The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) looks to be one of the first academic institutions to validate the claims that cold fusion is real. Cold fusion is now more commonly called Low-Energy-Nuclear-Reactions (LENR), partly to avoid the stigma the term “cold fusion” evokes. And in a strange twist of fate, MIT – who was one of the most aggressive detractors of cold fusion in the 1990s – is now leading the charge in resurrecting the technologies it once vilified.

Dr. Swarts and Prof Hagelstein of MIT publicly demonstrated how a device can not only run itself indefinitely, but their experiment also produced ten times the energy output that was input. They ran the experiment for two days to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technology using a NANOR by Jet Energy. The device, as of this publishing, has been running for five days straight.

How Does LENR/Cold Fusion Work?

Understanding the theory about how LENR works has been the primary stumbling block for the technology. Only in the last few months have legitimate explanations for how and why a device like Andrea Rossi’s E-CAT could work.

While jumping into nuclear physics is beyond the scope of this article, theories to explain the phenomenon are leaning towards a “Lattice Assisted Nuclear Reaction” or LANR (sorry, it’s just another acronym for LENR). For the folks looking for a high-level, technical explanation, I like this one from a comment on a Digg posting and cited by New Energy Times:

It is looking more and more that “cold fusion” isn’t fusion at all. The best theory out there that doesn’t invoke any new physics is the Widom-Larsen theory (which has been published in a reputable peer reviewed journal). In a nutshell, it states what is going on is a multistep process. The plasmon modes in hydrated metals (think of them as surface electrons that all act together) get energized (many ways to do this) and get absorbed by protons. This produces a very low energy neutron (reverse neutron decay due to the weak nuclear force). Low-energy neutrons get absorbed quite easily by anything. This starts a cascade of creating unstable isotopes which beta decay. During the beta decay, gamma ray photons are released, but when they hit that metal plasmon they get shifted into mostly IR (heat) with a soft X-ray tail.
The challenge is that this phenomena requires very high energy densities (order of 10^11 V/m). So it more often will happen in small nano-crevices in materials.

For the less technical version, the chemical reactions invoked with LENR-type processes starts a chain reaction:

1. Two chemicals are introduced to each other (Hydrogen + Nickel is a popular choice)
2. Elements in these chemicals become excited (the “plasmon modes” in the above explanation)
3. The plasmon modes emit electrons that get absorbed by protons
4. This process causes very low level gamma radiation
5. The gamma radiation produces heat

So that may be more information than your brain was ready to absorb but the point is that we now have several theories to explain why Cold Fusion/LENR/LANR works.

Why Do We Need a Theory?

In short, you can’t get a patent if you can’t explain how your technology works. If you can’t get a patent, you won’t get paid for your discovery as anybody who comes along can legally reproduce your work. This is the same thing that happens when we get a generic equivalent of a prescription drug.

So now that we have working theories, the hope is that the academic community will embrace cold fusion once again. With the support of academia, the technology can be improved upon and viable commercial units – cold fusion in your home – can be created.

When Can We Expect Cold Fusion in Our Homes?

Some inventors like Andrea Rossi and Defkalion are trying to get commercial and home-ready units into stores as early as the Fall of 2012. Rumors were circulating that Home Depot would be the first major retailer to carry Andrea Rossi’s E-CAT later this year.

And if you still have doubts, here’s an example of a working version by Defkalion:

You can see the video here

As more academic institutions get behind cold fusion again, my hope is to see this technology made huge leaps in the upcoming year. Who knows, maybe we’ll see home-ready devices by Christmas 2012. Here’s hoping!

With plenty of excitement around electric vehicles, one sub-group tends to get lost in the fray: electric bikes. These devices are affectionately referred to as e-bikes and are getting more traction as a possible technology for transitioning the general public to electric vehicles. E-bikes are still bikes that can be peddled by the driver, but they offer the ability to augment – or replace – your peddling efforts with electric motors. This is an important distinction to understand between electric scooters and other small electric vehicles – to be an e-bike, the vehicle must still be able to be peddled by the driver.

One strong argument for e-bikes is that commuters who don’t want the physical exertion of traveling is overcome. E-bikes are also a lot smaller than motorcycles and can still be used on bike paths and trails. In some communities, this means commuters have zero traffic to deal with when commuting on an e-bike.

