Fact-based communication: the Shale Gas Information Platform SHIP

Abstract

In response to an increasingly expressed need for factual information, a science-based information web portal, the Shale Gas Information Platform SHIP, was developed. At the core of the project is the shale gas expert network. It's an international and interdisciplinary group composed of mainly scientists that share their specific knowledge with the public. With a strong focus on factual information, this initiative also strives to serve the scientific community as a publication and knowledge exchange platform. SHIP relies upon the basic principles of being science-based, transparent and balanced. The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences coordinates this initiative.All rational decision-making requires that views are formed based on facts. This is true of the often complex decisions politicians must make; such as decisions on how to move forward towards a sustainable future energy supply. By sustainability, we are referring to economically, ecologically and socially acceptable elements, all of which are crucial components. Individual energy resources have to be evaluated for their advantages and disadvantages in all of the fields relevant to sustainability, and they have to be placed into the larger context of a future energy mix. Shale gas provides a relatively new challenge in this respect, since the technologies needed to produce it economically have only been developed and applied during the last two decades (Montgomery and Smith 2010). Large-scale production only began in the mid-1990s in the U.S., where it completely changed the national energy landscape and influenced gas markets worldwide (Stevens 2012). Large-scale production today is still limited to just the U.S. and Canada, but many nations worldwide are either deliberating about the opportunities and risks, or are about to start exploration activities. Among European governments, different opinions on the development of shale gas prevail. The French government has a clear stance on shale gas, recently banning shale gas exploration (EurActive 2012). On the other hand, Poland and Ukraine are moving forward apace, and testing their shale gas potential. Others, like Germany or the Netherlands, are hesitant about pursuing exploration activities and are still in the process of making decisions. Also E.U. bodies are thinking very carefully about how to develop a unified position on shale gas (Shepherd 2012).Fact-based information about shale gas, especially regarding the potential environmental risks related to its production, was lacking until recently, and this deficiency is one reason behind the often subjective debate. Until recently information was only provided by the media, often with shocking headlines, on the websites of opponents to shale, and on industry websites. These information sources are often biased in the way they present information to the general public, serving their own vested interests. Reports in the media correctly draw attention to environmental concerns; however some of the headlines have grossly exaggerated the fa...

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