Fracking: China's Next Big Thing?
"How will China continue to grow and reduce poverty and do so in a sustainable way. That’s a question that remains to be answered.” -Jaeah Lee, Interactive Producer at Mother Jones
How will a relatively new industry of extracting natural gas from shale rock by high pressure hydraulic pumping, otherwise known as "fracking" impact China? Over the past few years, this controversial energy extraction method has revolutionized energy productivity in China and many other parts of the world, rapidly boosting production levels but with large environmental and societal risks. “Fracking could exacerbate already dangerous situations,” says James West, Senior Producer of Climate Desk, who recently co-produced a Mother Jones video project with Jaeah Lee, Interactive Producer at Mother Jones, titled The Great Frack Forward, which documents the societal, environmental, and human impacts of current fracking projects in China. However, China is also at great risk from the air pollution generated by its many coal-fired power plants, impacting human health and causing many premature deaths each year. Is fracking the answer?
West and Lee spoke about their project at an October 1 event co-organized by ASNC and Mother Jones. Moderated by Chris Mooney from Climate Desk Live, the event also featured Natural Resources Defense Council scientist Briana Mordick and Beijing editor of Chinadialogue, Liu Jiangqiang who provided valuable insight on the technical expertise and social concerns in this fossil fuel extracting method. According to the panelists, complex issues with fracking include the massive amount of water used for the procedure, possible contamination of groundwater from harmful chemicals leaking from the fracking process, and the possible link to seismic tremors in earthquake prone regions such as Sichuan.
Of particular concern are the low levels of public awareness about fracking, especially in China's rural areas where fracking is prevalant. During their year-long investigation for the documentary project, West and Lee encountered many villagers in Sichuan who expressed distress about the large wells that have been recently drilled in nearby farmlands. “What they really had in common was that they had no answers,” said Lee when describing the public consciousness about converting farmlands into fracking sites and why the water has been disappearing, and even showing traces of mysterious scum.
Mordick also noted that China's regulations governing fracking, which differ greatly from those established in the United States, are not enforced and there is little confidence that these regulations are adequate. Combined with the speed of China’s aggressive pursuit of shale gas volumes, poor standards and oversight can create conflicts with environmental protection. Liu also raised the issue of corruption which often accompany big projects like fracking. “I have been reporting on environment issues for more than ten years," Liu said about his work as a journalist in China, "and I can see many, many disasters. I don’t see any government officials talking about how fracking impacts environment." When asked to look toward the future of China’s latest energy revolution, Liu warned, "I see that in ten years, we might have to clean this up."
View and read more about The Great Frack Forward here:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/china-us-fracking-shale-gas