We need to actively look at the benefits versus the costs of natural gas extraction. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, needs further studies and regulation.
Natural gas extraction using fracking techniques has degraded many rural community's natural environment, and yet little has been done to ensure the safety of the drinking water of the local residents.
Is cheap energy really worth our children's inherited environmental future? The United States constitutes roughly 5% of the world's population; however we use more then 25% of the worlds non-renewable energy sources. We need to evaluate the future of energy use for our children's sake so that they may inherit a country as ecologically productive as the one we have today.