[Ed. note: Fracking may gain more national attention given the scandal in Pennsylvania where anti-drilling activists have been monitored by law enforcement. Promoted for further discussion.]

There have been several diaries on fracking here at The Seminal. This is just to keep it in your consciousness and keep you up-to-date. In the past, there have been some very strong defenses of fracking as being harmless to the environment; that there is no harmful fallout and the industry is just fine as it is. I think that there is enough anecdotal evidence to show that such a defense will not stand scrutiny. Too many chemicals in the proprietary fracking fluids are carcinogens, and, once they are forced into the shale, not all come back home. Some are free flowing and where they wind up cannot be controlled.

A study by the American Public Power Association (APPA) says that the more fracking is done, the more will be done. As the price of natural gas goes down, the gas will be more in demand to replace coal and oil for power generation. This is the down side of fracking as it is done now.

The up side is that government is getting involved now to investigate, and possibly legislate to control fracking. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection has studied fracking and the federal government has begun a study. One of the biggest problems has been that the fracking process has been entirely unregulated by any applicable laws. We may now see a change. At the very least, the companies will list the ingredients in their fluids, and there seems to be a good chance we will see some regulation.

Be sure to look at these links to get a deeper view than I have given above. The Democracy Now! link emphasizes the documentary Gasland. The other two here and here are articles in the Christian Science Monitor.