Fracking and Energy Regime Transition
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2020
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
Since 2010, shale gas production in the United States has skyrocketed, thanks to modern developments in fracking technology. This fracking boom has led many to speculate that natural gas from fracking will be the "bridge fuel" to our future, easing an energy transition from fossil fuels to carbon-neutral energy sources while maintaining a comfortable level of energy consumption. The newfound abundance of cheaper and cleaner energy from natural gas has positive implications for the global energy market and has sparked debate about its transitionary potential. However, fracking for natural gas creates and exacerbates social and environmental risks, specifically its climate impacts. This paper will examine the effects of the fracking boom and the current state and prospects of the fracking industry in order to examine the merits of natural gas as a bridge fuel. Gas could act as a better bridge fuel if the industry were regulated to control methane emissions. Fracking is an extension of the highly intransigent American fossil fuel industry. In the likely case that fracking will continue to occur in the United States for the next decade or more, it is important that we understand and address one of its most negatively impactful environmental risks, methane emissions.