Environmental Disputes and Opportunity-Threat Impacts Surrounding Natural Gas Fracking in Louisiana

Abstract

Despite the increasing socioenvironmental controversy over the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology in unconventional natural gas development (i.e., fracking), few sociological studies have used citizen interview narratives to examine attitudes toward shale fracking at the local level. Drawing on sociological research, discursive documents, and in-depth interview data collected from regional stakeholder groups/citizens, this article offers a qualitative analysis of the environmental disputes and opportunity-threat impacts perceived to surround natural gas exploration and hydraulic fracking in the Haynesville Shale region of Louisiana. The narratives reveal that the fracking dispute largely revolves around divergent diagnostic and prognostic beliefs about shale gas development, as well as whether the perceived economic opportunities of development outweigh the alleged socioenvironmental risks to the Haynesville community. Some conclusions about the utility of qualitative research for the study of environmental controversies like fracking, as well as the potential future direction of the growing national debate over shale gas and oil extraction, are discussed.