Fracking with Obama's mind

President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu tour
an engineering lab at Penn State in February 2011. /whitehouse.gov image

In 2008, Barack Obama was a relatively obscure political figure. He had served in the Illinois Senate and had his first moment in the national spotlight at the 2004 Democratic Party Convention, when he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

The vast majority of the 66 million people who voted Obama into the Oval Office had never had an opportunity to follow his decision-making on any issue, nevermind the often epic challenges the U.S. government has faced since the election. A brewing conflict inside the Obama administration over fracking is one of the most revealing episodes of his first term, with potentially pivotal repercussions at the polls next year.

In the eco-corner of the bureaucratic boxing ring, the EPA is conducting the first comprehensive U.S. investigation of fracking by an independent agency. Congress authorized the research in 2010, and the probe is set for completion next year. On May 9, the first independent, peer-reviewed study of fracking's impact on drinking water was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The Duke researchers found strong evidence of methane contamination of drinking water wells near fracking operations in Pennsylvania and New York. If the Duke research is an indication of the science to come, the EPA will have to press for new fracking regulations, including bans in sensitive areas.

The industry apparently has the White House in its corner. On May 5, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu picked seven experts to find the "best practices for safe and responsible natural gas production." Chu's advisory board began meeting this week and has 90 days to find "immediate steps that can be taken to improve the safety and environmental performance of hydraulic fracturing." The advisory board also has the next six months to develop "advice" for fracking regulators. Environmentalists claim Chu's advisory board is stacked with industry insiders, and they're probably right. Six of the seven board members have professional and financial ties to the petroleum industry. Two of the Chu panelists have had business ties with fracking industry heavy-weight Schlumberger Ltd., including panel chairman John Deutch, who has served on the Schlumberger Board of Directors.

I've heard Obama say on several occasions that he is committed to making decisions based on what's best for the American people as a whole regardless of pressure from interest groups. When it comes to energy policy in general and fracking in particular, Obama could have the green wing of the Democratic Party seeing red in November 2012.

Like most of the presidents since Richard Nixon, Obama sees the wisdom in boosting domestic energy sources and reducing U.S. reliance on foreign sources of oil. He has embraced not only environmentalist-friendly renewable energy industries, but also energy industries that are the bane of environmentalists, including coal, nuclear and fracking.

In the eyes of environmentally minded Democrats and independent voters, clean coal is an oxymoron, nuclear looks scarier than ever after Fukushima, and fracking seems like a classic case of a new industry raping Mother Nature before regulators and the public figure out what's going on.

Unless the Republicans pick a fatally flawed nominee in 2012, Obama is going to need every vote he can get to win a second term. If the Illinois Democrat decides to back fracking, he risks a significant chunk of his base staying home on Election Day.