Unlikely Dissidents

Kenarov features two states, three countries, four opponents for fracking. Shale gas has unlocked what may be the biggest fossil-fuel rush of the early twenty-first century. It has been called a path to energy independence and industrial revival, less polluting than coal. Shale gas drilling also necessitates a high density of wells--clusters of drilling pads pock-marking huge geographical areas. Then, there are new access roads to each pad, impoundment ponds for frack water, compressor stations that burn enormous amounts of diesel fuel, and thousands of miles of new pipelines cutting through woods and fields. And tanker trucks, of course--as many as a thousand tanker-truck trips per well.