IS SHALE GAS THE ANSWER TO OUR ENERGY NEEDS?

Jeff Rubin, (author of the book "why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller" in this interview
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/is-shale-gas-a-game-changer/article1868254/

in the Globe and Mail says not: depletion rates are too high and well head costs are too high relative to the current low price of gas.
Also consider this comment from

Juan Peron

12:22 PM on January 13, 2011

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Shale oil is extracted through hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The process pumps water and chemicals into the ground at a pressurized rate exceeding what the bedrock can withstand, resulting in a microquake that produces rock fractures.

According to an article by Rady Ananda, fracking has been used in Arkansas for some time with a tremendous increase in earthquake frequency following advanced drilling. There were thirty-eight earthquakes in Arkansas in 2009, and more in 2010 than in all of the twentieth century. There has been a 1,200% increase in earthquakes over 2009 in the last four months of 2010.

The recent, well-publicized deaths of thousands of birds happened in the shale extraction area of Arkansa. An earthquake of whatever scale can release a stream or cloud of gas and fracking chemicals which could easily explain why sleeping birds would suddenly take flight, and then quickly die as they succumbed to the toxic fumes. Hundreds of thousands of dead fish along the Arkansas River likely died from the same cause.

Dead fish, dead birds, and earthquakes. Are these the disasters that we are bringing to Canada?

The evidence we see today is the sudden drop in price of CARBO CERAMICS, the primary producer of fracking materials/propants.

By comparison, take a look at Westport Innovations, makers of natural gas powered engines:

By this logic, Wesport would go to the moon, if only gas prices would go to zero.

Of course, if the argument in favour of Shale Gas and Wesport had nothing to do with making money and EVERYTHING to do with building resliency in the economy then this all makes sense.

The question is what does the participation of the MIC and other related government agencies look like? If it is high, then it is reasonable to assume these companies will continue to grow.