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Scholars have spent decades arguing that policy entrepreneurs, change agents who work individually and in groups to influence the policy process, can be crucial in introducing policy innovation and spurring policy change. How to identify policy entrepreneurs empirically has received less attention. This oversight is consequential because scholars trying to understand when policy entrepreneurs emerge, and why, and what makes them more or less successful, need to be able to identify these change agents reliably and accurately. This paper explores the ways policy entrepreneurs are currently identified and highlights issues with current approaches. We introduce a new technique for eliciting and distinguishing policy entrepreneurs, coupling automated and manual analysis of local news media and a survey of policy entrepreneur candidates. We apply this technique to the empirical case of unconventional oil and gas drilling in Pennsylvania and derive some tentative results concerning factors which increase entrepreneurial efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of unconventional hydrocarbons may be very effective in promoting economic development and confronting energy crisis around the world. However, the environmental risks associated with this practice might be an impediment if not adequately dimensioned. In this context, naturally occurring radioactive materials and ionizing radiation are sensitive aspects in the unconventional gas industry that may compromise the environmental sustainability of gas production and they should be properly monitored. This paper provides a radioecological assessment of the São Francisco Basin (Brazil) as part of an environmental baseline evaluation regarding the Brazilian potential for exploring its unconventional gas reserves. Eleven and thirteen samples of surface waters and groundwater were analyzed for gross alpha and beta using a gas flow proportional counter. A radiological background range was proposed using the ± 2 Median Absolute Deviation method. Using geoprocessing tools, the annual equivalent doses and lifetime cancer risk indexes were spatialized. Gross alpha and beta background thresholds in surface water ranged from 0.04–0.40 Bq L−1 to 0.17–0.46 Bq L−, respectively. Groundwater radiological background varies from 0.006–0.81 Bq L−1 to 0.06–0.72 Bq L−1 for gross alpha and beta, respectively. All environmental indexes are relatively higher in the south of the basin, probably a direct response to the local volcanic formations. Traçadal fault and local gas seepages might also influence the gross alpha and beta distribution. All samples have radiological indexes below the environmental thresholds, and should remain at acceptable levels with the development of the unconventional gas industry in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how market participants form risk perspectives through a sequence of information shocks. Guided by a theoretical Bayesian learning model, we exploit a natural experiment afforded by the fracking boom in Pennsylvania in the late-2000s. We empirically examine whether familiarity with historical conventional gas explorations affects the willingness to pay for houses near fracking wells. We find the local real estate market is very efficient with participants rapidly collecting and processing market–relevant new information. We also find that participants discount historical events and rely on current information to estimate the risk of a change in market conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographers have applied various sociological and economic theories of fertility in attempts to clarify the dynamics of adolescent fertility, particularly its sharp decline in the United States over the last 20 years. Using the restricted detailed natality file from the National Center for Health Statistics, I analyze the impact of the oil and gas hydraulic fracturing boom in North Dakota and Montana on adolescent female fertility rates, testing pro-cyclical, mating market, and adult formation theories of adolescent fertility. Restricted difference-in-differences models demonstrate a positive and significant association between the oil boom and increased births in adolescent women aged 15–19, but more fully specified models demonstrate changing economic and social conditions appear to be driving the effect. Leveraging the exogenous shock of a bust in oil prices, a comparative interrupted time-series regression demonstrates a sizeable year-over-year decrease in adolescent female fertility for the shale region. Fertility rate changes in this age group do not appear attributable to changing racial or ethnic composition of oil-producing counties. Instead, increases in adolescent female fertility are largely driven by increasing births among white teens. The proximate mechanism driving this effect is the increasing employed share of young men aged 14–24, lending support to a substrand of adult formation and mating market explanations of adolescent female fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unconventional natural gas development (fracking) has been a rapidly expanding technique used for the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania. There remains a knowledge gap regarding the ecological impacts of fracking, especially regarding the long-term health of native Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations. During the summer of 2015, Brook trout were sampled from twelve streams located in forested, northwestern Pennsylvania in order to evaluate the impacts of fracking on Brook trout. Four stream sites were undisturbed (no fracking activity), three had a developed well pad without fracking activity, and five had active fracking with natural gas production. Liver tissue was isolated from two to five fish per stream and underwent RNA-Seq analysis to identify differentially expressed genes between ecosystems with differing fracking status. Data were analyzed individually and with samples pooled within-stream to account for hierarchical data structure and variation in sample coverage within streams. Differentially expressed and differentially alternatively spliced genes had functions related to lipid and steroid metabolism, mRNA processing, RNA polymerase and protein regulation. Unique to our study, genes related to xenobiotic and stress responses were found as well as potential markers for endocrine disruption and saline adaptation that were identified in watersheds with active fracking activity. These results support the utility of RNA-Seq to assess trout health and suggest detrimental impacts of fracking on sensitive trout populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, there has been a rapid growth in the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to