A recent article that I found on nytimes.com is bringing to light some more common questions about the process of hydraulic fracturing. The article discusses the definition of fracking and how the common misinterpretations of the meaning allow opposing forces to "talk past one another when discussing the environmental consequences of oil and gas production from shale formations" (Soraghan). This lack of shared assumptions by opposite sides is making any progress or advancement over the concern of fracking highly difficult. To many- industry critics included- fracking is a term used to lump together the entire drilling process with the process of shooting highly pressurized water and chemical mixtures into the wells to release the natural gas. Others however claim that this is not accurate. They claim that fracking and drilling are two separate processes and should be considered as such. The "word games" between the industry and critics make it very difficult to address the issue. With the disagreement of terms, it becomes increasingly hard for those affected by fracking in their area to prove that fracking is the cause of the problem.
The article also addresses the little work research that has been done to study the affects of fracking.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/13/13greenwire-baffled-about-fracking-youre-not-alone-44383.html?pagewanted=all
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