Pot, meet Kettle.
Kettle, this is Pot.
As we’ve encountered each new phase of the hydraulic fracturing debate that’s raging in the U.S. media, everyone seems to have an opinion on the matter — yet few have sorted out the facts for themselves.
It’s a denigrating blame game — one that makes both sides look bad — designed to sway public opinion rather than educate people on the fracking situation. This week’s episode was no exception.
For the most part, the personal attacks have been made by those fractivists whose real goal it is to make the front page.
But this time, the sensationalist accusations are coming from the other side of the aisle…
We’ve been covering this story since 2011.
It started with an EPA report claiming hydraulic fracturing was to blame for contaminating Wyoming groundwater. The validity of the EPA study was immediately put into question by Encana, and the result was a back-and-forth “he said, she said” argument.
As recently as a few days ago, a Wyoming state official took things to a new (low) level when he said, “I really believe greed is driving a lot of this… they’re just looking to get compensated.”
Insulting nearby residents is, perhaps, the worst way this official could have gone about convincing the opposing side of his argument…
He’d have been better to focus on the fact that the fracturing fluid in the contaminated wells was found in deep monitoring wells — not in the shallow wells used for drinking water.
Or he could have pointed out that the contamination problems for Wyoming residents aren’t the same as they are elsewhere. Fracturing activity in the Marcellus, for example, is done at much greater depths.
Now, we’re all too familiar with the kind of impact the Marcellus Shale has had for Pennsylvanians…
In 2010, developing the Marcellus pumped $11.2 into the state, supporting more than 140,000 jobs. By 2020, that number of jobs will nearly double as Pennsylvania increases its natural gas production to more than 17 bcfe/day (the state produced a mere 1.3 bcfe/day in 2010).
Instead of going back and forth, calling names and pointing fingers, perhaps it’s time we find a solution.
If the entire debate revolves around using millions of gallons of water, sand, and frack fluid per well, imagine how invaluable it would be to simply remove these things from the equation…
Finding the technology that makes this possible will be the very thing that takes the U.S. unconventional oil and gas boom to the next level.
When it comes to investing, it’s important to keep your eye on the prize. We realize that becomes increasingly difficult in a world where the mainstream media is brimming with conflicting stories and uninformed opinions…
That’s why Energy and Capital brings you investment ideas and strategies with hard facts behind them, six days a week.
So forget the opposing opinions and focus on the opportunities for profit opening up for us. More of those below.
Enjoy your weekend,
Keith Kohl
Editor, Energy and Capital
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