Fracking: Natural Gas Energy Boon or Public Poison?
COMMENTARY | Fracturing shale rock to release the natural gas inside, called "fracking," is either a great method for extracting new energy from existing resources or an ecological disaster that endangers our drinking water. Or both.
The problem is that there are no clear studies indicating actual harm caused by the process. BusinessWeek points to a New York Times discovery that EPA documents reveal radioactive wastewater being discharged into river basins. Yet the government specifically exempted fracking from the Safe Water Drinking Act as part of the 2005 Energy bill. The Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission assured residents that the methane present in their tap water came from naturally occurring processes rather than as a byproduct of fracking, though it's unclear how that was expected to reassure them about flaming tap water.
The only things we know for sure are that fracking uses toxic chemicals, the government is not studying—or at least not releasing information about—the potential dangers, and people are drinking flammable water.