A Commentary on Commentary--Peer Reviewed Opinions

On his blog Into the Lone Star State, Justin wrote a post about the detriment to Texas that fracking can be. His arguments differ from most of the major opposition to fracking that I’ve heard—that it will cause pollution and contamination—in one significant way; Justin thought about Texas specifically, and how, despite our recent rainfall, we are in a long term drought. The argument is that fracking is bad for Texas because of the inordinate amount of water that it requires, which may exhaust our only now filling aquifers.  

My only possible qualm with the argument is the lack of real, peer reviewed studies documenting the contamination due to fracking. However, there is still much research to be done on the polluting aspect of fracking, which will only be accomplished with time. I believe that Justin’s commentary on fracking was well reasoned, thoughtful, and thorough. To answer his questions: I don’t believe it is worth the risk, and I agree that our money should be spent promoting clean energy.