Types of Fracking

Australia’s fracking opponents have won some victories. Victoria State, which includes Melbourne, put a moratorium on fracking in 2012 that is still in effect. New South Wales, the state that includes Sydney, has placed some restrictions on fracking methods.

Bulgaria becomes the second European country after France to ban test drilling for shale gas using the controversial "fracking" method. Bulgaria becomes the second European country after France to ban test drilling for shale gas using the controversial "fracking" method.

Fracking in Canada In Canada, more than 200,000 wells have been horizontally fracked for shale gas or oil, primarily in the western provinces. It is now estimated that 80 per cent of new oil and gas wells in Canada are fracked.

Jeremy Carl and David Sandalow have mixed reviews for China's leaders as they ramp up fracking to reduce the country's coal burning and end the stigma of being the world’s largest GHG emitter. Progress has been painfully slow as huge, state-run oil companies try to copy the rapid and nimble rise of the US shale-gas industry.

Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process of extracting shale gas by injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals under high pressure deep underground in order to release hydrocarbons from between layers of rock.

France's constitutional court has upheld a ban on hydraulic fracturing, ruling that the law against the energy exploration technique known as "fracking" is a valid means of protecting the environment.

German politicians have approved a law that bans fracking, ending years of dispute over the controversial technology to release oil and gas locked deep underground. The law does not outlaw conventional drilling for oil and gas, leaving it to state governments to decide on individual cases.

Whether you are pro- or anti-fracking, consider that some places on the planet may be worse places than others to use the new technology to extract natural gas. The debate about this controversial topic is really heating up in Ireland now -- a place where activists say it would be particularly dangerous to drill as it is full of aquifers. I interviewed Leah Doherty of No Fracking Ireland to better understand what people are worried about on the Emerald Isle.