Information and Environmental Politics

Hydraulic Fracturing and Energy

An emerging challenge facing the United States is the inability to obtain cheap and clean energy. Coal is, environmentally, the least friendly energy producer as mountaintop removal mining techniques devastate landscapes and coal burning energy plants release relatively high amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Although coal is a well known polluter it is important to note that this has not stopped its reign as the most common fuel burned for energy in the United States. Due to the recent findings in climate change the United States has been pushing to alternative fuels to help move forward in a responsible and feasible manner.

As the global economy expands and once-developing countries begin to draw on the already strained global oil supply, the rise in the price of oil will be too significant to handle without an alternative fuel. Natural Gas is now suitable as the alternative fuel of choice, for Americans, as there are huge deposits found in the United States.  Current drilling technology, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, is capable of producing natural gas in amounts enough to significantly contribute to the energy independence of the United States.

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Natural Gas, which is found in pre-historic rock formations thousands of feet below the surface of the Earth, has the potential to supply a significant amount of energy to the American people. The difficulty with natural gas, though, is that it can be found more than a mile below the surface and the only cost-effective method of extraction has raised concerns recently. Hydraulic fracturing processes have recently been linked to drinking water contamination, air contamination, as well as a strain on the local infrastructure of the area in which it occurs.  Very much like other alternative forms of energy there has been a large debate spurred by the introduction of new technology.

Hydraulic Fracturing Connects to Environmental Politics

It is important to view hydraulic fracturing as component of a broader socio-technical system rather than a simple process. Because of how widespread the use of hydraulic fracturing reaches it has found itself in policy on both the federal and state levels. These policies are created by public support and opinion. Those groups interested in either promoting or fighting hydraulic fracturing use the creation of information to develop support for their cause. When an interest group focuses on gaining support rather than spreading information there can be reductions of accuracy in the information production process. This site will observe and report on some of the role of misinformation within the hydraulic fracturing discussion.