Tag Archives: fracking

Kate Konschnik: Fracking’s Middle Ground Warrior

Profile

If you’ve heard about “fracking” for natural gas and oil in the United States, you’ve probably heard one of two stories:

The first is a story of clean energy and US energy independence. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal and emits less CO2, making it useful in combating climate change. As a result of increased fracking in the past several years, natural gas now represents 30% of US energy supplies. This means that less US energy is coming from coal. Additionally, producing this energy within the US will decrease dependence on foreign oil.

The second story is one of yet another dirty, unregulated industry harming people and the environment. Mismanaged wastewater, along with chemical spills and leaks, are polluting groundwater. Fracking companies do not have to disclose the hazardous, carcinogenic chemicals they are using. And fracking releases large amounts of methane and other air pollutants that negatively impact both human health and climate change.

So which of these stories is right? According to Kate Konschnik, policy director for Harvard’s Environmental Law program, neither represents the whole truth. Konschnik believes natural gas is an important part of the US energy sector, but also recognizes that acquiring it poses real risks that must be managed. It is, Konschnik says, “a place where law needs to play catch-up, where law doesn’t quite know how to be applied.” Despite how contentious the topic of fracking has become, Konschnik believes a middle ground position, best found through well-made and managed laws, is both possible and necessary.

Continue reading Kate Konschnik: Fracking’s Middle Ground Warrior →

Fracking in Pennsylvania: A Personal and Regulatory Nightmare

Book Review,
A Review of Tom Wilber’s  Under the Surface: Fracking, Fortunes, and the Fate of the Marcellus Shale

“The landowners want the money, and I understand that. We all want the money. But gee, we’d like to have fish in our pond.” These words from Ken Ely, a resident of Dimock, Pennsylvania, came soon after natural gas production began on his land. While at first optimistic about his economic prospects that could result from fracking for this increasingly important source of energy, Ken soon became concerned when Cabot, the oil and gas company who owned and operated the fracking wells, began storing untreated wastewater on his land. Continue reading Fracking in Pennsylvania: A Personal and Regulatory Nightmare →

Oil is Running Low, but is Fracking the Answer?

New Research,
A farmer views fracking drills near an almond orchard in Shafter (image: earthjustice.org)

Shafter, CA–They say some things never change. When it comes to this rural California community, they’re right—mostly. People still flock to the same burger joint, grow the same crops, and walk through the same orchards they have for decades. But something is different here today than thirty years ago. Breaks between the fields and orchards no longer just hold dirt fields, but new oil drills, massive flames burning off excess energy, and for some time last year, unlined pits being filled with toxic wastewater.

While Shafter residents are no strangers to oil drilling (it has been happening near here for decades), the new drills are part of a controversial technique—hydraulic fracturing– being used to extract more oil. Fracking, as it is often called, allows drillers to break through the previously inaccessible Monterey Shale, a rock formation estimated to hold 15 billion barrels of oil trapped beneath 1750 square miles of Southern and Central California. Many see a fracking-fueled economic boom, but potential consequences have some farmers and residents worried about their livelihoods. Continue reading Oil is Running Low, but is Fracking the Answer? →