recover unconventional oil and gas in the Permian Basin of southeastern New Mexico (NM) and western Texas. Fracking generates enormous quantities of wastes that contain technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM), which poses risks to human health and the environment because of the relatively high doses of radioactivity. However, very little is known about the chemical composition and radioactivity levels of Permian Basin fracking wastes. Here, we report chemical as well as radiochemical compositions of hydraulic fracking wastes from the Permian Basin. Radium, the major TENORM of interest in unconventional drilling wastes, varied from 19.1 ± 1.2 to 35.9 ± 3.2 Bq/L for 226Ra, 10.3 ± 0.5 to 21.5 ± 1.2 Bq/L for 228Ra, and 2.0 ± 0.05 to 3.7 ± 0.07 Bq/L for 224Ra. In addition to elevated concentrations of radium, these wastewaters also contain elevated concentrations of dissolved salts and divalent cations such as Na+ (31,856–43,000 mg/L), Ca2+ (668–4123 mg/L), Mg2+ (202–2430 mg/L), K+ (148–780 mg/L), Sr2+ (101–260 mg/L), Cl− (5160–66,700 mg/L), SO42− (291–1980 mg/L), Br− (315–596 mg/L), SiO2 (20–32 mg/L), and high total dissolved solid (TDS) of 5000–173,000 mg/L compared to background waters. These elevated levels are of radiological significance and represent a major source of Ra in the environment. The recent discovery of large deposits of recoverable oil and gas in the Permian Basin will lead to more fracking, TENORM generation, and radium releases to the environment. This paper evaluates the potential radiation risks associated with TENORM wastes generated by the oil and gas recovery industry in the Permian Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We know relatively little about the conditions that encourage people to jump into the political fray as policy entrepreneurs, advocates who devote substantial time, energy, and resources to campaigning for a policy goal. This paper aims to fill that gap by investigating the catalysts of policy entrepreneurship in municipalities across the State of New York, where between 2008 and 2012, hundreds of local jurisdictions passed measures opposing or supporting high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking). These local policy actions were often enthusiastically encouraged and, in some cases, vociferously opposed, by enterprising advocates. I propose a threat-centered theory of policy entrepreneurship, emphasizing the role of loss aversion in pushing actors toward advocacy. The empirical analysis shows that oppositional advocacy within a polity draws would-be policy entrepreneurs into battle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD, sometimes termed "fracking" or "hydraulic fracturing") is an industrial process to extract methane gas and/or oil deposits. Many chemicals used in UOGD have known adverse human health effects. Canada is a major producer of UOGD-derived gas with wells frequently located in and around rural and Indigenous communities. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review to identify the extent of research evidence assessing UOGD exposure-related health impacts, with an additional focus on Canadian studies., Methods: We included English- or French-language peer-reviewed epidemiologic studies (January 2000-December 2022) which measured exposure to UOGD chemicals directly or by proxy, and where health outcomes were plausibly caused by UOGD-related chemical exposure. Results synthesis was descriptive with results ordered by outcome and hierarchy of methodological approach., Synthesis: We identified 52 studies from nine jurisdictions. Only two were set in Canada. A majority (n = 27) used retrospective cohort and case-control designs. Almost half (n = 24) focused on birth outcomes, with a majority (n = 22) reporting one or more significant adverse associations of UOGD exposure with: low birthweight; small for gestational age; preterm birth; and one or more birth defects. Other studies identified adverse impacts including asthma (n = 7), respiratory (n = 13), cardiovascular (n = 6), childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (n = 2), and all-cause mortality (n = 4)., Conclusion: There is a growing body of research, across different jurisdictions, reporting associations of UOGD with adverse health outcomes. Despite the rapid growth of UOGD, which is often located in remote, rural, and Indigenous communities, Canadian research on its effects on human health is remarkably sparse. There is a pressing need for additional evidence., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Hydraulic fracturing ('fracking'), like other complex social and environmental issues, is a controversy about science which raises educational questions about how best to prepare young people to understand, respond to and, where necessary, act (or not) in response. It raises political questions. We present a state-of-the-art review of research literature on fracking and education using systematic strategies, with a view to finding out how it is framed in educational situations and how politics enters the science classroom. This serves as an illustrative case of how contested scientific and technological interventions with implications for the environment and society are treated in school science. The review is supplemented by interviews with 10 teachers of science and engineering working in schools or colleges near sites of operational exploratory fracking. We find that the research literature on teaching hydraulic fracturing is sparse, with only 25 studies relating to teaching and learning about fracking. Few studies (n = 7) relate to high school education. Where it features in science education, fracking is used as a context for interdisciplinarity and critical thinking, and lends itself to approaches using discussion, dialogue and modelling. Outcomes from fracking education range include knowledge gains and critical thinking. Teachers interviewed tended not to see a place for fracking in the curriculum or in the classroom and were averse to including politics in upper high school science education. Our analysis suggests depoliticization through absence of this specific complex environmental issue from the public (education) sphere, reinforced by the desire for 'balance' in high school science education and instrumental approaches to science education which prioritize assessed learning outcomes. Dealing with complex social and environmental issues such as hydraulic fracturing in the years of compulsory science schooling is necessary because scientific knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to prepare young people for the critical scientific literacy required to meet sustainable development goals. There is a need to assess and respond to the educational needs of local communities affected by industrial interventions such