“…to be an e-bike, the vehicle must still be able to be peddled by the driver.”

E-bikes aren’t for everyone. But if you live in a big city or within a few miles of work, an e-bike may be exactly what you should consider. With no parking costs, similar commute times, zero gas, and easy or no peddling required – e-bikes have a strong case. Recent upgrades in technology and changes in approach are making more e-bikes available with features and price-points that are attracting more customers.

For the high-speed e-biker crowd, companies like Hi-Power Cycles have created monster e-bikes capable of speeds in excess of 60 MPH. On a bike. Other e-bike options from Hi-Power Cycles are more tempered with speeds of around 30 MPH – still plenty of speed for getting around town. Prices range between $2,500-$10,000.

The ALite by High-Power Cycles

On the less extremeside of the e-bike genre are the Ultra Smart Vehicle designs by Optibike. Designed to be a short commute replacement, these e-bikes still have considerable power and range. You can go 45 miles without peddling on a single charge. The estimate for cost per charge is only $.07 or $.002/per mile. At $10,000, the price point is still inaccesible by most consumers looking to jump into the market.

Ultra Smart Vehicle by Optibike

Even more toned down – and affordable – are the e-bikes in the “electric assist” genre. These e-bikes are designed to help the rider without being fully electric. And these are also a fraction of the cost of the more extreme e-bikes on the market.

The eZee Forza can go 20 miles with heavy assisting on a sing charge and hit speeds of around 30 MPH. At 50lbs, the Forza is very manageable and prices start around $2,500.

eZee Forza by NYCE Wheels

At the bottom of the price point are designs by companies like eZip with their Trailz e-bike, which start around $600. These e-bikes are electric assist designs capable of speeds around 15 MPH with a range of around 15 miles on a charge. This type of design allows for entry level prices with enough features to get consumers to try out the concept.

Trailz by eZip

For the do-it-yourself folks interested in e-bikes on a budget, electric conversion kits are available starting at around $200. You convert your current bike into an e-bike with these systems. A kit from Papa Motor will get you top speeds of around 20 MPH with a range of 20 miles.

36v/500W Conversion Kit from Papa Motor

The e-bike, with affordable costs, functional speeds, and practical ranges may attract commuters looking to get an electric vehicle, but don’t want to afford the higher-priced cars available.

Biomass continues to be a promising source for energy and a few recent breakthroughs are worth noting;  specifically in the arena of pig manure. Before jumping into the manure, the more exciting news is how multiple technologies are evolving – including wind and solar power – to provide permanent power solutions. Biomass may now have a more important piece to play, and pigs may have provided that answer.

Promising Pig Manure

While you may not normally get excited about this topic, researchers over at University of Illinois may give you a change of heart. Using a new process, they believe they can produce up to two barrels of oil per day from their 3,000 pigs. They currently produce about two gallons, but that is without their next phase which will allow the team to grow more algae.

While two barrels per day per 3,000 pigs may not sound like much, consider this: the manure used to be hauled off at great expense to the University. Now the manure can be used to generate income or at least reduce costs by using the oil for electricity or fuel. Further, the manure used to go to a local sewage plant, which now has less waste to manage.

Methane Concerns

One of the primary concerns of biomass is that most processes release a great deal of methane, which can in the long-term be far more damaging to the environment than tradition carbon emissions. Enter firms like FlexEnergy who are now able to convert this methane into its own fuel source.

Methane production during in biomass energy processing is generally too slow to burn directly. This means you cannot simply connect a methane-burning solution right into the pig manure plant and burn off the Methane as it is produced. But FlexEnergy developed a method of slowly burning off the Methane.

The firm describes the process as being more like “chemically cooking” the methane so that it burns much more slowly and at lower temperatures. These temperatures still reach in excess of 1700 Fahrenheit, so the process can be used to generate electricity or heat water.

Traditional Methane pipelines burn gas at about 80% concentrations of Methane. The FlexEnergy design does so at 1.5%.

Fuel Cells

Another way to use biomass for energy is through the use of fuel cells. Using steam, these systems have waste products of distilled water. Natural gas is the standard form of power for fuel cells, but now Methane may be a source.

