Are environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing being glossed-over?
In advocating for their methods of unconventional gas procurement, ExxonMobil’s Tillerson used one of my least favorite rhetorical techniques: ‘we’ve been doing something for a while, so that means we should keep doing it.’ Said Tillerson:”With recent advances in extended reach horizontal drilling, combined with the time-tested technology of hydraulic fracturing – a process in use for more than 60 years – we can now find and produce unconventional natural gas supplies miles below the surface in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible manner.” Simpson, of XTO, was just as glib, saying that the merger and ensuing efforts to reach the trillions of cubic feet of gas “will support our nation’s economic recovery and energy security while also helping meet our nation’s environmental goals.” Indeed. It is pretty much mandatory that any statement from oil and gas company executives will have the word “environmental” in there somewhere these days, but the fact is that this merger, and
