Hydraulic fracturing has received increased attention over the past decade. The rapid adoption of this technique coupled with accurate directional horizontal drilling has unlocked several US shale formations. Amid the possibility of 100% domestically sourced natural gas, public perception varies and opponents question the long-term risks and repercussions of the technique. This thesis will provide context to some of the variation seen in the public perception of hydraulic fracturing among three states: Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Two surveys of Louisiana stakeholders were conducted in order to rank the state in terms of acceptance amongst previously conducted surveys of its two peers. Results show that of the three states, Louisianans have accepted hydraulic fracturing the most and Pennsylvanians the least. Factors have been identified that may explain differences in acceptance among these states. These include well densities, potentially affected populations, previous environmental contamination experiences, variations among state regulatory response, and the personal histories and experiences of each states populations. Louisianas unique history with oil and gas, high exposure to energy development, and vital role in the United States energy market may all be contributing factors for the acceptance of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling of shale as reasonable practices. Meanwhile, the increased frequency of fracking accidents and negative portrayal in documentaries may both contribute to Pennsylvanias low rate of acceptance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-07122012-100858 |
| Date | 16 July 2012 |
| Creators | White, Crawford |
| Contributors | Reams, Margaret, Wascom, Michael, Walsh, Maud |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-07122012-100858/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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