as fracking. These findings are likely to be relatable to other issues where there are local and global consequences of action or inaction and where the environment and health are pitted against economic and energy demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the endorsement of an expanded construct of environmental justice (ExEJ) that includes the rights of nature, other species, and future generations. We contextualized this study in terms of the environmental challenges posed by hydraulic fracturing. We used structural equation modeling to test a model that hypothesized that attitudes toward fracking would mediate an endorsement of ExEJ. We tested multiple factors that research suggests contribute to those attitudes using a student and non-student sample from a state experiencing fracking activity. Results suggest that self-transcendent factors directly predicted ExEJ endorsement, while self-focus factors predicted positive attitudes toward fracking, and a varied set of factors predicted a negative fracking attitude. Attitudes had no direct effect on ExEJ. Patterns of result suggest self-transcendent factors and avenues for change facilitate ExEJ, while self-enhancement factors influence positive fracking attitudes. Interpretations of these patterns are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland has been estimated to possess large volumes of technically recoverable shale gas resources, which has raised national hopes for increasing energy security and building export capacity. In this paper, we aim to examine political claims and hopes that Poland could achieve natural gas self-sufficiency and even become a gas exporter by harnessing domestic shale potential. We do so by relying on well-by-well production experience from the Barnett Shale in the USA to explore what scope of shale gas extraction, in terms of the number of wells, would likely be required to achieve such national expectations. With average well productivity equal to the Barnett Shale, at least 420 wells per year would be necessary to meet the domestic demand of 20 Bcm in 2030. Adding Poland's potential export capacity of five Bcm of gas per year would necessitate at least 540 wells per year. Such a significant amount of drilling and hydraulic fracturing would require reconsideration and verification of national energy security plans and expectations surrounding shale gas production. A more informed public debate on technical aspects of extraction would be required, as extensive fracking operations could potentially have implications in terms of environmental risks and local land-use conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper extends Apergis's (Energy Policy, 128, 94–101, 2019) study on the role of fracking activities in housing prices across Oklahoma countries by explicitly considering the role of certain indicators determining the health profile of the population. The analysis employs a panel model approach using data from 76 Oklahoma counties, spanning the period 1996–2015. The findings clearly indicate that the overall impact of fracking on housing prices is negative, given that the health indicators are explicitly considered, i.e. fracking has lowered housing prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research examines the combined role of the message and source of a news article in persuading political partisans about an environmental policy. In a series of three experiments, we presented participants (total N = 3457) with a realistic news article summarizing scientific evidence concerning the environmental and economic costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The article's message was manipulated to support either a conservative (pro-fracking) or liberal (anti-fracking) policy and was attributed to either a conservative news source (Fox News) or a liberal one (MSNBC). Participants who read pro-fracking articles were generally more supportive of fracking than those who read anti-fracking articles, regardless of whether articles were from an ideologically friendly or unfriendly source. Consistent with previous research, however, participants perceived articles with ideologically unfriendly messages to have worse methods than articles with ideologically friendly messages. Finally, liberal participants showed some reduction in resistance to ideologically unfriendly messages coming from an ideologically friendly source, but conservative participants did not. Implications for politicization of environmental policy and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations, associated with horizontal drilling for oil/gas production, are known to induce earthquakes from fluid injection in disposal wells. In recent years, numerous studies have shown a close relationship between induced seismic activities and the high-pressure injection of wastewater, especially in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Detailed analysis of 17 major fracking locations across the USA has been carried out to study the impact of horizontal wells and the corresponding injected wastewater on earthquake activities. Earthquake data for the period 1998–2018 obtained from the USGS earthquake catalog shows an increase in frequency of earthquakes within a radius of 150 km at fracking locations, prominently in south-central USA. The stimulation of earthquakes depends on the amount of injected water in both horizontal and disposal injected wells, and the geology, hydrological, and geophysical settings nearby the drilling site. The observed seismicity increases with the number of horizontal wells in Texas (correlation R2 = 0.726) and Oklahoma (correlation R2 = 0.636) at the fracking locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Immobilienökonomie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the impact of shale gas and oil fracking wells on infants' health at birth across Oklahoma counties. The empirical analysis makes use of the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test, as well as the (long-run) Pooled Mean Group method. The results clearly document that there is a unidirectional relationship between fracking activities and three alternative indexes of infants' health at birth, as well as a significant impact of fracking on infants' health indicators. In addition, the results illustrate the substantial role of fracking through the drinking water quality channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boom in shale gas production has been accompanied by concerns that polycentricity, whereby multiple levels of government share regulatory authority, has resulted in an inefficient and ineffective governance. The Bloomington School of institutional analysis suggests otherwise. Drawing on the work of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, we clarify a diverse regulatory response