University

While they still anticipate slightly below-average activity for the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU) now expect more named storms and hurricanes than they did in April due to “large amounts of uncertainty in both the phase of ENSO [the El Nino-Southern Oscillation] as well as in Atlantic Basin conditions.”

A Canadian family doctors’ association has called for the government of New Brunswick to enact a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), while researchers with the University of New Brunswick (UNB) are urging Fredericton to proceed with caution.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded $3 million to two University of California campuses for research to improve natural gas production, fuel infrastructure and pipeline reliability. Investment in gas research is intended to accelerate development of clean energy technologies. The UC Riversidecampus was awarded $1.4 million to develop a more efficient thermochemical method for producing renewable gas. The research is thought to have the potential to replace 30% of the natural gas burned in California, which receives 87% of its supplies from out of state. The Riverside campus was awarded $1.2 million to help ensure the compatibility of natural gas with other alternative fuels in the transportation sector. The UC Berkeley campus received $425,000 to study the effects of rising sea levels on gas pipelines in San Francisco Bay.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will perform water sampling at about 61 homes in Dimock — the small Susquehanna County, PA, township where some state officials believe hydraulic fracturing (fracking) may have contaminated water wells — “to further assess whether any residents are being exposed to hazardous substances that cause health concerns,” EPA said.

The Ohio company that owns a wastewater disposal well in Youngstown shut down by state regulators for allegedly triggering a series of earthquakes will pay for a study to determine the cause of the seismic activity.

Another above-average Atlantic hurricane season is expected next year, according to forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU), who said they expect conditions that would typically create 12-15 named storms, including sevem to nine hurricanes, with three to four of them major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher).

Another above-average Atlantic hurricane season is expected next year, according to forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU), who said they expect conditions that would typically create 12-15 named storms, including sevem to nine hurricanes, with three to four of them major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher).

Preliminary findings from a study being conducted by The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) Energy Institute suggest no direct link between hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and groundwater contamination, researchers said Wednesday.

As Pennsylvania lawmakers move to increase the bonding requirements for shale operators, a new Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) study questions whether bonding adequately ensures reclamation.