Hey all

Popular Mechanics has provided the world with this helpful little graphic tutorial on how shale gas extraction works.  We all have seen the billboards insisting that hydrofracturing is dangerous, now you can actually understand why (or why not):

Infografrack

I have thought a bit about economics as a subject this semester, as I am currently struggling through a class on macroeconomics.  I have heard it observed that the fact that most people (including myself) are woefully undereducated in economics, we still feel perfectly entitled to our (often vehement) opinions on the subject.  It is almost as though we cannot afford to allow ignorance to get in the way of having an opinion on matters that so profoundly affect our lives.

Though I may regret admitting this, I must concede that there is a similarly steep learning curve (and a similarly daunting degree of ignorance) that plagues my thinking on matters of energy and climate change.  Is hydrofracturing dangerous?  Sometimes, it appears to be, but perhaps sometimes not.

So it is with nuclear.  Fukushimas and Chernobyls are mind-bogglingly horrifying, but some countries (such as France) have also relied on nuclear power to a great extent without serious incident.

In any event, I hope that the above may serve to narrow the gap a little more.