NYTimes graphic attractively illustrates ‘fracking’
I recently noticed NYTimes' interactive feature, "Extracting Natural Gas From Rock," which elegantly, and without missing a step, illustrates the drilling method that has thrust the natural gas industry into a renaissance but also come under fire (quite literally)for reportedly being unsafe and contaminating folks' drinking water.
Hydraulic fracturing, or simply “fracking,” is a subject that is near and dear to my heart as a former environment reporter. So because most people aren’t hydrologists, petroleum engineers, et. al, it was always difficult to — first — comprehend and then translate that into language that a sixth grader could understand.
After a while, I found that the written word was not always the right medium to convey to someone who has, say, never seen a drilling rig much less understood how such an operation might work. Even a picture won’t say quite a thousand words.
But finally the web is evolving to a place where motion graphics like this one are both displayed elegantly and don’t take forever and a day to load. Even if you aren’t an environment news junkie, you might find this cool and informative.