to shale gas development within federations may be appropriate depending on the physical context of shale gas development, local demand for economic development (including geology, geography, and the built environment), the regulatory capacity of local governments, uncertainty about the appropriate regulations to address externalities from shale gas production, and the extent of inter-jurisdictional coordination problems. We apply the framework to regulation of shale gas development two fracking federations: the US and EU. In each context, letting a thousand regulatory flowers bloom is more sensible than uniform standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public opposition to fracking is one of numerous movements expressing concern about health or environmental risks of a (usually) new technology. These have at their core an esoteric dispute between technical experts, but laypeople also become actively involved, usually as volunteers. They may live close to pertinent sites, motivated by fears for their families and property, or they may be people living farther away, attracted to the opposition for ideological reasons. (Opposition to fracking is a politically liberal position.) Activism is increasingly motivated when the issue is “hot” and diminishes when it cools down. According to Quantity of Coverage Theory (QCT), the “hotness” of an issue - therefore the degree of activism — largely depends on its presence in the mass media. The American anti-fracking movement arose fairly quickly around 2010-11. News coverage peaked during 2012-14 and is now diminishing. Similar peaks and declines are observed in British and German news media, consistent with the power of central American media to influence news coverage in other industrial nations. Inferentially, from declining news coverage, the anti-fracking movement is waning, perhaps dying. Lacking direct measures of activism, QCT provides a lens through which to see the rise and fall of the movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved technology is proposed for the preparation of liquids for hydraulic fracturing (HF)by replacing the liquid cross linker of aqueous polysaccharide gels with solid. The solid cross linker is designed to reduce the logistical costs on transportation and storage of chemical reagents and simplify the technological usage of the HF process. The use of “on the fly” technology leads to more complete and quality gel hydration and its subsequent cross linking. Prolonging the action of the solid cross-linking compositions and also increasing the flowability of the reagent can be achieved as a result of granulation of the reagent and, consequently, the presence of a stage with slow dissolution of the cross linker granules in an aqueous polysaccharide gel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the first results of model sensitivity simulations to assess the potential impacts of emissions related to future activities linked to unconventional hydrocarbon extraction (fracking) in the UK on air pollution and human health. These simulations were performed with the Met Office Air Quality in the Unified Model, a new air quality-forecasting model, and included a wide range of extra emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to reflect emissions from the full life cycle of fracking-related activities and simulate the impacts of these compounds on levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3). These model simulations highlight that increases in NOx and VOC emissions associated with unconventional hydrocarbon extraction could lead to large local increases in the monthly means of daily 1-h maximum NO2 of up to + 30 ppb and decreases in the maximum daily 8-h mean O3 up to − 6 ppb in the summertime. Broadly speaking, our simulations indicate increases in both of these compounds across the UK air shed throughout the year. Changes in the 1-h maximum of NO2 and 8-h mean of O3 are particularly important for their human health impacts. These respective changes in NO2 and O3 would contribute to approximately 110 (range 50-530) extra premature-deaths a year across the UK based on the use of recently reported concentration response functions for changes in annual average NO2 and O3 exposure. As such, we conclude that the release of emissions of VOCs and NOx be highly controlled to prevent deleterious health impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable prediction of fracture process in shale-gas rocks remains one of the most significant challenges for establishing sustained economic oil and gas production. This paper presents a modeling framework for simulation of crack propagation in heterogeneous shale rocks. The framework is on the basis of a variational approach, consistent with Griffith’s theory. The modeling framework is used to reproduce the fracture propagation process in shale rock samples under standard Brazilian disk test conditions. Data collected from the experiments are employed to determine the testing specimens’ tensile strength and fracture toughness. To incorporate the effects of shale formation heterogeneity in the simulation of crack paths, fracture properties of the specimens are defined as spatially random fields. A computational strategy on the basis of stochastic finite element theory is developed that allows to incorporate the effects of heterogeneity of shale rocks on the fracture evolution. A parametric study has been carried out to better understand how anisotropy and heterogeneity of the mechanical properties affect both direction of cracks and rock strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The USA has recently experienced an unprecedented boom in domestic, on-shore oil and gas production via unconventional drilling technologies like hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling. Community leaders and policy-makers claim that this boom holds much promise to reverse many social and economic challenges faced by rural, non-amenity counties. Chief among these is human capital flight—often called the “rural brain drain”—and the loss of working-age population. This analysis examines the socio-demographic consequences of the oil and gas boom by assessing if the boom can stall or reverse human capital flight and the loss of working-age population from rural, non-amenity counties. Using a large data set of U.S. counties and difference-in-difference models, we find that the oil and gas boom is associated with modest increases in the proportion of county population with a high school education or less and modest losses in the proportion of county population with a college education. The boom likely increased the proportion of working age population, particularly males 20–34. Overall, our results suggest that oil and gas development has a limited effect on human capital and age