Fracking Uncertainty

Hydraulic fracturing fracking is an unconventional extraction technique used in the oil and gas industry that has fundamentally transformed global energy politics. In Fracking Uncertainty, Heather Millar explains variation in Canadian provincial policy approaches, which range from pro-development regulation to moratoria and outright bans. Millar argues that although regulatory designs are shaped by governments' desires to seek out economic benefits or protect against environmental harms, policy makers' perceptions of said benefits and/or harms are mediated through socially constructed narratives about uncertainty and risk.

Fracking Uncertainty offers in-depth case studies of regulatory development in British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Drawing on media analysis and interviews with government officials, industry representatives, academics, and environmental advocates, Millar demonstrates how risk narratives foster distinctive forms of learning in each province, leading to different regulatory reforms.

"The emergence of hydraulic fracturing in recent decades has created new economic opportunities for fossil gas production, but also uncertain environmental risks. Through comparison of four Canadian provinces that adopted diverse positions on 'fracking' Heather Millar illustrates how distinctive 'risk narratives' pointed policymakers to different advisors, consultation processes and, ultimately, regulatory outcomes. Millar's book provides a novel and convincing analysis on a hugely important issue."--Kathryn Harrison, Professor of Political Science and Brenda and David McLean Chair in Canadian Studies, University of British Columbia
"Heather Millar brings a welcome new lens to the politics of fracking: different public perceptions of risk. Her framework goes beyond simple answers to help readers understand how different risk frames lead to diverse policy choices across states and provinces on regulating unconventional oil and gas development. The book will be valuable to scholars and professionals interested in the 'fracking' controversy, as well as other policies regarding uncertain or contested risks."--Leigh S. Raymond, Gund Chair in the Liberal Arts, University of Vermont
"Fracking Uncertainty is a rigorous assessment of why differing perceptions of risk develop, and how provinces are managing the trade-offs of fracking. This is precisely the kind of analysis we need to guide policy development - and civil society mobilization - in the last years of Canadian oil and gas extraction."--Angela Carter, Canada Research Chair in Equitable Energy Governance and Public Policy, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
"The advent of hydraulic fracturing opened the door to expanded oil and gas production and an array of related environmental concerns. Heather Millar adeptly leads a coast-to-coast examination of how provinces across Canada responded politically and produced a highly varied set of policies. Her book is a model for scholarship in comparative sub-federal politics and policy."--Barry Rabe, Arthur Thurnau Professor of Environmental Policy, University of Michigan

Heather Millar is an associate professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick.

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