Natural gas is cheap and plentiful, and is accelerating America’s path towards energy independence. Zachary Ming provides perspectives on the cleanest, most abundant fossil fuel resource in the United States.

Mark C. Thurber is the Associate Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development. He discusses the the differing opinions about natural gas among the environmental community, as well as the resource’s complex environmental implications.

The nature of natural gas extraction presents seismic risks. Mark Zoback gives a 5 step plan to manage and reduce the seismic risk associated with wastewater disposal from natural gas drilling.

Dr. Joel Swisher, a Consulting Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, discusses the implications of continued emphasis on natural gas versus coal.

Andre Peterhans, Manager of Strategic Planning at Chevron, delves into some of the regulatory implications for natural gas production in the future.

Susan Sakmar, a Visiting Assistant Professor and Andrews Kurth Energy Law Scholar at the University of Houston Law Center, discusses the likelihood of the United States exporting natural gas due to high domestic production rates.

The extraction of natural gas requires vast amounts of water, and the water becomes heavily polluted afterwards. Paul Vidal de La Blache shows how natural gas production affects our water supply.

The rate of natural gas production from a specific well depends on numerous factors. Stanford student Kurt Wilson discusses the case of the Barnett Shale well, as well as some environmental consequences of fracking.

Proponents of shale gas have proclaimed that it is a climate solution – our bridge to the energy future – but methane emissions from shale gas development could make it a bridge to nowhere.

Stanford students Jonathan Strahl and Joe Chang examine whether China has the ability to replicate the successes North America has achieved in the production of shale gas.