Theย Union of Concerned Scientists‘ Center for Science and Democracyย has released a new report titled โToward an Evidence-Based Fracking Debateโ andย DeSmogBlog‘s โfrackademiaโ work takes the center stage in the 53-page heavily cited document.
With chapters on the science of hydraulic fracturing (โfrackingโ), fracking’s regulatory landscape (and lack thereof), industry transparency (and again, lack thereof) and many sub-topics in between, DeSmog‘s โfrackademiaโ work is mentioned twice in the โInterference in the Scienceโย subsection.ย
โIndustry interests have influenced the outcome of academic studies of unconventional oil and gas development,โ wrote UCS in citing DeSmogBlog. โSuch efforts have produced industry-friendly research results and reports coming from several universities, a circumstance that has been dubbedย ‘frackademia.’โ
UCS cited our โfrackademiaโ case study of State University of New York at Buffaloย and its proposedย Shale Resources and Society Institute. The proposal was met with resistance and furor, eventually shuttering operations before it ever officially opened its doors inย late-2012.ย
Careful to avoid coastal bias, UCS also mentioned our probe of University of Southern California’s โPowering Californiaโ report.ย
โA 2013 study published by the University of Southern California discussed the economic benefits that fracking would bring to California,โ explained UCS in citing our story. โOne of the studyโs co-authors failed to disclose that he is the founder and president of an oil and gas industry consulting firm called FACTย Inc.โ
Other โfrackademiaโ case studies also receive a mention, including at University of Texas-Austin, Penn State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Obama Administrationย Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz‘s ascent to power began at MIT‘s Energy Institute, a key industry influence peddling and โfrackademiaโย hub.
Report coauthor Gretchen Goldman, an analyst at UCS‘ Center for Science and Democracy, weighed in on the โfrackademiaโ portion of the study in an interview withย DeSmogBlog.ย
โIn several cases, weโve seen commercial interests exploit the clout of academic institutions without disclosing their ties to industry,โ said Goldman. โThe co-opting of academic studies by corporate forces threatens the scientific process we depend on to get reliable information from our educationalย institutions.โ
Photo Credit: SirMetalย | Wikimedia Commonsย
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