Fracking - Time to End the Misinformation
Mark Green
Posted November 12, 2013
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell believes Americans need a better understanding of the safe and responsible use of hydraulic fracturing in U.S. shale energy development. Jewell, from an appearance last week in San Francisco:
"I think that there's a lot of misinformation about fracking. I think that it's part of the industry's job to make sure that the public understands what it is, how it's done, and why it's safe. It's our job as a regulator and public land manager to make sure that it is done safely and responsibly, that we use the best available science, and we are in fact doing that."
No disagreement here – which is why we spend a lot of time detailing hydraulic fracturing fundamentals, getting a ground-level look at the process, showing the innovation and technologies involved in safe and environmentally responsible fracking, describing its importance to America’s energy picture and more.
These points aren’t lost on Secretary Jewell or on EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who recently was quoted by the Boston Globe’s David Abel:
On fracking, EPA admin McCarthy said, "There’s nothing inherently dangerous in fracking that sound engineering practices can’t accomplish."
— David Abel (@davabel) November 4, 2013
Indeed, Ken Salazar, Jewell’s predecessor, who addressed a policy conference in New Mexico last month, reported by the Las Cruces Sun-News:
Hydraulic fracturing “is creating an energy revolution in the United States alone,” Salazar said. … Environmentalists are concerned the process contaminates water and air quality, along with other environmental impacts. “I would say to everybody that hydraulic fracturing is safe,” Salazar said.
So, to Secretary Jewell, we’re with you – and invite you and others in the administration to join the oil and natural gas industry in continuing the work to keep fracking facts before the American people. The opportunities for jobs, economic lift and energy security associated with the U.S. shale energy revolution are simply too fantastic to be needlessly delayed or undermined by falsehoods and misinformation.
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.