Triassic sandstone, near Stadtroda, Germany. Image: wikimedia commons.

New York State has moved to ban hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” despite possessing considerable resources in the Marcellus Shale formation. The landmark decision may inspire many countries that have begun exploration of shale energy. Parallels, and some precedents, might be drawn from sections of the Atomic Energy Act.

For more:

Esch, Mary. “New York to ban fracking; environmentalists cheer.” December 17, 2014. Associated Press. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/york-move-prohibit-fracking-27666988

World Shale Energy: http://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/worldshalegas/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.