www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-09/fracki...udies-conducted.html

What do you guys think? Does it bother you that we don't completely understand the environmental effects of petro/natural gas fracking, or is it worth taking the risk to wean ourselves off of foreign oil?

I think it is really a double edged sword. Fracking in Ohio has been linked to causing low level earthquakes...
I liken it to strip mining, sure you can get the end product but at what cost to the environment, the surrounding area and the long term health of the community?
I have heard rumors that the natural gas companies are evening trying to pay off scientists to keep mum on the topic of what fracking is actually doing...

Doesn't sound good to me.

Moreover, it looks as if we'll hit 'grid parity' between renewable energy costs and hydrocarbon energy costs sometime between 2016 and 2025. Here are a few related empirical studies:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032111003492
www.nedo.go.jp/content/100116421.pdf
www.greentechmedia.com/images/wysiwyg/re...TM-LCOE-Analysis.pdf

Those were some pretty technical resources, but they were interesting and helpful, thanks.