WASHINGTON, October 24 (RIA Novosti) - US President Barack Obama along with environmental activists is waging an all-out assault on American oil and gas production and hydraulic fracturing, a report published by the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) said.
"This strategically organized alliance [between the Obama administration and far-left environmental activists] has gone to great lengths to misconstrue facts, falsify science, and manufacture risks in order to vilify hydraulic fracturing with the long-term goal of ending the production of the nation's oil and natural gas resources," the 111-page report published Thursday said.
Two weeks before the midterm elections EPW Committee Republicans blame Obama's administration for expanding federal authority and attacking oil and natural gas development while using the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lead an attack on affordable energy.
The report addresses what it labels as the "myths" of hydraulic fracturing imposed by the current government, which includes air pollution, water contamination and earthquakes.
"Anti-hydraulic fracturing strategy is the linchpin to achieving the Administration's overarching goal of phasing out fossil fuel energy and rewarding wealthy liberal investors," the report added.
The report, entitled "Setting the Record Straight: Hydraulic Fracturing and America" notes that the benefits of hydraulic fracturing in America are job creation and local economic impacts, rebuilding oil and gas reserves and boosting production as well as fulfilling energy consumption needs in the country.
However, the Obama administration along with environmental activist groups has continuously been warning about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing because of its damaging effects to the environment. The administration continues to emphasize that it wants to see more green energy options to combat global warming.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock by drilling down into the ground and injecting water, sand and chemicals into the rock at high pressures, releasing gas to the head of the well.
