Canada Kicks Up A Fracking Fuss As Govt Body Slams Poor Research

A new report by Environment Canada, a governmental body, admits there is too little scientific information on the effects of hydraulic fracturing on the environment and human health. The report by 14 international experts was compiled at the request of Environment Canada to consider the pollution impacts of the exploration and extraction of Canada’s shale gas resources.

Unlike the United States, which has seen an explosion of shale gas development, fracking in Canada has moved at a much slower pace.The authors note that this gives the country an opportunity to develop shale gas resources responsibly. The shale gas boom in Pennsylvania in the US has been administered at break neck speed and this means that any hazards associated with it are not properly understood.

“We’re racing ahead without seriously thinking through how best to do this,” said Dr. Goldstein, one of the authors of the report and professor of Environmental and Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh...