Title

Ecosystem services lost to oil and gas in North America

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Science

Publication Date

4-2015

Volume

348

Issue

6233

First Page

401

Last Page

402

Abstract

Advanced technologies in oil and gas extraction coupled with energy demand have encouraged an average of 50,000 new wells per year throughout central North America since 2000. Although similar to past trends (see the graph, this page), the space and infrastructure required for horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing are transforming millions of hectares of the Great Plains into industrialized landscapes, with drilling projected to continue (1, 2). Although this development brings economic benefits (3) and expectations of energy security, policy and regulation give little attention to trade-offs in the form of lost or degraded ecosystem services (4). It is the scale of this transformation that is important, as accumulating land degradation can result in continental impacts that are undetectable when focusing on any single region (5). With the impact of this transformation on natural systems and ecosystem services yet to be quantified at broad extents, decisions are being made with few data at hand (see the graph, this page).

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa4785

Rights

© 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Science

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