Shale: The next energy game changer

The recent shale gas boom has been called a “game changer” in the North American energy picture. It promises to deliver abundant, cheap natural gas for decades to come. Utility companies are counting on it to generate electricity with half the greenhouse emissions of coal, while gas producers are touting it as the truck fuel of the future.

But energy companies will have to assuage the worries of voters like Ms. Westcott if they want to capitalize on shale gas’s enormous potential. In New York and Pennsylvania, rural residents are struggling to figure out if the appeal of immediate cash and new jobs from the drilling boom is adequate compensation for the potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing.

CTV.ca