Full article is here.

 

"In January, the documentary Gasland won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary attacked the process of “fracking,” which involves pumping a solution that is 99 percent sand and water, plus a few trace chemicals, underground at high pressure. This creates fractures in the rock formations that allow oil and gas to flow to collection points. The film claimed that the process pollutes groundwater with devastating consequences. (For more on Gasland and fracking, see this article from the Examiner’s “Big Green” ser...)

Multiple EPA studies have shown fracking is safe and effective, but the propaganda effort got the attention of congress. In March, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., held hearings on whether the practice should be federally regulated rather than regulated at the state level. After issuing subpoenas to eight energy companies, Waxman dropped the probe.

Now fracking is being defended by a very unlikely source — the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the biggest and most active environmental non-profits in the country.

Appearing on the Energy and Environment program “On Point” EDF Senior Policy Advisor was utterly dismissive of the concerns about fracking:

E&E TV: “Do you believe that [hydraulic fracturing] can be used safely?” (5:23)

EDF’s Scott Anderson: “Yes I do. I think in the vast majority of cases, if wells are constructed right and operated right, that hydraulic fracturing will not cause a problem.” (5:19)

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"It’s not every day you get a big environmentalist organization exposing a big environmental cause du jour as being totally without merit."