in fracking and now even some industry execs are on board, too.

Gas Drilling Companies Hold Data Needed by Researchers to Assess Risk to Water Quality

Posted on: May 18, 2011, Source: ProPublica

Drilling companies themselves have been diligently collecting water samples from private wells before they drill -- but they're not sharing the information.

Scientific Study Links Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking

Posted on: May 10, 2011, Source: ProPublica

Researchers found that levels of flammable methane gas in drinking water wells increased to dangerous levels when those water supplies were close to natural gas wells.

Say What? PA Governor Gives Energy Executive Supreme Authority Over Environmental Permitting

Posted on: Mar 10, 2011, Source: ProPublica

Instead of ratcheting up oversight, PA's governor wants to hand authority over some of the state's most critical environmental decisions to an energy executive.

New Evidence Finds the Clean Energy Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated

Posted on: Jan 27, 2011, Source: ProPublica

When taking into account emissions from extraction and piping, gas may be as little as 25 percent cleaner than coal, or perhaps even less.

Opponents to Fracking Disclosure Take Big Money From Industry

Posted on: Jan 18, 2011, Source: ProPublica

The Natural Gas Caucus received 19 times more money from the oil and gas industry between 2009 and 2010 than those Congressional leaders wanting fracking regulation.

Science Says Methane in Pennsylvania Water Is from Drilling, Not Natural Causes

Posted on: Nov 9, 2010, Source: ProPublica

A New York Times article questions whether methane in PA water wells is from drilling or natural causes -- the answer is clear.

Our Next Disaster? BP's Oil and Gas Pipelines in Alaska Are a Ticking Time Bomb

Posted on: Nov 9, 2010, Source: ProPublica

The gas-warning system is undependable, the giant turbines are aging and some waste holding tanks are on the verge of collapse.

Feds Warn Residents Near Wyoming Gas Drilling Sites Not to Drink Their Water

Posted on: Sep 3, 2010, Source: ProPublica

Researchers found benzene, metals, naphthalene, phenols and methane in wells and in groundwater.

Years of Internal BP Probes Warned That Neglect Could Lead to Accidents

Posted on: Jun 10, 2010, Source: ProPublica

Internal investigations warned BP for years that the company had created a culture of disregard for safety and environmental rules and risked a serious accident.

Whistleblower Sues to Stop Another BP Rig From Operating

Posted on: May 18, 2010, Source: ProPublica

BP allegedly ignored warnings about its enormous Atlantis rig, and instead emphasized saving money.

Chemicals Meant To Break Up BP Oil Spill Present New Environmental Concerns

Posted on: May 4, 2010, Source: ProPublica

The dispersants contain harmful toxins of their own and can concentrate leftover oil toxins in the water, where they can kill fish and migrate great distances.

How the Disaster in the Gulf Could Have Been Prevented: BP's Terrible Record on Environmental and Human Health

Posted on: Apr 30, 2010, Source: ProPublica

The company has found itself at the center of several of the nation's worst oil and gas–related disasters in the last five years.

Oil and Gas Industry Opposes Expansive Study to Be Done By EPA on Hydraulic Fracturing

Posted on: Apr 8, 2010, Source: ProPublica

It seems fitting that the industry would be concerned by what the EPA may find in regards to the safety of drinking water.

EPA Launches Investigation: Is the Controversial Gas Drilling Practice 'Fracking' Polluting Waterways?

Posted on: Mar 19, 2010, Source: ProPublica

The EPA first undertook this investigation in 2004, but strangely failed to test any actual water samples before reaching their conclusion. This time looks to be different.

New York City Calls for Drilling Ban in Watershed, Rejects State Study

Posted on: Dec 29, 2009, Source: ProPublica

New York City officials have called for a ban on natural gas drilling within the city’s 2,000-square-mile upstate watershed.

Underused Drilling Practices Could Avoid Pollution

Posted on: Dec 17, 2009, Source: ProPublica

The energy industry has developed innovative ways to make it easier to exploit the nation's natural gas reserves without polluting air and drinking water.

Pennsylvania Residents Sue Gas Driller for Contamination, Health Concerns

Posted on: Dec 1, 2009, Source: ProPublica

The civil case, filed in Scranton, Pa., seeks to stop future drilling in the Marcellus Shale by Cabot Oil and Gas near the town of Dimock.

Radioactive Wastewater in New York Raises More Concerns About Oil Drilling

Posted on: Nov 10, 2009, Source: ProPublica

In a state hardly equipped to deal with such materials, drilling advocates have yet to explain where the water will go.

NYC's Drinking Water at Risk? State OKs Controversial Gas Drilling Inside the Watershed

Posted on: Oct 1, 2009, Source: ProPublica

Have the necessary precautions been put in place by the state to safeguard drinking water for 9 million people?

Oil and Gas Drilling Operation Responsible for 3 Chemical Spills in 2 Weeks

Posted on: Sep 24, 2009, Source: ProPublica

More bad news about the threats to water quality from drilling operations that use fracking.

Water Problems From Drilling Are More Frequent Than Officials Said

Posted on: Aug 5, 2009, Source: ProPublica

Methane released from gas drilling has caused a fatal explosion and water contamination across seven counties in Pennsylvania.

Energy Industry Threatens Water Quality, Sways Congress with Misleading Data

Posted on: Jul 9, 2009, Source: ProPublica

The industry is misleading the public into a false choice between the economy and the environment.

Congress Introduces Twin Bills to Control Drilling and Protect Drinking Water

Posted on: Jun 16, 2009, Source: ProPublica

The bills would require the energy industry to disclose the chemicals it uses in a controversial drilling practice that threatens drinking water.

Congress May Close Huge Drilling Industry Loophole that Threatens Clean Drinking Water

Posted on: May 26, 2009, Source: ProPublica

Congress is having second thoughts about the environmental dangers posed by the burgeoning gas drilling industry.

Officials in Three States Pin Water Woes on Gas Drilling

Posted on: Apr 30, 2009, Source: ProPublica

When houses are exploding because of gas seeping into well water, you know you have a serious problem.

New York's Drinking Water Threatened by Drilling Plans

Posted on: Feb 27, 2009, Source: ProPublica

The state has done little to study the impacts drilling might have on water supplies and is unprepared to treat the waste water it produces.

How the West's Energy Boom Could Threaten Drinking Water for 1 in 12 Americans

Posted on: Dec 25, 2008, Source: ProPublica

A rush to develop domestic oil, gas and uranium deposits along the Colorado River and its tributaries is a threat to our children's future

NYC: Gas Drilling Will Raise the Cost of Water by 30 Percent

Posted on: Dec 16, 2008, Source: ProPublica

NYC's chief accountant warned state officials that drilling could have "crippling implications" for the city's water system.

New York's Water Threatened by Natural Gas Drilling?

Posted on: Dec 3, 2008, Source: ProPublica

For months public concern has been growing that upstate mining may be threatening the water supply for New York City's 9 million people.

Industry and EPA Collaborated to Hide the Truth about How Natural Gas Drilling Is Threatening Drinking Water

Posted on: Nov 20, 2008, Source: ProPublica

One of the greatest threats to our water and our health may come from a process involved in natural gas drilling. But EPA is keeping mum.