Union of Concerned Scientists Cites DeSmog's "Frackademia" Work in Major Report

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Theย Union of Concerned ScientistsCenter for Science and Democracyย has released a new report titled โ€œToward an Evidence-Based Fracking Debateโ€ andย DeSmogBlog‘s โ€œfrackademiaโ€ work takes the center stage in the 53-page heavily cited document.

With chapters on the science of hydraulic fracturing (โ€œfrackingโ€), fracking’s regulatory landscape (and lack thereof), industry transparency (and again, lack thereof) and many sub-topics in between, DeSmog‘s โ€œfrackademiaโ€ work is mentioned twice in the โ€œInterference in the Scienceโ€ย subsection.ย 

โ€œIndustry interests have influenced the outcome of academic studies of unconventional oil and gas development,โ€ wrote UCS in citing DeSmogBlog. โ€œSuch efforts have produced industry-friendly research results and reports coming from several universities, a circumstance that has been dubbedย ‘frackademia.’โ€

UCS cited our โ€œfrackademiaโ€ case study of State University of New York at Buffaloย and its proposedย Shale Resources and Society Institute. The proposal was met with resistance and furor, eventually shuttering operations before it ever officially opened its doors inย late-2012.ย 

Careful to avoid coastal bias, UCS also mentioned our probe of University of Southern California’s โ€œPowering Californiaโ€ report.ย 

โ€œA 2013 study published by the University of Southern California discussed the economic benefits that fracking would bring to California,โ€ explained UCS in citing our story. โ€œOne of the studyโ€™s co-authors failed to disclose that he is the founder and president of an oil and gas industry consulting firm called FACTย Inc.โ€

Other โ€œfrackademiaโ€ case studies also receive a mention, including at University of Texas-Austin, Penn State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Obama Administrationย Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz‘s ascent to power began at MIT‘s Energy Institute, a key industry influence peddling and โ€œfrackademiaโ€ย hub.

Report coauthor Gretchen Goldman, an analyst at UCS‘ Center for Science and Democracy, weighed in on the โ€œfrackademiaโ€ portion of the study in an interview withย DeSmogBlog.ย 

โ€œIn several cases, weโ€™ve seen commercial interests exploit the clout of academic institutions without disclosing their ties to industry,โ€ said Goldman. โ€œThe co-opting of academic studies by corporate forces threatens the scientific process we depend on to get reliable information from our educationalย institutions.โ€

Photo Credit: SirMetalย | Wikimedia Commonsย 

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Steve Horn is the owner of the consultancy Horn Communications & Research Services, which provides public relations, content writing, and investigative research work products to a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit clients across the world. He is an investigative reporter on the climate beat for over a decade and former Research Fellow for DeSmog.

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