Fracking, while controversial, is carefully regulated and keeps the United States a leader in lower energy costs, Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman says.
"Quite frankly, it's helpful for all of us because we pay natural gas prices that are about a third to half what they do in Asia and in Europe," Zuckerman said in an interview with "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
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"This era of American production, a boom, is going to lead to American economic dominance for years to come because we pay so much lower energy costs.
"As a result, you're getting companies moving back to America … and it's going to help them for years and it's [creating] jobs."
Zuckerman — author of the new book,
"The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters", published by Portfolio — said fracking is not a new process.
"Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing, which just basically means pummeling rock with a combination of liquids. Usually water with some sand and some chemicals and the whole idea is to create little fractures, little fissures in the rocks so that oil and gas can come out," he said.
"We've been doing this since the '50s so it's not new. The controversy is new now because only since around the late '90s, which I write about in my book, did we Americans innovative entrepreneur wildcatters, figure out how to get lots of oil and gas from shale.
"Shale is this rock, really tough, down below and you need to frack it. So people are a little bit nervous because we use these chemicals and they're worried about it getting into the water, among other concerns."
Zuckerman said some states have rightfully cracked down on fracking procedures, but believes fracking can be done safely.