Is New York governor's ban on fracking grounded in science?
To frack, or not to frack? That was the question facing New York, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) decided not to.
Governor Cuomo announced聽Wednesday聽that聽New York would prohibit fracking over health and environmental concerns. The ban ends years of uncertainty in the state over hydraulic fracturing 鈥� or 鈥渇racking鈥� 鈥� the controversial practice that injects a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals underground to unlock stores of natural gas and oil trapped inside shale rock.
Few environmental issues have inspired as much animosity and disagreement as fracking. Environmentalists say fracking can contaminate drinking water, cause earth tremors, and encourage reliance on emissions-heavy fossil fuels. Those concerns led New York to put a moratorium on fracking in 2008.
But the scientific work assessing the risks of fracking is far from consistent. In fact, many states have determined the practice is safe. From North Dakota to Texas to Pennsylvania, fracking has kicked off a shale boom that鈥檚 created jobs, boosted oil and natural gas production, and helped US power plants move away from dirtier-burning coal.
鈥淐learly this is where science becomes interwoven with politics,鈥� says Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 鈥淸New York鈥檚] view is not the view that鈥檚 been reached in a number of other states.鈥�
Officials 鈥� including members of Obama鈥檚 Cabinet 鈥� have questioned some of environmentalists鈥� scientific claims.
鈥淚 still have not seen any evidence of fracking per se contaminating groundwater,鈥� Secretary Moniz聽聽at a breakfast hosted by the Monitor last year.
According to a study released in September,聽.
"People's water has been harmed by drilling,"聽聽study co-author Robert Jackson, a professor of environmental and earth sciences at Stanford and Duke Universities, in a statement.
Still, other scientists agree with New York, and argue the risks 鈥� however uncertain 鈥� outweigh the benefits.
鈥淭he unmistakable conclusion is that shale gas development poses unacceptable risks to the climate and to individuals living near shale gas fields,鈥� said Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University, in a statement聽Wednesday. 鈥淲hile too many political leaders have continued to ignore this evidence, New Yorkers can be proud of our Governor.鈥�
New York's acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker admitted the science was unresolved as he announced the ban聽Wednesday. Regardless, Dr. Zucker argued, the stakes were too high to move ahead with the practice.
鈥淲e cannot afford to make a mistake,鈥� Dr. Zucker said. 鈥淭he potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not even fully known.鈥�
The oil and gas industry pointed out that other states have found fracking to be safe.聽
Cuomo 鈥渁cted irresponsibly鈥� in banning fracking, says Karen Moreau, the executive director of the New York State Petroleum Council, an oil and gas industry group.
鈥淎 politically motivated and equally misinformed ban on a proven technology used for over 60 years ... is short-sighted and reckless, particularly when New York depends on safely produced natural gas just over the border in Pennsylvania,鈥� Ms. Moreau said in a statement聽Wednesday.
Meanwhile, environmentalists applauded Cuomo鈥檚 prohibition and hoped it would encourage other states to follow suit.
鈥淭here is no safe way to frack,鈥� Zack Malitz, campaign manager at progressive group CREDO, said in a statement. 鈥淕overnor Cuomo has now set the national standard, and all eyes are now on California鈥檚 Governor Jerry Brown.鈥�
