Fracking Opponents Ditch Science, Embrace Hysteria

I often encourage petroleum executives to listen to and engage their political opponents, on the grounds that many are rational and can be reasoned with. (Also, they are sometimes right.) But the fracking debate threatens to descend into the worst type of demagoguery, to the exclusion of rationality.

Today’s New York Times has a full page ad opposing construction of a natural gas pipeline signed by Yoko Ono and endorsed by various anti-fracking groups which is so over the top as to be ridiculous. A more extreme straw person could not be constructed to embarrass environmentalists, even as some are attempting to address substantive concerns about the practice.

For example: “President Obama, you have two beautiful daughters. Do you want their health, environment and futures to be irreversibly destroyed by fracking, like the suffering children of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio?” Perhaps Ms. Ono thinks “The Walking Dead” is a documentary. Or maybe she has never been to any of those states, which will no doubt be shocked to hear of their doom. (Michael Lynch, Forbes)

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Also, read our review of Josh Fox's recent dust up with Fox News.