Fracking fall-out: a review of water and greenhouse gas impacts indicates natural gas has potential but must be “done right”

In the latest issue of the new journal MRS Energy & Sustainability—A Review Journal, a group of eminent US scientists led by Dr. Douglas Arent, Executive Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, looks at recent developments in the production and use of unconventional natural gas in the US—with a focus on implications on water management and greenhouse emissions.
This paper reviews aspects of the natural gas “revolution” in the US, as well as its impacts on the environment and trade-offs with particular environmental objectives. In doing so, it specifically focuses on recent developments in the fracking industry, looking at developments in the US.