IS FRACKING COMING TO EUROPE? GERMANY FAST TRACKS FRACKING

IS FRACKING COMING TO EUROPE? GERMANY FAST TRACKS FRACKING

 COURTESY : MNN.COM

Shale gas exploration has become the new frontier in energy exploration.  It is one of the most intensive, environmentally disruptive activities ever employed by energy companies, if one disregards drilling of the Gulf of Mexico.  

But as much as an oil spill can be devastasting to an eco-system in the ocean, people are hard pressed to understand, much less fear, the consequences of a spill in waters of the Gulf or off the Alaska coast to their own livelihood - unless you are a fisherman off the affected waters that is.

Fracking however is not so remote: for some people it's next door, in their soil, in the air and in their water supply.

But the gains, economic and strategic, in shale gas exploration are so enourmous that even more environmentally friendly administrations are not willing to scrutinize it or to protect consumers from its more evident effects.

Why then is a country like Germany fast tracking fracking in their own backyard?  Germany has been a sterling example of a country that is determined to be carbon neutral, but also to use alternative forms of energy to lessen their dependance on oil imports.  

However, Germany has also been seen as a country that is very much socially conscious and attentive to the welfare of its citizens.  One has to ask how Germany will successfully use fracking to obtain shale gas without encroaching in their citizen's vital water and food supply. 

Angela Merkel's government is intent at quickly ending the moratorium on hydraulic fracking and promises that zones with protected water sources will be exempt from fracking. 

Source: Der Spiegel 2.12.13