Shale gas holds promise, but drilling for it is controversial

As we covered in Buzzword: Shale gas, this natural gas contained within fine-grained, sedimentary rock is a topic of much interest for the energy industry. There are vast reserves of shale gas nationwide, and energy companies are working hard and fast to tap these natural-gas sources through what's called water fracturing, also known as hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking. (The graphic below details how hydrofracking works. It was created by Al Granberg and is being used courtesy of ProPublica: Journalism in the Public Interest, a site that features lots of coverage of shale gas and gas drilling.)

As you might expect, there's more to shale gas than the promise of abundant supplies of natural gas and lower prices for consumers. There's also concern that the process used to tap into the shale-gas reserves presents serious environmental and health risks.

Today's New York Times features an interesting story, "Gas Company Won't Drill in New York Watershed," on the decision by Chesapeake Energy not to drill for natural gas in upstate New York after the Oklahoma City-based corporation's plans met with strong opposition. If you're interested in the topic of shale gas, give it a read.—Steven H. Saltzman | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

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