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The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan raised new concerns about the risk of another nuclear reactor disaster.  The explosion of the FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT gives our citizens cause to re-examine the risk assumed by the public. At this writing, the full extent of the damage to the plant, the community, and the environment is unknown - it will take years.

At the same time concerns over the high risks associated with extracting natural gas and as noted in a Financial Times article is "energy that comes from the same place as our drinking water. Extracting it had better be safe. The political fault lines over hydraulic fracturing (hence the term fracking) have been easy to predict for anyone paying attention to the controversies over climate change and genetically modified organisms. France’s national assembly voted to ban fracking while in the US its been full steam ahead in 32 states. These are high risk alternative energy sources. 

 

Curated by mokiethecat

The History of Fracking by Russell Gold
Fracking for oil and natural gas is transforming the way America powers its economy. The flood of low-priced natural gas has undercut new nuclear plants and nudged utilities to pull the plug on old ones. Cheap gas also has stolen market share from coal and also hit renewable sources of power such as wind and solar. Now the fracking bonanza is spreading to China and beyond. With the US poised to become the world's largest petroleum producer in a few years the world's new energy equation could undermine OPEC and profoundly alter the geopolitical balance of power. Russell Gold's new book "The Boom" illustrates Texas oilmen and Oklahoma wildcatters who developed and perfected hydraulic fracturing technology that ushered in a new era of American industry. In this video, Gold gives a brief history of the origins of fracking, and how the industry got to where it is today. Speaker: Russell Gold, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal; Author, The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World This program was recorded before a live audience on April 1, 2014.
To order his book from Amazon, click on the image, or visit your local bookstore.

Published on Apr 9, 2015


EarthSayer Russell Gold

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