You have to look only a short distance behind the rhetoric to get to the fundamental issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing in the shale gas reserves around the U.S. The reasonable path is to finish the federal research, tightly regulate the drilling and push forward with innovations that could make shale gas the least objectionable option among a variety of unattractive options when it comes to the energy and environmental future of the U.S. Any hard look at the subject should include the overall greenhouse-gas footprint of shale gas, particularly now that a Cornell University research team has suggested the footprint is greater than anyone thought.
The highest priority is protecting groundwater and watersheds, especially in the sensitive areas of New York and Pennsylvania. The matter can be resolved only by shining the bright light of transparency onto the slurry mixes being propelled into the well bores. No right to proprietary trade secrets protects any information about substances being pumped into the earth, whether it is benzene or nutshells. Redesignating fracture drilling as a well-drilling activity that is subject to provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act seems like an entirely reasonable change. The resource will be recovered more slowly, but we've seen how things can go wrong in Pennsylvania and New York. We will just have to go more slowly.