In the debate over hydraulic fracturing – as in most debates – the most extreme views do not offer the most viable solutions. But while the oil and gas industry has, by and large, acknowledged that there are risks associated with fracking that must be managed, there are still many in the anti-fracking camp who want the practice banned.

It seems likely that the oil and gas industry will see more regulation of onshore drilling using hydraulic fracturing. It seems unlikely that the drilling methods that are driving the shale boom, and its attendant economic, energy security and geopolitical benefits, will be banned outright.

New York Times columnist Joe Nocera made the argument in an op-ed yesterday that pushing for a ban is a fool’s errand, and that demonizing the Environmental Defense Fund for its collaboration with industry in seeking methods of reducing fracking’s environmental impacts is misguided.

“Here in the real world, new wells are being drilled every day, natural gas is becoming more abundant and the country is coming to depend on it. There is simply no way America is going to turn its back on natural gas.

“Which is why the E.D.F. approach makes so much more sense: rather than calling, Don Quixote-like, for an end to fracking, it is working with states like Colorado to make it safer, more transparent and cleaner.”

You can read the full piece here.