We noted previously the NYT's attempt to impede domestic drilling through a series of articles on the "environmental dangers" presented by hydraulic fracturing (see here), and the failings of those articles (see here). Well, having fallen short at its attempted environmental scaremongering, the "Paper of Record" appears to be at it again with a series of articles attacking the economics of shale development in the United States: "But the gas may not be as easy and cheap to extract from shale formations deep underground as the companies are saying, according to hundreds of industry e-mails and internal documents and an analysis of data from thousands of wells." See here.
The author appears to have missed the mark yet another time, however, relying on years-old, outdated communications and analyses while ignoring more recent data. As John Hanger, former Secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, states in an excellent take down of this new attack: "Reader beware. This reporter puts sensationalism ahead of fairness or truth. Pennsylvania's drinking waters are not poisoned with radionuclides, as substantial testing has verified, and the reading public should drink from this journalistic cup with great caution."
For more, see here (Energy in Depth) and here (Forbes.com: "Most of this argument is absurd on its face.").