Building on the pig manure and Methane burning solutions, ClearEdge now has standalone fuel cells capable of producing 8.5 megawatts of power from Methane. What makes this technology so exciting is the massive advancement in power generation. Using slow producing Methane sources plus natural gas, the ClearEdge systems could be a legitimate way to convert what used to be a waste product that consumed resources into a power generation product.

Tying Technologies Together

When combined with other renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, fuel cells could be answer for permanent alternative power. Solar and wind power come and go depending upon the weather conditions. Fuel cells can then kick in and keep the lights on using natural gas only when needed. Fossil fuels not needed. Better yet, the byproducts would be water.

Who would have thought pig poo could be so exciting!

Solid State Lighting (SSL) encompasses several technologies, including light-emitting diode (LED), organic light-emitting diode, and even polymer light-emitting diodes (PLED). With recent legislation taking effect in states like California regarding efficiency standards for light bulbs, the race has been on to improve upon the gift Thomas Edison gave us in the traditional, incandescent light bulb.

Over the last few years the LED has been the go-to technology for more efficient lighting, but recent breakthroughs in both price and the technology is driving manufacturers towards integrating OLEDs into their products.

Overview of the OLED

The OLED reacts to an electrical current just like traditional LEDs, but OLEDs can be designed to operate in a very thin film that can be both flexible and clear. And because an OLED device does not need a backlight, the color contrasts are stunning.

In short, OLED technology is thinner, lighter, has better color resolution, provides a great deal more applications than LED, and in many cases is more efficient than LEDs.

New OLED Applications

So how does this apply to the light bulb? Manufacturers of everything from cars to mobile devices are reaching for OLED technologies, but the makers of light bulbs are also showing interest in using OLEDs for general lighting as well.

Flexible OLED lighting solutions are emerging quickly for commercial use and are expected to hit the market in full force by 2015 or earlier. The only thing slowing down the industry is the cost of development. But as manufacturing ramps up, the cost will plummet.

BASF and Philip are developing a clear OLED sunroof that acts as a clear solar panel by day and a gentle light by night when needed. Of course, the technology can be applied to other areas of the vehicle as well, but BASF and Philip are the first to integrate OLEDs into a sunroof that also works as a clear solar panel.

Even smartphone manufacturers are adding recent innovations to their phones. A University of Cambridge team successfully integrated a solar panel behind an OLED display on a phone to recapture wasted light. The captured energy is fed back into the device’s battery, improving the amount of time between charges dramatically without adding significant weight or width to the phone.

Of course, you cannot research OLED technology without seeing the applications in high-definition televisions. New designs are as large as 55 inches weighing in at only 16 lbs and 4mm thick. The contrast ratio is in the neighborhood of 100,000,000 (yes, million):1 – or 50+ times that of LED-based televisions.

While the OLED concept is still in progress with a significant barrier being the price of production, the benefits and applications are incredibly exciting. With regulatory pressure for improved efficiency and more innovations in the industry, 2012 may still prove to be the year of the OLED.

For more on the discussion about LEDs and Fluorescent Lighting, see our article on Green Home Authority.

The wind turbine industry has had its fair share of ups and downs in recent years, but 2011 was especially turbulent for the industry. Even with improvements in the technology, the industry’s growth seems to correlate directly with the economic and legislative environment. In spite of a tumultuous 2011, the wind turbine industry has a number of positive areas of growth.

Off-Shore Wind

A consistent concern for communities looking to embrace wind power is that the turbines themselves are an eye-sore. The higher the turbine, the more efficiently it functions due to the natural aerodynamic drag caused by the surface of the earth. Towering as high as 200 feet (70m), wind turbines can sometimes be seen from miles away. Add the cost of development and many communities are deciding to look elsewhere for long-term energy cost savings.

Enter the University of Maine who is advocating putting wind generation systems as many as 20 miles off-shore. At this distance the turbines will be completely out of site and can be optimized for harnessing the winds that move off the coast. The goal is to move away from oil and gas for heat and electricity production and push Maine residents to use electric heaters and electric vehicles. Estimates indicate that residents of the state spend around $10,000 per year on energy costs, which could be cut to a fraction of that amount with sustainable solutions like wind turbines. But at a cost of around $20 Billion, the University has some major hurdles to overcome.

Recent Commissions

A bright spot for wind turbines is a project commissioned by the Edison Mission Group. Capable of generating as much as 55 megawatts, the 23 turbines of the proposed wind farm could produce enough energy for 14,000 average homes. This wind farm will be near the Maryland and West Virginia borders on Green Mountain.

