Dangers of fracking still becoming clear
The word "fracking" may sound funny, but it describes a drilling practice that has created a serious boom in natural gas production in Texas and elsewhere, and with the boom has come serious worries about fracking's effects on the environment.
States are just now catching up with the boom and are starting to pass rules governing fracking. The scrutiny is needed.
Fracking is formally known as hydraulic fracturing. It's a drilling process that forces a high-pressure mixture of water, chemicals and sand deep underground to break apart shale formations. Oil and natural gas then flow along these cracks to the surface. Energy companies use fracking to tap reserves previously out of reach.
The boom in natural gas production boosts the nation's energy security and it means lower prices for consumers. It also has meant thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for communities around the country. According to a report on the natural gas "shale gale" released this month by IHS Global Insight, shale gas production supported more than 600,000 jobs last year and will support 870,000 jobs by 2015, as well as contribute $118 billion in economic growth.
A big part of the story includes the lobbying of oil and gas corporation to keep their drilling from federal regulation and the Clean Water Act requirements. The companies are dumping their waste water with toxic chemicals and radioactive elements into
Three of the top state officials at a meeting on the subject have since left the government — for the natural-gas industry. One executive at a drilling wastewater recycling company said that for all the benefits of recycling, it was not a cure-all.
Some of the recommendations concerning oil and gas waste were eliminated in the final report handed to lawmakers in 1987. “It was like the science didn't matter,” Carla Greathouse, the author of the study, said in a recent interview. “The industry was