Weighing the risks of fracking
Cheap, plentiful natural gas from underground shale deposits promises to change the U.S. energy picture in the years to come, prompting retirement of the oldest, dirtiest coal plants as new power plants are built to burn gas, a former U.S. energy official said Wednesday. Shale gas has environmental problems of its own, however, and its growth is dependent to some extent on the industry solving those problems, said Susan Tierney, who was assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Energy under President Bill Clinton. Tierney also led the energy transition team for President Obama and is currently managing principal at the consulting firm Analysis Group. Tierney spoke at the Northwest Laboratory building in a Future of Energy talk sponsored by the Harvard University Center for the Environment. Gas from shale deposits has become an important factor in U.S. energy as new technology has increased the supply. Natural gas is conventionally extracted...