"My Water's On Fire Tonight": Best Fracking Explainer Ever. Catchy, Too

The controversy over hydraulic fracturing -- a technique drillers use to reach vast tracts of previously untouchable gas trapped in shale -- can get so muddled it can be difficult for just about anyone to follow.

YouTube to the rescue!

Students over at NYU's Studio 20 put together a fantastically catchy "explainer" about fracking and its impact on local communities and the water supply. The song, My Water's On Fire Tonight (The Fracking Song) was part of Studio 20's explainer project called Explainer.net. Propublica, which has produced numerous investigative pieces about hydraulic fracturing, is a partner in the project.

A fracking explainer is long overdue. Natural gas has been sold as a magical bridge fuel that will allow us to ditch coal forever and fulfill all of our electricity needs as we make our way over to renewable energy. And thanks to fracking, drillers can now reach the country's vast reserves of unconventional gas. It's a potential game-changer for the United States. Of course, there's always a price. If we don't understand what fracking is and the risks involved, how can we, as a nation, ever make the right energy choice?

Obviously, the Fracking Song isn't meant to take the place of investigative journalism. As the folks over at explainer.net put it:

The intent is to bring people in, to create an easily digestible package that compels news consumers to dig into the real meat of the story.

Well said. Now check it out for yourself:

Photo from Gasland filmmaker Josh Fox

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