Warren Buffet has even thrown his capital into wind farming. Berkshire Hathaway owns MidAmerican Energy, which recently bought out Invenergy Wind’s 81 megawatt project. MidAmerican Energy currently owns more than 3.3 gigawatts of wind energy capacity and is the leader in the U.S. in wind energy production. Still, the 50 turbines needed for the Invenergy project will only help the wind turbine manufacturers who are desperately looking for buyers.

Tight Margins

Manufacturers cite tightening margins as a key concern as more competitiors enter the market. In the U.S., Congress did not renew a production tax credit for 2013, which will make costs of production in the States more difficult. This is especially true since countries like China are heavily subsidizing wind turbine manufacturing in an effort to reduce dependency on foreign oil and other energy products.

The result of no wind production tax credit is being said to likely cause a crash in the wind markets. Says Justin Wu of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, “The U.S. wind market will likely crash in 2013…Uncertainty over the Production Tax Credit extension this year means that little development activity will take place.” The 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour tax credit has been enough to spur growth, but without it U.S. manufacturers are concerned more production will have to be outsourced overseas.

For more information on wind power, see our WindPowerAuthority.com:

• Turbines for Low Speed Wind Conditions
• How Turbine Blades are Manufactured
• How to Get Wind Developers to Look at Your Land

Whether you already own an elctric vehicle (EV) or are considering the purchase, you should know about some of the add-ons and upgrades available. Most of the upgrades hitting the market are geared towards improving mileage or making it easier to recharge your EV.

Take for example the Enginer solar power generator. You install a backup battery system in your car and a solar power system at your residence or office. The system recharges during the day and augments the stock battery system in the EV. The result is dramatically improved mileage with customers reporting doubling their range and the cost of the electricity is free since it’s solar.

(Image Credit: Enginer)

Or for the true EV road-warrior, the Solar Home roof-mounted recharger. You install a series of solar panels onto the roof of your home or office, which charge the EV batteries during the day. The 2.61kW device claims to be capable of producing around 400 kilowatt hours per month.

(Image Credit: Solar Home)

Ford even entered the market with partner SunPower to offer their own version of a solar powered recharger with the SunPower E18 Series. This system generates around 250kW hours per month – enough for around 1,000 free miles per month. The E19 and E20 series offer even more power if you need it.

(Image Credit: HC)

And for the ultimate in ease, check out the wireless recharging capabilities coming to Sears. Evatran’s new system is position right under your EV so you simply pull up to your normal parking spot and there’s no need to plug your vehicle into the wall. The long-term vision is to have units like this installed in parking garages and even stoplights to recharge as you drive.

(Image Credit: EVCarCo)

Qualcomm has their own entrant into the wireless charging phenomenon, which they displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas, NV. The current model is fairly large, but plans are in the works to offer a design that’s about the size of a laptop bag.

(Image Credit: Geek)

With these and other upgrades hitting the market in the near future – or in many cases are already available – the appeal of an EV is ever growing. The cost per mile is already significantly lower than gasoline-only vehicles and solar powered recharging systems promise to continue to reduce the cost per mile.

New technologies are being unveiled at a break-neck pace that could speed up the entry of electric vehicles (EV) coming to market. One of the biggest drawbacks to owning an EV is the charge time. If you max out your batteries out on the road, you may have to wait hours while your EV charges back up. This issue, along with price, has held back the EV industry significantly, but this may all be changing soon.

Home charging units can come in several flavors to enhance charge time. Fast charging is dependent only on the charging system with fast chargers taking as little as 30 minutes for a full charge. Even if you are stranded, you likely will not need a full charge to make it home or to your destination. So having fast chargers handy in public places is critical to allaying consumer concerns.

Enter the Department of Energy (DOE) and ECOality. Using the DOE fund of $115B and a private fund of the same amount, ECOality is rolling out 14,000 publicly available fast chargers – the first of which are hitting cities like Portland, Los Angeles, and other large markets. The best part of the deal is that these fast chargers are free to use! Granted, you have to wait in line, but an 80% charge takes only 25 minutes with most people being estimated to only need 10-15% charge to make it to their destination.

