Natural gas hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking for short, is an alternative method of extracting natural gas from the Earth’s crust. The way that hydrofracking works is that a water and chemical mixture are shot down a well at very high pressures. This process creates “fractures” to release the desired natural gas from the rocks.

Many people are strongly apposed to hydrofracking due to the fact that this method of natural gas extraction requires a lot of water. The problem lies in where all of this water is going to come from and where it is going to go once it has been used? The fear is that the water in close proximity of hydrofracking operations becomes contaminated with toxic chemicals that are very harmful to humans. This is why communities protest against hydrofracking and why it is such a controversial issue. 

New York has been at the very center of this hydrofracking controversy. . The area that is of most concern is called, Marcellus Shale and is land that that the gas companies desperately want to take over for their fracking operations. On February 22, 2012 a NY state judge ruled that Individual towns have the right to decide if they will allow hydrofracking or not. This is a win for environmentalist and those living in NY. On the other hand, it enrages the drillers. This is an ongoing battle and it will be interesting to see what transpires in the months and years to come. 

Resources: 
http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/hydro-fracking.asp
http://www.safewatermovement.org/what-is-hydrofracking/