Frackopoly

The Battle for the Future of Energy and the Environment

From the author of Foodopoly, a major new critique of fracking, including an anatomy of the industry and how we can stop its dangerous, widespread practices

“The oil and gas barons threatening our democracy and life on the planet are facing a grassroots uprising that is changing the nation’s politics.” —from Frackopoly

Over the past decade a new and controversial energy extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has rocketed to the forefront of U.S. energy production. With fracking, millions of gallons of water, dangerous chemicals, and sand are injected under high pressure deep into the earth, fracturing hard rock to release oil and gas.

Wenonah Hauter, one of the nation’s leading public interest advocates, argues that the rush to fracking is dangerous to the environment and treacherous to human health. Frackopoly describes how the fracking industry began; the technologies that make it possible; and the destruction and poisoning of clean water sources and the release of harmful radiation from deep inside shale deposits, creating what the author calls “sacrifice zones” across the American landscape.

The book also examines the powerful interests that have supported fracking, including leading environmental groups, and offers a thorough debunking of its supposed economic benefits. With a wealth of new data, Frackopoly is essential and riveting reading for anyone interested in protecting the environment and ensuring a healthy and sustainable future for all Americans.

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Praise

“A truly powerful manifesto about one of the greatest environmental fights on our planet today—from one of its greatest champions!”
—Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author of Oil and Honey
“Even though I have lived every chapter of this book, from beginning to end, I couldn’t, as a reader, put it down. What makes Frackopoly so riveting is not the economic evidence, public health data, and the political analysis—although that’s all here, too—but the brilliance of the author as the teller of this tragic-yet-hopeful tale. Wenonah Hauter is that rare narrator—a gifted writer and an environmental leader with a box seat in the public arena. A must-read for all who care about climate change, democracy, clean water, breathable air, and energy policy. Which is to say, all of us. Read this book and let your eyes be opened to the hoodwinking of America by the fracking industry.”
—Sandra Steingraber, biologist and author of Living Downstream: An Ecologist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment
“At this critical juncture in human history, Frackopoly is a must-read. Rich in history and science, it allows us to understand how we’ve got to this point and gives us the courage to continue the fight. Wenonah Hauter and Food & Water Watch were essential in legitimizing the call to ‘ban fracking’ across the United States. Her book is a powerful account of that vital necessary struggle and where we have to go from here.”
—Josh Fox, director of Gasland and How to Let Go of the World (and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change)
“Real life anti-fracking superhero Wenonah Hauter delivers the definitive story on how big oil and gas corporations captured our political system and schemed to frack America—and the growing grassroots movement to retake our democracy and protect our planet.”
—Mark Ruffalo, actor, director, and advisory board member of Americans Against Fracking

News and Reviews

C-SPAN's Book TV

Wenonah Hauter discusses her new book, Frackopoly, about the origins of fracking and its impact on the environment and public health.

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National Catholic Reporter

National Catholic Reporter calls Frackopoly a "page-turner" in their review

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Huffington Post

"Read Frackopoly," writes Evaggelos Vallianatos for the Huffington Post. "It's well written, timely, and very important."

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Books by Wenonah Hauter

Foodopoly

Foodopoly

The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America

Wenonah Hauter

Goodreads Reviews