Washington Post: Fracking coalition upsets some in both environmental and gas drilling camps

Like a marriage the in-laws don’t approve of, a new plan to strengthen standards for fracking is creating unusual divisions among environmentalists and supporters of the oil and gas industry.

At first glance, it’s hard to fathom all the angst over the Pittsburgh-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development. Environmental groups, foundations, and major oil and gas companies came together to support stringent measures to protect air and water from pollution in the Appalachian region, and they invited other groups to join in and help limit pollution from fracking.  

Not everyone was flattered by the invitation.

“WHOOO-HOOO, Frackers and Environmentalists collaborate!” noted the anti-drilling website No Fracking Way, in a post titled “Fracking Center and Fluffy Kittens.”

The Sierra Club called the new plan “akin to slapping a Band-Aid on a gaping wound,” and a coalition of grass-roots groups called No Frack Ohio claimed that the plan “simply puts green lipstick on a pig.” MORE