Fracking: where's the debate about its climate change risks?

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/jun/29/fracking-debate-climate-change-risks?intcmp=122


Rarely a day goes by, it seems, when "fracking" isn't in the news. It's either being hailed as a miracle energy source, or it is being condemned as yet another polluting fossil fuel.

Today's headlines largely focus on the findings of a joint report (pdf) by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering which concludes that hydraulic fracturing of shale gas – "fracking" – should be allowed to proceed in the UK, but only with tight regulation and monitoring. Published ahead of the government's anticipated "green light" for fracking later this summer, the report calls for a long parade of checks and balances, as you might expect it to:

'Monitoring should be carried out before, during and after shale gas operations to inform risk assessments. Methane and other contaminants in groundwater should be monitored, as well as potential leakages of methane and other gases into the atmosphere. The geology of sites should be characterised and faults identified. Monitoring data should be submitted to the UK's regulators to manage potential hazards, inform local planning processes and address wider concerns. Monitoring of any potential leaks of methane would provide data to assess the carbon footprint of shale gas extraction.'

But what is missing from much of today's media coverage is mention of - for me at least - the most important paragraph in the whole report:

'This report has analysed the technical aspects of the environmental, health and safety risks associated with shale gas extraction to inform decision making. Neither risks associated with the subsequent use of shale gas nor climate risks have been analysed. Decision making would benefit from research into the climate risks associated with both the extraction and use of shale gas. Further benefit would also be derived from research into the public acceptability of all these risks in the context of the UK's energy, climate and economic policies.'

[BlueToTheBone]

1. To me the biggest question is, will there be any water

to drink?

[phantom power]

2. it's weird how "fracking" is now being used as synonym for "using NG"

But I agree with the point that bad as fracking itself is, merely using the natural gas is a major climate change hazard, no matter how "clean" we make the extraction.