SCIENCE, DEMOCRACY, AND FRACKING

The document serves as a guide for citizens and officials to navigate the complexities of unconventional oil and gas development. It outlines the technical process of fracking, identifies critical environmental and social risks—including water contamination, air pollution, and infrastructure strain—and provides a framework for assessing the reliability of scientific information. Additionally, it lists key stakeholders and potential regulatory responses at the federal, state, and local levels, while highlighting case studies of community-led actions in the United States.

• Hydraulic fracturing can consume significant water resources, with a single well potentially requiring between 3 million and 12 million gallons during the initial fracking process.
• Water quality risks associated with oil and gas drilling include contamination from well bore flaws, methane migration, and spills or leaks of chemicals and wastewater during transport, storage, or disposal.
• Air quality may be degraded by emissions of methane, ozone, and hazardous pollutants such as benzene and xylene, as well as increased diesel exhaust and soot from heavy truck traffic.
• While hydraulic fracturing itself does not typically cause detectable surface earthquakes, the deep-well injection of fracking wastewater has been linked to noticeable seismic activity in the United States.
• Methane leakage from wells contributes to global warming as a potent heat-trapping gas, and the continued reliance on fossil fuels hinders the transition to clean, renewable energy.
• Social and economic impacts of fracking include potential boosts to local employment and tax revenues, but also risks such as increased crime, drug abuse, noise and light pollution, and strain on affordable housing and emergency services.
• Several major federal laws intended to protect the environment contain loopholes that exempt the oil and gas industry, such as the Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempting hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act unless diesel fuel is used.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2013). SCIENCE, DEMOCRACY, AND FRACKING. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/center-for-science-and-democracy/fracking-informational-toolkit.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. SCIENCE, DEMOCRACY, AND FRACKING. 2013. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/center-for-science-and-democracy/fracking-informational-toolkit.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=SCIENCE, DEMOCRACY, AND FRACKING |date=August 2013 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/center-for-science-and-democracy/fracking-informational-toolkit.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2013science, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{SCIENCE, DEMOCRACY, AND FRACKING}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2013}, month = aug, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/center-for-science-and-democracy/fracking-informational-toolkit.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }