Huff Post: Shale Gas Black Hole for Water
Is shale gas' ecological footprint really favorable? Asit Biswas and Julian Kirchherr argue that its exploitation requires and pollutes massive amounts of water. New and more rigid regulations are needed to preserve America's water resources.
What do Richard Nixon, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all have in common? It is their quest for energy self-sufficiency. Ever since the 1973 oil crisis, America's policy-makers have attempted to decrease its energy dependence. Only now this quest is about to be achieved, though.
In 2012, the United States has produced 83 percent of the energy it consumes, up from 74 percent in 2008. It is America's shale gas revolution which makes this huge jump possible. Indeed, the country's oil and natural gas production is increasing at its fastest rate in 50 years, Bloomberg reports. The Bakken formation, one of the country's largest shale gas reservoirs, produced 0.1 million barrels per day in 2007, for instance. In 2012, it produced over one million barrels per day. This rapid growth will continue in the next decade. BP expects North American shale gas production will increase by 5.3 percent annually (on average) until 2030.