Fracking, not Covid, may decide American election

People think it’s Covid, law and disorder, etc. that will decide Donald Trump’s fate. None of that. His base is still intact at just over 40 per cent of the electorate.

There is one issue that will decide the outcome of the US presidential election. It’s an issue in the two swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. What’s going on there? Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, a relatively novel way to drill for oil and natural gas from sedimentary shale rock.

The US is awash in shale oil and gas. Known shale gas reserves are predicted to last 100 years of consumption. India too has shale reserves, but hasn’t explored much, so knows so little. India though has started receiving liquified natural gas from the US.