US presidential candidates’ views on unconventional gas and oil: Who has it right?

Evensen, Darrick T.N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8892-0052 2016. US presidential candidates’ views on unconventional gas and oil: Who has it right? Energy Research and Social Science 20 , pp. 128-130. 10.1016/j.erss.2016.06.018

Preview

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (117kB) | Preview

Abstract

Unconventional oil and gas extraction (from shale, coal, or tight sands) via hydraulic fracturing (often just ‘fracking’) has the potential to transform the US physical and political landscape. This issue has played a role in the 2008 and 2012 US presidential contests and recently emerged as a point of demarcation between the final four democrat and republican contenders for the White House. On the democrat side, broadly, Sanders advocates for a ban on unconventional hydrocarbon development, whilst Clinton advocates for strict regulation but sees opportunities for natural gas in the US’s energy future. Donald Trump and Ted Cruz favour development. I evaluate the extent to which the two presidential nominees and the two runner-ups’ views are justified based on the most recent natural, physical, and social science on this issue. In doing so, I discuss the characterisation of unconventional gas as a ‘bridge fuel’ and unpack what conditions would be necessary for this metaphor of ‘bridging’ to be appropriate. This short communication will hopefully instigate further the debate amongst scholars of energy politics, energy policy, and energy development on the role unconventional oil and gas plays in the US’s energy future and the US’s approach to climate change mitigation.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Shale gas; Natural gas; Hydraulic fracturing; Bridge fuel
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2214-6296
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 December 2016
Date of Acceptance:	16 June 2016
Last Modified:	03 Dec 2024 20:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/95573

Citation Data

Cited 8 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item