composition in non-amenity, rural counties. Broadly, we expect that oil and gas development will do little to address long-run, structural demographic challenges facing rural America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 15 years, the USA has experienced a dramatic increase in the volume of oil and gas produced domestically, primarily due to unconventional technologies like hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling. However, this boom has met with much controversy as it may threaten environmental quality and human health and bring unwanted changes to local communities. While some communities have resisted the expansion of development, others have fully embraced the industry. In addition, this boom has occurred during an era of de-regulation and devolution, leaving states and localities struggling to foment a policy response. In this manuscript, we blend place-based factors like 'colliding treadmills,' place attachment, and community economic identity to explain support for oil and gas regulations among a sample of CO residents. Results and implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of natural gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a controversial energy acquisition technique often viewed with disdain by the public, due to its potential for environmental harm. However, the mental health and psychological well-being of fracking communities, including potential benefits and detriments, are often overlooked. We reviewed the literature on the association between fracking and psychological functioning, finding that although persons living in fracking communities may experience some minimal, initial benefits such as land lease income or infrastructure development, they may also experience worry, anxiety, and depression about lifestyle, health, safety, and financial security, as well as exposure to neurotoxins and changes to the physical landscape. Indeed, entire communities can experience collective trauma as a result of the “boom/bust” cycle that often occurs when industries impinge on community life. Impacted communities are often already vulnerable, including poor, rural, or indigenous persons, who may continue to experience the deleterious effects of fracking for generations. An influx of workers to fracking communities often stokes fears about outsiders and crime; yet, it must be recognized that this population of mobile workers is also vulnerable, often ostracized, and without social support. Practitioners, researchers, and policy makers alike should continue to investigate the potential psychological ramifications of fracking, so that effective and targeted intervention strategies can be developed, disseminated, and implemented to improve mental health in fracking communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public health impact of hydraulic fracturing remains a high profile and controversial issue. While there has been a recent surge of published papers, it remains an under-researched area despite being possibly the most substantive change in energy production since the advent of the fossil fuel economy. We review the evidence of effects in five public health domains with a particular focus on the UK: exposure, health, socio-economic, climate change and seismicity. While the latter would seem not to be of significance for the UK, we conclude that serious gaps in our understanding of the other potential impacts persist together with some concerning signals in the literature and legitimate uncertainties derived from first principles. There is a fundamental requirement for high-quality epidemiological research incorporating real exposure measures, improved understanding of methane leakage throughout the process, and a rigorous analysis of the UK social and economic impacts. In the absence of such intelligence, we consider it prudent to incentivise further research and delay any proposed developments in the UK. Recognising the political realities of the planning and permitting process, we make a series of recommendations to protect public health in the event of hydraulic fracturing being approved in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) that enables detection of 2-butoxyethanol (2BE), a pollutant associated with hydraulic fracturing contamination. Detection is based on a combination of a colloidal crystal templating and a molecular imprinting. The MIPs are shown to display higher binding capacity for 2BE compared to non-imprinted films (NIPs), with imprinting efficiencies of ~ 2. The tests rely on the optical effects that are displayed by the uniformly ordered porous structure of the material. The reflectance spectra of the polymer films have characteristic Bragg peaks whose location varies with the concentration of 2BE. Peaks undergo longwave red shifts up to 50 nm on exposure of the MIP to 2BE in concentrations in the range from 1 ppb to 100 ppm. This allows for quantitative estimates of the 2BE concentrations present in aqueous solutions. The material is intended for use in the early detection of contamination at hydraulic fracturing sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive reviews and meta-analyses are essential to summarize emerging developments in a specific field and offering information on the current trends in the scientific literature. Shale gas exploration and exploitation has been extensively debated in literature, but a comprehensive review of recent studies on the environmental impacts has yet to be carried out. Therefore, the goal of this article is to systematically examine scientific articles published between 2010 and 2015 and identify recent advances and existing data gaps. The examined articles were classified into six main categories (water resources, atmospheric emissions, land use, induced seismicity, occupational and public health and safety, and other impacts). These categories are analyzed separately to identify specific challenges, possibly existing consensus and data gaps yet remained in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a transatlantic comparison of shale politics. Both the US and European Union (EU) have ample shale beds; both are high consumption democracies thirsty for plentiful, stable, cheaper sources of energy. Yet exploitation of shale in the US has proceeded at fever pitch, while in the EU development has been hesitant if not stagnant. Structural explanations – geological, geographic, economic, technological – are key to understanding this difference, but so too is the role of agency – who are the actors shaping policy and how do they seek to influence public debate and government agendas? This study, while mindful of structural conditions, applies insights from network and framing analysis to highlight the set of actors, interests and frames that shape shale’s variable development in the US