Safe Gas Fracking Touted by Obama Disputed by Environmentalists
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President Barack Obama’s promotion of fracking as a safe way to boost natural gas production is disputed by environmentalists who say the government lacks tough rules to safeguard air and water.
Groups such as Protecting Our Waters say hydraulic fracturing -- in which a mix of water, sand and chemicals are shot underground to break apart rock and free gas -- is tainting drinking water and causing more pollution than is cut by the cheap gas. The broad new federal legislation and regulation the groups advocate would tangle up fracking in miles of red tape, industry leaders counter.