Hydraulic fracturing can be done safely, and it’ll have to be, because the world will be doing more of it, said Dr. Mark Zoback.
“We cannot stop thinking toward the future just because we have abundant natural gas. If it’s a bridge, there has to be something on the other side. And what’s on the other side is a carbon free energy future,” Zoback said.
Zoback was part of the Vail Global Energy Forum. He was also part of a committee formed to study the safety of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process that releases natural gas trapped deep underground.
The committee was small and diverse, composed of industry types, academics and environmentalists, Zoback said.
“We determined that there was no question shale gas could be developed safely. But we put forth a number of questions,” Zoback said.
For example, they’d really like to know what’s in those fracking fluids, Zoback said.
“Our committee called for full disclosure. We frankly thought that for the best way for industry to make its point, was to get it all out there and tell the public that they’re not putting anything dangerous in there,” Zoback said.
Tens of thousands of wells over millions of hydraulic fractures raise issues such as surface water contamination and air pollution, Zoback said.
He said he appreciates fact-based discussion, but has little use for shriekers and sloganeers.
“Instead of fact-based and intelligent discussions, unfortunately those issues tend to get caught up in those no-fracking bumper stickers. It has become a cause celeb,” Zoback said as a slide of Yoko Ono flashed onto the screen.
“Sometimes it’s frustrating to hear hysterical people talk about issues that really don’t exist. But that’s one of the ways these regulatory improvements occur,” Zoback said.
Of course the Left will scream that this is junk, because someone (probably Big Oil) paid off this group to say what they want to hear.
Isn't is funny how that only works in one direction with the Left? Whenever the issue is something they believe in, the motives of "their" scientists are pure. If the data suggests otherwise, those "scientists" have been bought off by Special Interests.