and Europe. Drawing on an in-depth, systematic analysis of news reports, websites and interviews from 2013 to 2015, it demonstrates how differences in shale policy are explained not just by geology, economic or other structural factors, but also by the role of competing pro- and anti-shale networks, and the framing strategies they enjoy. In short, it argues that theinteractionof structure and agency best explains transatlantic differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the hydrofracturing controversy in New York advocates hotly contested notions of the problem, what should be done, by whom, and how. This controversy can be characterized as 'crowded advocacy,' involving intense mobilization and counter-mobilization of advocates with competing perspectives. Extant theories about the expansion of advocacy organizations are unclear about how advocates' interactions shape the policy arena, particularly when there is competition within and across multiple coalitions. This article contributes by asking: How do advocates' interactive framing dynamics shape public discourse when advocacy is crowded? It assumes that advocacy in general, and framing in particular, evolves as advocates respond to each other. I find that competing 'discourse coalitions' collectively influence public discourse by articulating divergent notions of (1) what constitutes credible knowledge, (2) who can speak with authority on the issues, and (3) what institutional arrangements should be activated to manage risks. The consequence is that advocates have to react to others' framing on these issues-to defend their knowledge, their credibility, and specific institutions, rather than arguing their case on the merits. The implication is that advocacy is not only the means of influence (strategy) but also creates the context of advocacy in particular ways in a crowded field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a new way to make sense of disagreement expansion from a polylogical perspective by incorporating various places (venues) in addition to players (parties) and positions (standpoints) into the analysis. The concepts build on prior implicit ideas about disagreement space by suggesting how to more fully account for argumentative context, and its construction, in large-scale complex controversies. As a basis for our polylogical analysis, we use a New York Times news story reporting on an oil train explosion-a significant point in the broader controversy over producing oil and gas via hydraulic fracturing (fracking). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Energiewirtschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Grundwasser is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Scholars of science governance continue to grapple with the question: by what means can public perspectives-including dissenting public voices and local forms of knowledge-be effectively sought out and influentially integrated into the governance of new or evolving science and technology? A particular challenge exists regarding how to interpret and incorporate the public ambivalence toward specific technologies often found in public deliberation research. This paper explores the possibility that the measurement and mapping of diverse forms of public ambivalence can serve as a tool for identifying public concerns and conditions of acceptance for new technologies. Potential applications to democratize the governance of fracking technologies in the USA are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses bibliometric methods to analyze the scientific literature of fracking. Web of Science database, including the Science Citation Index, Sciences Citation Index and Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science were used to collect the data. The analysis done in the paper looks at the annual distribution of publications, countries, institutes, authors, journals and categories. Furthermore, key topics and highly-cited papers were analyzed. The results show that fracking as a new research term appears in the Web of Science records from 1953 and its presence in the Web of Science has been growing ever since, becoming a hot topic recently. The countries with most of the contributions have been USA, China and Canada, whereas the Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Oklahoma and Tohoku University were the three institutions with most publications in fracking research. The publications have been concentrated in several journals, led by the Journal of Petroleum Technology, Heфmянoe Xoзяйcmвo and International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, and categorized mainly in geosciences multidisciplinary, Engineering Petroleum and Energy Fuels. The study has identified that terms of fracking can be divided into three main clusters, related to 'drilling methods', 'exploitation/extraction process' and the 'geoscience aspects'. The highly cited papers in the period 1953-2013 were collected and analyzed, in order to show the papers with highest impact in fracking area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical additives used in fracturing fluids can be used as tracers of water contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing operations. For this purpose, a complete chemical characterization is necessary using advanced analytical techniques. Liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/Q-TOF-MS) was used to identify chemical additives present in flowback and produced waters. Accurate mass measurements of main ions and fragments were used to characterize the major components of fracking fluids. Sodium adducts turned out to be the main molecular adduct ions detected for some additives due to oxygen-rich structures. Among the classes of chemical components analyzed by mass spectrometry include gels (guar gum), biocides (glutaraldehyde and alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride), and surfactants (cocamidopropyl dimethylamines, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaines, and cocamidopropyl derivatives). The capabilities of accurate mass and MS-MS fragmentation are explored for the unequivocal identification of these compounds. A special emphasis is given to the mass spectrometry elucidation approaches used to identify a major class of hydraulic fracturing compounds, surfactants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fracking debate is a product of the tension between the environmental degradation it may cause, on the one hand, and on the other the greater energy demands of a rapidly increasing South African population with expectations of an ever-increasing standard of living. Shale gas fracking in the Karoo of South Africa promises to make vast reserves of oil and gas available to help meet a significant percentage of the country's energy needs for