Good article written by an environmental attorney. He talks about the precautionary principle as it applies to Marcellus shale development. He says:

If gas displaced coal or oil, even at the margins, it would improve air quality and reduce acid rain and greenhouse gas impacts. Also, among the lessons of the tragic events in the Gulf of Mexico and the unfortunate events of this month in the Marcellus Shale is that, while humans err and their machines fail, drilling for natural gas on land seems to pose less environmental risk to sensitive receptors than drilling for oil in the ocean. The precautionary principle has a very ambiguous application to the Marcellus Shale.
Unless we are prepared to garage our cars and to turn off our lights, the status quo is not very attractive or sustainable environmentally. If abundant, cheap, domestic natural gas — to quote the commercial — really is an improvement, should we not develop it with a sense of urgency?

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