Fracking Genius or Fracking Hell

Shale gas, billowing out of the bedrock in ever-increasing quantities, is becoming the most important factor in the drive to lessen America’s dependence on imported fuel.

Rather than accepting that shale enthusiasts and environmentalists will never see eye to eye, some reckon both sides should work together. They suggest that environmentalists should help improve the way gas is extracted rather than attempt to block it. As for the gas brigade, that they should work with the greens in a broad alliance that presses for environmental legislation to boost gas demand at the expense of coal (which is far dirtier).

It is still not clear what the global impact of shale gas will be, how energy markets might change or what geopolitical implications will emerge if America becomes self-sufficient in energy. Frets that America’s detachment from global energy markets risks putting globalisation into reverse. But that looks unlikely, particularly if America starts to export gas in significant quantities. The most significant export, however, could be the transfer of American know-how to exploiters of the world’s abundant shale beds. If the world takes to fracking as frantically as America there is a global energy revolution in the making. Development or Disaster??