A gas revolution
There has been a rather remarkable revolution in the finding and expression of natural gas reserves in just the last few years. See Popular Mechanics for a rundown on the hard facts about fracking. This has causes a jump of 35% in natural gas reserves between 2006 and 2008.
That article mentioned a New York NIMBY moratorium.The Hydrofracking Controversy not so Controversial? at Pundit Press gets more into the story.
This was obviously a concerted and coordinated effort to turn public opinion against the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation. At the time, the New York state assembly and senate were debating a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.
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I have to say that I was skeptical from the start. This issue was being driven by a decidedly left wing cohort and I have learned over the years that progressive ideologues can be less than honest. Therefore, I decided to look into the controversy myself.There is a ton of gas down there!
Even the CSI TV show got into the act with a case of self immolation via a gas contaminated water well that had caused great despair.
Fear. Uncertainty, Doubt. and little or no fact to support them.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has realized significant energy supplies to help offset its foreign dependence. Eastern Europe is looking at similar technologies to gain some independence upon Russian gas suppliers. The cost of keeping warm in winter has been moderated.
Natural gas is one of the cleaner of the fossil fuels and works well for electrical power production. The problem is that such power sources offend those who think the sun and the wind are all anyone needs and the U.S. is using too much energy. So NIMBY and FUD mongering have a new outlet. We all pay the price.