Don’t look now, but somehow a little bit of truth seeped into the reporting about hydraulic fracturing. And it happened in the Syracuse Post-Standard:
At a public forum in DeWitt, Syracuse University hydrology professor Don Siegel thought he had presented enough unbiased, scientific information to prove that drilling for natural gas in New York would benefit the state far more than it might hurt.
Then someone in the audience of more than 75 stood up.
“With all due respect, Dr. Siegel,” she said, “it’s not about the science.”
Two months later, Siegel still stews over those words.
The debate should be about the science, he contends, as do two retired SU professors, Bryce Hand and Joe Robinson — who have defended high-volume hydraulic fracturing as a safe method to capture a huge supply of underground natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation.
But opponents of hydrofracking have “dispensed with science and rely on fear” to turn the public against drilling, Siegel said.*
The article quotes one scientist (a Cornell professor) who is opposed to drilling, but at least the pro-drilling (and scientific) side of the debate is fully explored in this article, and is well worth the read. Kudos to the Post-Standard for some honest reporting.
*Syracuse Post-Standard (May 2) – Some scientists say hydrofracking benefits outweigh risks