TECHNICIAN
wednesday april
24 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Panel confers fracking effects Tim Gorksi Staff Writer
A group of experts visited Centennial Campus Tuesday to discuss the economic, legal and societal implications of hydraulic fracturing, colloquially known as fracking. The panel included Vikram Rao, executive director of the Research Triangle Energy Consortium, Kenneth Taylor, the state geologist of North Carolina and Amy Pickle, senior attorney for state policy at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. All of the panelists serve as members on the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission, an organi-
BIENVENIDOS
READ IN SPANISH ON PAGE 8
zation responsible for deliberating on and synthesizing environmental policies, such as those concerning fracking, on which North Carolina legislators vote. Fracking is the process of breaking rock layers using pressurized liquid. The most lucrative application of this technique involves blasting millions of gallons of water into the ground in order to break layers of rock that contain either oil or natural gas for human consumption. Fracking is a relatively emergent practice in the United States and elsewhere, and the first commercial application of fracking took place in Oklahoma on March, 1949, by Halliburton. Fracking for natural gas,
particularly in shale bedrock, is an United States is the second largest industrial practice which is expect- producer of natural gas in the world. ed to rapidly expand in North Caro- this gives the United States an unlina and across the United States in precedented economic advantage coming years. in the energy inA c c ord i n g t o dustry. the panel experts, North Carolina is fracking will acno exception to the count for 70 perpreponderance of cent of natural gas natural gas accesdevelopment in the sible by fracking in near future. Rao the United States. Vikram Rao, executive director said oil is about According to Tayof the Research Triangle four to five times lor, the Deep River Energy Consortium more ex pensive Basin, a 150-mileto procure in the long area in central United States than natural gas is. North Carolina, covers 83 million The United States is home to an barrels’ worth of natural gas. abundant source of natural gas, the The advantages of autonomy in
“These problems require stricter regulations than we already have.”
the energy production are also a concern of national security. “Energy is much more dangerous than an army,” Rao said. Rao cited the example of Russia shutting off its oil supply for ten days which cost Slovakia one billion Euros as evidence for his assertion. Natural gas is also renowned by the Environmental Protection Agency for being the cleanest fossil fuel, producing much less carbon dioxide than oil or coal. However, the increasing prevalence of fracking has lead to numerous environmental concerns and a necessity for new rules and regula-
FRACKING continued page 2
N.C. latinos advocate for reform in D.C.
¡Immigration reform, ahora! Mark Herring Editor-in-Chief
More than 11 million undocumented immigrants, many from Latin America, living in the United States celebrated a small victory in immigration reform when a bipartisan group of eight senators presented a comprehensive bill April 16. If the bill that the “Gang of Eight” proposed passes Congress and makes it to the president’s desk, undocumented immigrants who had arrived to the United States before Dec. 31, 2011 may achieve provisional residential status. The hope for citizenship may entail a long waiting period - up to 13 years for some. But DREAMers have reasons to stay hopeful, and under the provisions of the bill, undocumentedimmigrant students would be able to receive green cards in five years. This expedited path, which President Barack Obama called for during his rally for reform in Las Vegas in late January, would recognize registered provisional immigrants who have been in the U.S. for at least five years and were younger than 16-years-old when they arrived to the country. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the “gang,” said if the bill passes through the Senate with a comfortable margin of votes, it has a better possibility of passing in the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. “I think everyone realizes… that no one is going to get everything they want,” Schumer said. “But if we meet in the middle, we can do a lot of good for America and for our economy. Things are moving in a very, very good way. “We have a lot of broad support that was not there in 2007.” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called the bill “a product of compromise,”
IIMMIGRATION continued page 7
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PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN CRUZ/QUE PASA MEDIA
About 100,000 proponents for immigration reform demonstrate in front of Capitol Hill April 10 in the “Multitudinaria Marcha.” About 50 North Carolinians attended the event with the Hispanic outreach organization El Pueblo, based out of Raleigh. Congressman Luis Gutiérrez and other advocates for Hispanics spoke at the event, which came a week before the “Gang of Eight” announced legislation for comprehensive immigraiton reform. The bill, which is being debated in the Senate, has a long road ahead, and the undocumented immigrants it benefits has much waiting ahead, too.
Friendships start a new chapter Kevin Schaefer
of the Libraries mission,” Gregory Raschke, a member of Friends of the Library, said. “The books are N.C. State’s Friends of the Li- supplied by Friends, members and brary organization kicked off its donors to support the sale, and all 23rd annual book sale Monday proceeds go to support strategic prito address students’ need to stock orities in delivering excellent collecup on books for both research tions and services.” and pleasure. Through the collaborative efFor the past 23 years, Friends forts of everyone involved, this of the Library has held the Frank event enables students and facB. Armstrong memorial book ulty to purchase cheap books in sale to generate solid condition. funds to supBy participating, port NCSU Lieveryone involved braries mission with Friends of the of f urthering Librar y benef its knowledge in greatly, Raschke the world. said. The book sale “ T he Fr ie nd s is set to take of the Library is place all week a group of comfrom 9 a.m. to 6 munity members, Gregory Raschke, Friend of p.m. to the pubfaculty, students, the Library lic in the Brickalumni and coryard. Students porate pa r t ners can join Friends of the Library who support the NCSU Libraries,” for free and may, therefore, par- Raschke said. “Students, staff and ticipate. faculty will benefit from enhanced This event recycles books from collections and services from the the community and uses ac- Libraries.” quired funds to support library David Hiscoe, communications services and collections. “The purpose of this sale is to generate funds in support LIBRARY continued page 2 Staff Writer
“Students, staff and faculty will benefit from enhanced collections.”
SAM O’BRIEN/TECHNICIAN
Dragan Lipovac, senior in economics, looks through books at the annual Memorial Booksale in the Brickyard on Monday. “I came here last year on the last day, but I tried to come early this year,” Lipovac said. “I got about 10 books last year, so I hope to find more this time around.”