Frackademia

frackademia (fræk・ə・di・mi・ə) n. The complex of oil-and-gas-allied academics, think tanks, consulting firms, and public relations shops producing misleading and flawed research to win public and political support for hydraulic fracturing. Beginning in 2012, PAI has compiled and released a large quantity of research on the phenomenon now known as “frackademia,” by which the oil and …

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Conflicts of interest in new fracking emissions study

A new study of the methane emissions associated with hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, or fracking, is being published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study claims that methane emissions associated with fracking are 0.42% of gross gas production. Other studies have previously contended that leakage rates are much higher, …

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New disclosures raise more questions about Obama’s Energy pick

Recently-released financial disclosures are shedding additional light on the severity of conflicts of interest surrounding an influential MIT natural gas study led by Ernest Moniz, President Obama’s choice to lead the Department of Energy. The Public Accountability Initiative first raised questions about the widely-publicized study, titled “The Future of Natural Gas,” in a report released …

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Frackademics: Shale Institute’s Jacobi hired to do seismic study for DEC

New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has chosen Robert Jacobi, a University at Buffalo geologist with ties to the natural gas industry, to study the link between fracking and earthquakes, a DEC spokeswoman told Bloomberg’s Jim Esftathiou, Jr. Jacobi, who is a senior advisor to gas driller EQT Production and who runs a geoscience consultancy, …

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