On Our Radar: A Dry Year So Far May 9, 2012, 8:40 am A map prepared by NOAA indicates that much of the nation has gotten off to a dry start this year. NOAA Climate Services Vermont is set to become the first state to impose an outright ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The move is largely symbolic given that Vermont is thought to have relatively meager shale gas reserves, but a bill awaits the governor's signature. [care2.com] As tensions rise over China's fishing and its hunt for energy supplies in the South China Sea, anti-Chinese protests are planned this week in the Philippines. China warns its citizens to stay off the streets on Friday in Manila, the capital. A camera trap in Cameroon yields video footage of a band of eight endangered Cross River gorillas, one of the most elusive ape species on earth, in their natural habitat.