many years to come. This will aid development and contribute to raising the standard of living of many. This article seeks to apprise the South African faith communities of the technology and risks involved. Christian theological guidelines are presented by which its benefits and dangers may be interrogated so that the community may be able come to an informed decision as to whether or not to support fracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pennsylvania sits atop the Marcellus Shale, a reservoir of natural gas that was untapped until the 2004 introduction of unconventional natural gas drilling operations (UNGDO) in the state. Colloquially known as fracking, UNGDO is a controversial process that employs large volumes of water to fracture the shale and capture gas; it has become a multi-billion dollar industry in Pennsylvania. We analyzed letters to the editor of the most widely circulated local newspaper in the most heavily drilled county in Pennsylvania (Bradford County) in order to characterize residents' concerns and their involvement in popular epidemiology-the process by which citizens investigate risks associated with a perceived environmental threat. We reviewed 215 letters to the editor that referenced natural gas operations and were published by The Daily Review between January 1, 2008 and June 8, 2013. We used NVivo 10 to code and analyze letters and identify major themes. Nvivo is qualitative data analysis software () that allows researchers to code and analyze 'unstructured' data, including text files of any type (e.g., interview transcripts, news articles, letters, archival materials) as well as photographs and videos. Nvivo can be used to classify, sort, query, comment on, and share data across a research group. Letters demonstrated citizen engagement in beginning and intermediate stages of lay epidemiology, as well as discord and stress regarding four main issues: socio-economic impacts, perceived threats to water, population growth and implications, and changes to the rural landscape. Residents called for stronger scientific evidence and a balance of economic development and health and environmental protections. Citizens' distress regarding UNGDO appeared to be exacerbated by a dearth of information to guide economic growth and health, environmental, and social concerns. This analysis proposes locally informed questions to guide future surveillance and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many studies have attempted to estimate the economic impact of fracking. When done properly, economic impact studies can be valuable to both policy makers and researchers. Unfortunately, the quality of these economic impact studies varies. Often times these studies are released with obvious errors or authors clearly exhibit bias either for or against fracking. In this paper, we briefly review the studies that have estimated the economic impact of fracking. We discuss many of the issues researchers face when attempting to estimate the economic impact of fracking, and provide recommendations to those who wish to conduct these studies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothetical leakage of methane gas caused by fracking a 1,000-m deep Cretaceous claystone horizon at Damme, Germany, is simulated in a TOUGHREACT reactive-transport model with 5,728 elements. A hypothetical leakage zone connects the Cretaceous horizon with a Quaternary potable-water aquifer (q1). Methane gas rises up to the q1 horizon in less than 2 days in all calculated scenarios. The simulations include the major constituents of groundwater as well as the seven most hazardous trace components that are natural constituents of groundwater (As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Se and U). The general trend is characterised by depletion of the natural hazardous components with decreasing acidity and oxygen fugacity in the relevant pH range (7-9). Nevertheless, the concentrations of elements whose dominant aqueous species are negatively charged in this pH range (Cr and Se) rise against the general trend due to desorption reactions. Slight enhancement effects are produced by the dissolution of contaminant-bearing oxides such as Cr-bearing goethite. In summary, the geological risks of a fracking operation are minor. The technical risks are more important. This is especially the case when rising methane gas gets into contact with fracking fluid that accidentally escapes through faulty well seals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking), using high pressures and a low viscosity fluid, allow the extraction of large quantiles of oil and gas from very low permeability shale formations. The initial production of oil and gas at depth leads to high pressures and an extensive distribution of natural fractures which reduce the pressures. With time these fractures heal, sealing the remaining oil and gas in place. High volume fracking opens the healed fractures allowing the oil and gas to flow to horizontal production wells. We model the injection process using invasion percolation. We use a 2D square lattice of bonds to model the sealed natural fractures. The bonds are assigned random strengths and the fluid, injected at a point, opens the weakest bond adjacent to the growing cluster of opened bonds. Our model exhibits burst dynamics in which the clusters extend rapidly into regions with weak bonds. We associate these bursts with the microseismic activity generated by fracking injections. A principal object of this paper is to study the role of anisotropic stress distributions. Bonds in the y-direction are assigned higher random strengths than bonds in the x-direction. We illustrate the spatial distribution of clusters and the spatial distribution of bursts (small earthquakes) for several degrees of anisotropy. The results are compared with observed distributions of microseismicity in a fracking injection. Both our bursts and the observed microseismicity satisfy Gutenberg-Richter frequency-size statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finewood and Stroup (J Contemp Water Res Educ 147(1), 72-79, ) observe that as hydraulic fracturing for natural gas spreads across the USA, neoliberal ideologies normalize fracking's potential dangers, including impacts to water and more general environmental quality. Theoretical observations like these must be tested empirically. I do so here, analyzing data from extensive fieldwork in Pennsylvania's Bradford, Susquehanna, and Washington counties. Drawing on comparative mixed method data from fieldwork in northeastern Pennsylvania's 'Endless Mountains' region and the Pittsburgh area, I compare how small-scale farmers perceive and sometimes enact elements of market-based, neoliberal rationality when assessing hydrofracking's community, environmental, and economic outcomes. This