Even as energy companies line up to capitalize on the enormous potential of shale development, their opponents in government and various community groups are, at the same time, lining up to stop it.

The use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and natural gas from the North American shale plays is seen as a key both to helping alleviate long-term energy needs and to reducing dependence on unreliable foreign suppliers.

Yet there is widespread public perception that the hydraulic fracturing process poses significant environmental threats that will require considerable regulation and, in some cases, outright bans.