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Executive Summary: Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan Integrated Assessment Final Report

Executive Summary: Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan Integrated Assessment Final Report

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There is significant momentum behind natural gas extraction efforts in the United States, with many states viewing it as an opportunity to create jobs and foster economic growth. Natural gas extraction has also been championed as a way to move toward domestic energy security and a cleaner energy supply. First demonstrated in the 1940s, hydraulic fracturing—injecting fracturing fluids into the target formation at a force exceeding the parting pressure of the rock (shale) thus inducing a network of fractures through which oil or natural gas can flow to the wellbore—is now the predominant method used to extract natural gas in the United States.

Keywords: Fracking, hydraulic fracturing, oil or natural gas extraction, water quality, Graham Sustainability Institute, Michigan

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