Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz: Fracking is Good for the Economy and Environment
Tuesday August 16, 2016
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz reaffirmed his longstanding support for fracking on Monday, saying that fracking has been good for the economy and the environment.
“The increased production of oil and natural gas in the United States has, obviously, been a major story in terms of our economy, and also our environment,” Moniz said at a field hearing in Seattle. “The natural gas boom, in particular, has led to the displacement of high-carbon coal with low-carbon natural gas producing fewer [carbon dioxide] emissions.”
Earlier this month, the US Energy Information Administration said that carbon emissions are lower than they have been since 1992 due to the boom in natural gas production from fracking.
Moniz has frequently voiced his support for fracking and the environmental benefits of natural gas. While at MIT, Moniz co-chaired a landmark study that found:
“In broad terms, we find that, given the large amounts of natural gas available in the U.S. at moderate cost … natural gas can indeed play an important role over the next couple of decades (together with demand management) in economically advancing a clean energy system.”
In an interview with Platts Gas Daily, Moniz spoke about managing the impact of fracking:
“I think the issues in terms of the environmental footprint of hydraulic fracturing are manageable.”
He also weighed in on New York’s ban on shale development in 2014:
“This new resource is of critical importance. If you look at Pennsylvania, it’s amazing, in the Marcellus shale… They have gone from a very, very minor contributor to ...