(Image Credit: GCR)

Another new technology was introduced this week at the Consumer Electronics Show by Qualcomm which enables wireless re-charging of an EV battery. Just park the EV over the top of the charger and that’s all you have to do. Several versions are available to include fast-chargers. These can be installed in parking garages and other locations to allow re-charging of your EV while you work or even while you shop. Small versions are being prototyped now that are no larger than a laptop handbag.

Even solar energy is being tapped into for charging options. While not of the fast-charging flavor, these systems will allow for remote charging and drive down the cost of electric costs for public services who want to provide free electricity, such as the ECOality system. The University of California, Riverside will be implementing such systems to include powering a new electric trolley on campus.

Speaking of lowering costs, DOE’s Secretary Steven Chu announced this week that the cost of batteries for the EV field to drop from a staggering $12,000 per vehicle to as low as $1,500 per vehicle no later than 2020 with significant drops in price as early as 2015. This announcement is based upon recent breakthroughs in batter technology to include lithium-air and lithium-sulfur designs that are much less expensive to develop.

With fast-charging and price reductions in the near future, the success of the EV is becoming more likely in the U.S., where the industry has had cause for concern as consumers have shied away.

For more information on EV technology:

• Electric Car Motors: AC vs. DC
• EV Charger Finder Update

Scientists are turning to mother nature for inspiration on improved solar panel designs. The concept of copying what nature has had millenia to make is generally referred to as biomimicry and is gaining momentum as breakthroughs are leading to major improvements.

Take, for example, one of the principle concerns of the photovoltaic (PV) industry: the footprint. To harness enough energy using the sun’s rays, solar panels stretching for acres upon acres are required. In countries where land costs are at a premium, PV solutions may not make sense.

The Sunflower Solution

Enter the recent efforts by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to use biomimicry to provide a solution, as reported by Wired. Looking to the design of a sunflower, scientists arranged the panels in the same way sunflower seeds grow within the sunflower.

The spiral design, a variant of Fermat’s spiral, shows promise of dramatically improving the efficiency of the area used to collect solar energy. The results were around 20% less area with small improvements in conversion rates.

Augmenting Nature

Or take the new developments published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) regarding a process of bonding a synthetic chemical to naturally occurring photosynthesis chemicals. The process is being called a bionanodevice.

The enzyme Photosystem I is used by plants to produce hydrogen for food and by bonding their own concoction to Photosystem I the scientists were able to double efficiency of hydrogen production. The implication is that augmented photosynthesis may be the key to harnessing hydrogen for biofuels.

More importantly, these bionanodevice improvements may be combined with the Fermat’s spiral designs to get a double-whammy out of PV systems. Imagine being able to harness electricity and hydrogen out of the same locations.

Solar power is seeing striking improvements across many fronts from better efficiency to reduced costs of production. As biomimicry gives us more clues to improved processes, 2012 gives us the hope that PV may decrease our dependency on fossil fuels – or possibly eliminate the need for fossil fuels in years to come.

For more information on how to implement solar power in your home, check out our guides:

• How Much Does it Cost to Install Solar on an Average US House?
• Solar Panel Installation Cost Calculator

(Image credit: Focardi and Rossi with their e-Cat, retrieved from Brian Wang.)

Pure Energy Systems reports that Andrea Rossi announced on January 5th, 2012 that he is in discussions with Home Depot to bring his revolutionary Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) electrical generators to market as early as Fall of 2012. While the talks are in early stages, the fact that major retailers are in discussions with Dr. Rossi is an indicator that the technology may be in households within the year.

The statement released by Dr. Rossi is as follows:

Andrea Rossi
January 5th, 2012 at 4:27 AM

Dear Alex:
IMPORTANT: WE DID NOT REACH ANY AGREEMENT WITH HOME DEPOT YET!!! WE ARE IN TALKS WITH THEM. MANY ISSUES HAVE TO BE RESOLVED YET. CERTIFICATION, OF COURSE, MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE WE SELL OUR E-CATS. OF COURSE WE ARE IN DISCUSSIONS ALSO WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

Warm Regards,
A.R.

You can also listen to Dr. Rossi’s radio interview by James Martinez where he discusses his plans of moving forward with retail outlets to sell his devices. Skip to 14:00 minutes for the main part of the interview.

What is LENR?

