The Telegraph: What the shale gas industry doesn't want you to know about fracking

Last week the Telegraph published an article I wrote headlined “Now for the Downside of Fracking”, which was based on the experience of several days reporting from Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

The piece was an attempt to provide an ground-eye view of what it is like living in close proximity to the so-called "gas rush" which has boosted the local economy, but also caused a backlash from some residents who live close to the installations.

The broader point was very clear. As I wrote: “From a safe distance, the arguments for fracking seem absolutely irresistible – abundant cheap energy, nearly 2 million new jobs and a pain-free fall in carbon emissions – but for those who unlucky enough to find themselves close to the drilling and processing sites, the experience can be miserable.”

To make the point again, watch this video, which was shot by Jerry Yeager, a 58-year-old retired garbage collector, who lives with his wife a few hundred metres from a compressor station outside Smithfield, and you will see what I mean.

He estimates that the compressor station makes these kinds of noises “about 30 per cent” of the time, or another sound which he likens to “a 747 taking off from the backyard”.  MORE