Nicholas Kusnetz was a reporting fellow at ProPublica. He has written for The Nation, Miller-McCune, The New York Times and other publications. He is a graduate of UC Berkeleyâs Graduate School of Journalism.
Nicholas Kusnetz
Reporting Fellow
Pennsylvania’s Governor-Elect Nominates Insiders for Top Environmental Posts
New faces will oversee the expanding gas drilling industry in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale.
Pennsylvania's Drilling Wastewater Released to Streams, Some Unaccounted For
As gas-drilling operations proliferated in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale over the past couple of years, most of the hundreds of millions of gallons of briny wastewater they produced was eventually dumped into the state’s rivers. Much of the rest is unaccounted for.
Regulation and Disclosure of Fracking at the Center of Gas Drilling Debate
The use of a mix of water and chemicals, known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has generated controversy and a series of studies, orders and regulations in 2010 from the federal government and a number of states on the topic of gas drilling.
Residents Divided About PA's Agreement With Gas Drilling Company Over Water Contamination
Residents of Dimock, Pa., are surprised -- and in some cases upset -- by a settlement that state environmental regulators reached last week with Cabot Oil & Gas, which the Department of Environmental Protection says contaminated local water from its gas drilling operations.
Massachusetts Posts Pharma Payments to Health Providers
This week, Massachusetts became the first state to post an online database of payments from drug and medical device companies to the state’s health care providers.
Drug Firms Say They'll Take Closer Look at the Docs They Pay
Seven drug companies paid $7.1 million to 292 doctors who faced disciplinary action or other regulatory sanctions, ProPublica found. Several companies say they may take steps to tighten screening procedures for physicians who are paid as speakers or for other activities promoting prescription drugs.
Consumer Reports: Most Patients Worry About Pharma Payments to Doctors
A Consumer Reports survey has found that patients say they would be concerned about the quality of care they receive from a doctor who is paid to promote a drug. And they said they want to know about such payments.
Wyoming Fracking Rules Would Disclose Drilling Chemicals
New rules place Wyoming at the forefront of the national push to disclose chemicals used in <a href="http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national">hydraulic fracturing</a>. Residents in drilling areas have complained about contamination of their wells that they believe is from fracking.
New York Senate Passes Temporary Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing
The New York Senate passes a bill intended to temporarily ban hydraulic fracturing. But it might also end up temporarily banning most gas and oil drilling in the state.
A Reading List to Put the WikiLeaks 'War Logs' in Context
The WikiLeaks documents on the war in Afghanistan provide a closer look at Pakistan, civilian casualities and other long-building issues.
Drilling Company Says It Will List Hazardous Chemicals Used in Fracking
Range Resources plans to disclose details of the chemicals it uses to drill for natural gas in Pennsylvania. Some believe that chemicals used in the drilling process, called hydraulic fracturing, are contaminating drinking water.
For Gas-Drilling Data, There’s a New Place to Dig
A couple of environmental and public health groups have teamed up to create FracTracker, a website that lets users post and find information about natural gas drilling and where it is happening.
A Fracking First in Pennsylvania: Cattle Quarantine
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued its first livestock quarantine, keeping 28 beef cattle off the market because they may have been exposed to contaminated wastewater from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.
