Fracking science just got better.

Butterflies, not caterpillars lay eggs.

"As the catterpiller chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priests of green lay their curse on the fairest opportunity." (apologies to William Blake).  Fracking counts as such a 'fairest opportunity', adding jobs, wealth and security through energy independence from Saskatchewan to Pennsylvania and Texas. Fracking is the new target of opportunity for the excitable fringe of the left. (Anti-Fracking outcry compared to Salem witch trials.) The wicked witch of the left is confronted with a new academic review of the literature. The conclusion is that existing leaky casing technology should be improved, deep fracking below the water table doesn't contaminate, and that wherever you drill in Petro-land, you'll find some oil and methane down there in the dirt and water.  Not settled is whether small earthquakes may have been triggered.

Researchers at UT Austin .. reviewed the scientific literature and regulatory documents for three major areas of fracking in Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania and New York. They could not find evidence of drilling fluids leaking deep underground, and methane in water wells in some areas is probably due to natural sources. The team did not see a need for new regulations specific to fracking, but for better enforcement of existing regulations of drilling in general—such as those covering well casing and disposal of waste-water from drilling.

From a report to the AAAS.which has this to say about credibility:  "Groat, a former director of the U.S. Geological Survey, emphasized that the $380,000 report was independent from the natural gas industry and conducted only with university funds. Underlying white papers were peer-reviewed"