Fracking in CA: a good idea? My take in the LA Times

Los Angeles Times
Op-Ed

‘Fracking’ the Monterey Shale — boon or boondoggle?

Extracting oil and gas from the California formation could bring the state economic prosperity — or it could be an environmental disaster.

Monterey Shale Oil rig pump jacks work the oil fields near the town of Maricopa located in the oil rich hills West of Bakersfield between Maricopa and Taft. A recent study by USC predicts that a Monterey Shale boom could add $4.5 billion in tax revenue to state coffers and 2.8 million California jobs by 2020, and would turn the state into the nation’s leading oil producer. (Los Angeles Times / December 27, 2013)

By Alex Prud’homme

December 29, 2013
 “Eureka!” reads the California motto, originated in the 19th century Gold Rush. Now some believe the state is on the cusp of a 21st century bonanza, only this time it will be oil that fuels a Golden State boom.
Modern prospectors are eyeing the Monterey Shale formation, a 1,750-square-mile resource-rich swath of land in the San Joaquin Valley. Lying deep beneath the valley’s surface is a trove of shale oil — some 15.42 billion barrels’ worth, according to an estimate by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
If that proves true, the Monterey formation holds the equivalent of 64% of America’s total shale oil reserves. A recent study by USC predicts that a Monterey Shale boom could add $4.5 billion in tax revenue to state coffers and 2.8 million California jobs by 2020, and would turn the state into the nation’s leading oil producer.
But there’s a catch, or three, to that rosy scenario …

for the rest of the story, please see:
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-prudhomme-fracking-california-20131222,0,2346646.story#ixzz2ovFyTQVr