In the first edition of "Shale Gas: The Promise and the Peril," Vikram Rao explained that shale gas has the potential to transform the U.S. energy-based economy in the electricity, transportation, and chemical sectors. Since then, shale oil burst into the national consciousness even more rapidly than did shale gas. In the second edition, Rao does more justice to the shale oil-related issues, including the consequences of unpreparedness of infrastructure to deliver fluids to market. Six new chapters discuss issues such as chemicals disclosure and challenges to the orthodoxy in the...

Shale oil and gas have altered the energy landscape, possibly permanently. They burst upon the fossil energy scene with a suddenness that initially defied prediction. Even the political balance of the world has changed. But, with the methods employed, the vast majority of the oil and gas remains in the ground. At the same time, serious environmental impact issues have been raised. A new volume in the Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry series, Sustainable Shale Oil and Gas: Analytical Chemistry, Geochemistry, and Biochemistry Methods was written on the premise that analytical...