The final report from a federal panel on shale natural gas drilling warns that industry and government need to do more to address concerns over environmental impacts.
The panel, convened by Energy Secretary Steven Chu at the request of President Barack Obama, issued its final report on November 18th.
The panel says the development of shale gas is one of the biggest energy innovations in several decades and that the resource has reduced energy costs and created hundreds of thousands of jobs.
But the report warns that "environmental issues need to be addressed now" and that the progress to date is less than it had hoped.
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