The Wire

Coal seam gas mining and hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” came in during a time of expensive gas prices in the US. The practice experienced a massive boom, but the damage of the activity had not been under proper scrutiny. As the studies poured out, it showed not only does the practice contaminate the environment by polluting water sources, it has also been linked to causing earthquakes.

A paper titled The intensification of the water footprint of hydraulic fracturing has found an additional problem. Water usage has increased by 770% since 2011. It raises the question of whether this is sustainable within Australia – a notoriously arid continent currently undergoing a drought.