In the formerly quiet towns of western North Dakota, there are new strangers arriving every day. New housing is being erected at a breakneck pace, and newfound wealth is flowing quickly into the rolling hills because of the wealth flowing out of them. Hydraulic fracturing of the Bakken Shale rock formation has created an oil […]
sandra steingraber
The cost of fracking
Nearly a mile below the surface of southern Illinois, a vast reserve of oil and natural gas sits locked in thick shale rock. While Illinois has a long history of tapping into its enormous fossil fuel resources, unlocking the shale reserve takes a new approach that could bring both economic windfall and potential for environmental […]
Documentary targets toxic chemicals
Biologist Dr. Sandra Steingraber describes her 1997 book, Living Downstream, as a sort of love story between her and Pekin, the place she grew up and where she lived when she learned in her early 20s that she had bladder cancer. The book, throughout which Steingraber threads her personal story, examines evidence linking cancer to […]
