"More and more people are waking up to the fact that there are difficulties with this massive explosion," said Pat Popple, a retired school teacher and principal and anti-sand mining activist.
U.S. frac sand producers sold or used more than 6.5 million metric tons of sand worth $319 million in 2009, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The tonnage likely will have doubled when 2010 data is released, said Thomas Dolley, a USGS mineral commodity specialist who follows the silica mining industry.
"It's huge," Dolley said. "I've never seen anything like it, the growth. It makes my head spin."
A major US government website supporting public education on climate science looks likely to be shuttered...
A growing wildfire in Oregon has destroyed multiple homes and prompted evacuation orders in the Columbia...
