Fossil Fuels and the Risk Profile of Fracking (Daniel Raimi, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan)

“The object of the book was to provide an evidence-based resource for people wrestling with … questions … about the benefits and risks of shale development.  We wanted to find out what we actually know [about those risks].”

There is very little evidence that [drinking water contamination by fracking chemicals] has happened at any kind of scale in the United States. … But there are other risks for drinking water, and one of those is methane migration … from improper well construction. [This] is not an isolated problem … It is also something that is usually fixable.”

When you actually look at scenarios that envison a low carbon future where we hit a 2 degrees C [global warming] target, there is a role for oil and natural gas in that world, at least over the next few decades. … But it’s important that we do it the right way with smart regulations ….”

Daniel Raimi is a Senior Research Associate at Resources for the Future, and a lecturer at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.  He received his master’s degree in public policy from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and his bachelor’s degree in music from Wesleyan University.