Frackopoly ─ The Battle for the Future of Energy and the Environment

Over the past decade a new and controversial energy extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has rocketed to the forefront of U.S. energy production. With fracking, millions of gallons of water, dangerous chemicals, and sand are injected under high pressure deep into the earth, fracturing hard rock to release oil and gas.

Wenonah Hauter, one of the nation’s leading public interest advocates, argues that the rush to fracking is dangerous to the environment and treacherous to human health.Frackopoly is the first book to describe how the fracking industry began; the technologies that make it possible; and the destruction and poisoning of clean water sources and the release of harmful radiation from deep inside shale deposits, creating what the author calls sacrifice zones” across the American landscape. Hauter travels the country, interviewing leading experts, activists, and scholars and revealing not only overwhelming evidence of the harm that fracking causes but also a major groundswell of opposition to the practice in every state and from many different political quarters.

The book also examines the powerful interests that have supported fracking, including leading environmental groups, and offers a thorough debunking of its supposed economic benefits. With a wealth of new data,Frackopoly is essential and riveting reading for anyone interested in protecting the environment and ensuring a healthy and sustainable future for all Americans.

Wenonah Hauter is the executive director of Food & Water Watch, a D.C.-based watchdog organization focused on corporate and government accountability relating to food, water, and fishing. She has worked and written extensively on food, water, energy, and environmental issues at the national, state, and local levels. She owns a working farm in The Plains, Virginia.