If you haven’t heard of the technology yet, LENR is most easily compared to cold fusion and also called Chemically Assisted Nuclear Reaction (CANR). With an initial charge of electricity, the devices are heated and then sustain their temperature indefinitely with excess heat produced. Modern LENR devices are so efficient that 1kw up to 1MW of excess heat have been generated by these devices. In short, if found to be viable, LENR means no more need for fossil fuels.

Pricing and Output

(Image credit: Artist depiction of the Rossi E-Cat, retrieved from EC3)

Dr. Rossi has allegedly developed a LENR device referred to as the E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) capable of using Nickel powder and Hydrogen to generate 10kw – 20kw of power. This is plenty of power for running air conditioning and heating for most homes.

The E-Cat is estimated to cost approximately $1,000.00-$1,5000 (USD) per unit (radio interview by James Martinez, 17:30). Dr. Rossi explicitly states that his goal is to keep the price as low as possible to reduce competition.

Big Names Backing Rossi

In late 2011, Dr. Rossi began working with National Instruments to develop manufacturing specifications and plans for production of the E-Cat as reported by E-Cat World.OilPrice.com broke the news that the State of Massachusetts has ordered 13 of his 1Mw units. According to Fox News, the U.S. Navy has allegedly expressed interest and support of Rossi’s designs.

Other LENR Options

Dr. Rossi isn’t the only LENR developer making headlines. Defkalion Energy, a Greek-based tech firm, also claims to have been able to consistently produce power using a near-identical process, but much more efficiently. Defkalion is months behind Rossi in terms of manufacturing process yet has gone so far as to post product specifications. Other scientists have been emerging with similar results – all using Nickel and Hydrogen. This seems to validate Dr. Rossi and Defkalion Energy findings.

The entire E-Cat technology has yet to be publicly unveiled. Private demonstrations have convinced key investors, but Dr. Rossi has chosen to keep the details under lock and key until he receives patents for his device. This has led to wide-spread cynicism not to mention rejection by academia because no modern theory explains how the E-Cat and other LENR technologies work.

With all signs pointing towards LENR reaching markets soon, we may be standing in line next Christmas at Home Depot hoping to buy our very own LENR device.

Updated 1/15/2012 to correct Texas Instruments to National Instruments and report PES as original reporting news source. 

The future of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking – the act of forcing high-pressure fluids into the ground, causing natural gas and oil rich sands to the surface – is on shaky ground as more voices add to the concerns that the process is causing earthquakes, pollution, and safety issues. The technology holds the promise of providing billions of barrels of oil to the U.S., potentially replacing the need for any oil from the Middle East. Natural gas, one of the top energy producers in the U.S., is another resource mined using fracking processes.

Like all technologies that mine minerals from the earth, there is always the possibility of causing shifting of the ground. This is nothing new to the mining industry which has decades science – and regulations – to keep the practices safe for both miners and the surrounding terra firma. But the pollution of ground water and other safety concerns associated with fracking are adding up to cause regulators to get involved.

New Regulations

Colorado looks to be the first to ratchet up regulatory pressure on companies fracking in their state. The regulations are directed at the chemicals being used for fracking. Most companies try to keep their chemicals private, but the Colorado regulations will require disclosure of the general chemical family being used. This is an attempt to balance the needs of corporations to keep trade secrets while giving communities critical information.

The New Year’s Eve earthquake in Ohio tipped the Richter Scale ot 4.0 – the second of that size within days and the 11th within the year. The fact that all 11 quakes were within a two mile radius of a Youngstown fracking site have led do the State shutting down operations until the fluids used in the process can come up to the surface. Officials in Arkansas did the same earlier this year.

Fracking in the U.S. is nothing new both in terms of technology and regulation. Since the 1950s U.S. Geological Survey scientists have reported fracking as the cause of earthquakes. A 1967 quake near Denver hit 5.5 on the Richter Scale.

Recent Developments

Current concerns go beyond the recent earthquakes. Waste water, a by-product of fracking, is either stored in local retaining wells, hauled off to treatment sites, or simply stay in the ground. New regulations appear to be aimed at controlling waste water pollution, but it has yet to be seen how these regulations function in the real world as businesses adjust to the costs of following the new rules.

Fracking is still a promising process and may be the source of the majority of all oil and natural gas in the not-so-distant future. We know the technology works. The key will be to balance the long-term benefits with the side-effects of the processes.