paper explores why this matters sociologically, given small-scale farmers' roles as land-use decision-makers, stewards of related natural resource development, and marginalized producers with limited access to market shares and subsidies. In counties like Bradford and Washington, impacts of fracking small-scale farmers have been under-studied. To address that gap, I examine impacts on farmers operating around natural gas development and within neoliberal economic structures. Analyzing extensive interview and ethnographic data, the following research questions are addressed: (1) Among small-scale farmers impacted by hydraulic fracturing, what evidence exists that neoliberal logic helps farmers normalize fracking? and (2) How does normalization interact with decisions to sign natural gas leases? My findings indicate that many farmers utilize neoliberal logic when assessing impacts of hydraulic fracturing and shale gas development, particularly as rapid energy development relates to their land-use decisions. Neoliberal normalization of hydraulic fracturing emerges most saliently regarding environmental outcomes and economic development. I connect this to small-scale farmers' economic vulnerability and the limited agency in dictating land use near their farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential development of shale gas presents a complicated and controversial education problem. Research on human learning and our own experiences as educators support the conclusion that traditional, disciplinary-focused educational experiences are insufficient due to the nature of the concepts necessary for understanding the development of shale gas within the energy system as a complex, contextualized phenomenon. Educators engaging in communicating complex phenomena such as shale gas development can also increase sophistication of learner understanding by taking into account the sociocultural and psychological mechanisms that shape one's understanding of the change processes at work. We therefore review an emerging body of research showing that nurturing environmental literacy requires more than the clear explication of evidence, and instead requires interrogating one's existing worldview and comparing alternative options for action, as opposed to analyzing energy options in isolation. We then apply the results of this research to the challenging task of creating meaningful learning experiences and engagement with complex issues such as emerging energy systems and shale gas development in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'fracking' simultaneously conjures up images of extractive technologies, community tensions, and stories of overnight wealth and environmental nightmares. The introduction and rapid expansion of hydraulic fracturing technology to develop oil and gas resources in shale plays across the USA has created complex and interrelated socio-economic, biophysical, and geopolitical challenges. In the Marcellus shale region, distinct but interrelated issues of water security, health, energy, and community overlap in the broader socio-ecological system and further illuminate the daunting character of drilling for natural gas and other hydrocarbons. This special issue of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences intentionally focuses on hydrocarbon development in the Marcellus shale, but situates this dialogue in the context of a broader, transdisciplinary approach to realizing a sustainable energy system. The interdisciplinary research published here examines the far-reaching complexities and consequences of the impacts of rapid, intensive natural resource development, including the role that access to information and inclusion in decision making have in connecting the global to the local facilitating critical evaluation of the long-term sustainability of development decisions at multiple scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws from data provided by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2012 Ethnographic Field School to accomplish two goals: to open questions about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on people's relationships to the environment in western PA and to explore the pedagogical possibilities and limitations of teaching through publically engaged projects rooted in political ecology. The history of local land use, whether coal mining and its consequences or the creation of conservation zones, captures the imagination of differing publics and influences their interpretation of energy extraction, particularly its acceptability and risks. At the same time, the encounter with Marcellus Shale has prompted people to explore, question, and redefine their relationships to place and to the legacy of coal in the community. This paper details the possibilities and pitfalls encountered in ethnographic projects by student researchers designed to explore and prompt public dialogue about people's changing relationships to land and water. Despite theoretical and methodological challenges, this paper argues for the value of community-based ethnographic field schools and publically engaged political ecology research in creating a context for productive dialogue between stakeholders on a controversial issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In cold-arid systems, moisture availability is often a limiting factor to vegetation establishment and growth. Consequentially, manipulating soil moisture dynamics may help to improve restoration practice. Application of snow fencing, for microclimate manipulation in cold-arid regions, improves native species establishment and restoration success following disturbance by improving soil moisture retention. Methods: Research was conducted in the Jonah Natural Gas Field, an area subjected to intensive gas development, in southwest Wyoming, USA, to assess roles of snow fencing in altering snowpack characteristics, and soil moisture, for improving re-establishment of native vegetation. Results: Application of a customized snow fence design (the Hollow Frame Fence System, HFFS) significantly increased vegetation establishment of the framework taxon, Artemisia tridentata Nutt. spp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young, and other native sagebrush-steppe species. The HFFS exhibited significantly fewer invasive species than control blocks; establishment of A. tridentata was significantly higher within the HFFS, as compared to both control blocks, and commercial fence types. Significant increases in spring soil moisture are likely drivers of increased restoration success with use of HFFS. Conclusions: The Hollow Frame Fence System provides increased water harvesting capacity necessary to improve habitat restoration in cold-arid environments subjected to disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]