As the state of Ohio continues to prepare itself for the upcoming boom expected from hydraulic fracturing, questions about the practice remain for both opponents and proponents of the issue.
An 90-minute show, "Newswatch In-Depth: Fracking Frenzy," set to air on WOUB Tuesday is aimed at answering some of those questions through a live, call-in forum with experts.
"The goal of the show is just to allow people to ask questions by either calling in, sending us an email, tweeting us or Facebooking us," said WOUB digital content manager Cheri Russo.
With questions about the practice abounding, many landowners are struggling to make the decision whether or not to sign a lease, Russo explained.
To help with those questions the show plans to address all sides of the issue from environmental aspects such as water and air quality to the economic perspective for an area hit hard by the recent downturn in the economy.
"This is an issue that's hitting the entire region," Russo said.
Fact Box
Watch the show
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: On WOUB-TV, WOUB-FM and online at woub.org.
To submit questions for the panel: 1-800-456-2044 beginning at 8 p.m. on Tuesday; tweet to @woubnews with the hashtag #indepth; or email to news@woub.org.
Taking part in the show will be Marietta College professor Bob Chase, who has degrees in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State, as well as Bernhard Debatin, a professor at Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and Natalie Kruse, an assistant professor of Environmental Studies in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University.
State Rep. Andy Thompson, R-Marietta, was scheduled to take part in the show but has since canceled due to being double-booked, Russo said. Terry Fleming, executive director of the Ohio Petroleum Council, will take Thompson's place on the show.
Along with the call-in forum, the show will also feature a QR code in partnership with The Marietta Times and The Athens News.
The QR code, which will be broadcast during the show and printed in the newspaper, is a code that can be scanned with a smart phone and the user will then be taken to a website built for smart phones where all the stories related to fracking published by The Times, WOUB, and The News will be located, Russo said.
"Everything you want to know about fracking is probably there," she said.
Given the difficult topic, questions are expected to remain about the process. It is those questions that have Harry Coffey, 84, of Marietta, opposed to the fracking process.
"I think that hydraulic fracking is risky enough. We don't know enough about the risks and what can go bad, so I tend to oppose it," Coffey said.
