To the Point
US Hydraulic Fracturing, 'Fracking,' Sparks Overseas Interest
The US has a worldwide advantage in "fracking" to extract natural gas from shale rock. We hear how it works and look at the pros and cons.
By Warren Olney • • 50m ListenThe US has a worldwide advantage in "fracking" to extract natural gas from shale rock. China's one of the countries investing in US projects to learn the technology. Are the benefits worth the risks? We hear how it works and look at the pros and cons. Also, unemployment drops again, and Latin American immigration is changing direction.
Banner image: Opponents and supporters of gas-drilling, or fracking, walk into the last of four public hearings on proposed fracking regulations in upstate New York on November 30, 2011 in New York City. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesUnemployment Drops Again, Is the Economy Finally Warming Up?
America's unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level in almost two years, 8.5 percent, and this time it's not because more people gave up on looking for work. It appears tens of thousands actually got new jobs. Sudeep Reddy reports for the Wall Street Journal and blogs for Real Time Economics.
Read the story7 minDoes 'Fracking' Have a Future?
In the past ten years, gas trapped in shale rock deep under Earth's surface has leaped from two percent to 30 percent of America's natural gas production. The reason is development of hydraulic fracturing, a horizontal drilling technique that allows rock to be broken up so the gas can be extracted.
Read the story36 minShifting Immigration Patterns Change Latin American Landscape
American towns and cities are used to seeing the new faces of people from Latin America. Now that the US is not the magnet it once was, immigration is moving in a very different direction.
Read the story6 min
