Risks and Risk Governance in Shale Gas Development Summary of Two Workshops (2014) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Introduction
Introduction
Pages 1-6
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
. Although horizontal drilling and rock-fracturing techniques have both been in use for decades, the combination of techniques, the use of new combinations of chemicals in fracturing fluids, and the expansion of shale gas extraction in scale into high-population areas and into areas where populations and governments have limited recent experience living near and regulating the industry 1 Data from the Energy Information Administration webpage, Shale Gas Production.
|
From page 2... ...
Questions have been raised about the adequacy of risk governance because of special exemptions from federal environmental legislation that apply to this industry segment and because of the uneven and often declining capacity of state and local governmental authorities to evaluate and govern the risks in a time of budgetary stringency. In addition, new risk concerns are emerging as the technology spreads, and there are significant variations in how the technologies are used and in the associated risks across geological formations and in relation to many other ways places differ (population characteristics, built infrastructure, land use practices, policies, etc.)
|
From page 3... ...
However, the language of that recommendation suggests that what is intended is technological research and development.3 It does not suggest the need for other lines of research, including research on economic, social, and public health risks associated with the development and implementation of the technologies, on risk decision making, or on risk governance, which in some views could offer useful insights for managing the future of shale gas. In the domain of governance research, for example, some analysts have long argued that a polycentric governance approach involving different levels of government, private actors, and organizations in the nonprofit sector can be highly effective for governance of shared risks if certain institutional design principles are followed (e.g., Ostrom, 2010)
|
From page 4... ...
The steering committee hoped that the workshops would engage, within a single, focused process, analysis of a range of environmental, health, economic, social, and other risks, not all of which are often examined together in relation to one problem. In addition, the committee hoped this process would help point the way to a risk-analytic approach aimed at more adequately informing public choices, suggest governance models that many participants believe hold promise for meeting the challenges of shale gas governance in the current era of stressed regulatory capacity, and direct the attention of the energy policy community to some fundamental social challenges -- not just technological ones -- that may need attention in considering policies and best practices for shale gas development.
|
From page 5... ...
The steering committee hoped that the issues raised in the workshops will be taken up in future efforts to understand and manage risks related to shale gas development, efforts that will examine the issues critically from multiple perspectives in the service of well-informed societal choices regarding shale gas resources. The time frame for this activity is also worth noting.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.