Fracking isn't new

Fracking, as in using force to break open, or fracture, shale formations to release oil and gas, goes back to about 1865, when oil drillers in the region around Titusville found their wells plugging up with wax due to the high wax content of the oil there. E.A.L. Roberts developed "torpedo shells," like the one above shown at Drake Well Museum, to lower black powder or nitroglycerline into the well to blow the wax clear. The process was also find to stimulate oil and gas production. Of course, explosives have given way to today's hydraulic fracturing, where a high pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals are used.