Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is used to extract gas from rock formations (e.g., shale gas). The problem is that you have to pump toxic chemicals such as benzene into the ground, and you cant really prevent them from polluting into the ground water. The number of wells is large (15000) and are spread out over large geographic area. The potential social cost is huge. The 2005 energy act exempted the gas companies from disclosing any of the details of chemicals and/or be regulated by EPA. But there is real impact on the ground (captured in the documentary Gas Land; see the youtube videos below). Looks like a social movement is developing as a reaction to the negative impact of fracking. Congress has launched an investigation in this. This has natural gas industry worried.
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