Flipping emotions through information 

New technologies always raise question such as what they are meant for, what they do and what the possible negative side-effects   could be. What I find fascinating is the emotional warning function that people pose , which is the  irrational thought, the feeling that something is not right or even more  dangerous. These thoughts prevent the permission to execute and cannot be expressed properly. 

I would like to clarify  this with an example I came across recently. In 2010,  shale gas provided 20 % of the natural gas  production. This natural gas  that is found in  trapped within shale formations  has become increasingly important. But when they   started drilling for shale gas they did not for see  negative side effects  which caused contaminated water, pollution and  the area used for drilling. 

What happens afterwards is even more interesting. Here,  in the Netherlands we found shale gas as well and because of the fact that the drilling of our own natural gas  could benefit the independence and economy of our country, the government was interested in the drilling of shale gas.   

But then came the anti-shale gas propaganda about how dangerous and harmful shale gas could be. the propaganda evinced showed  that water out from an  ordinary water faucet could catch fire because of the shale gas pollution in the water,  which is used for drilling the shale gas.

I would like to inform you that I am not making anything ridiculous, but these messages from other countries which showed the consequences of shale gas strikes fear in the local residents and they have all reasons to be afraid. 

the thing that is missing is key information. The people who have their concerns, based on single-sided  information, creates  irrational thoughts based on emotions which is considered ordinary . These people  feel the need to protect themselves from possible future damage .

the things that are missing are all the new breakthroughs on drilling shale gas and how safe it has become . According to several sources, shale gas compared to other natural gasses  and drilling methods is far more safe and better for the environment. When looking at the possible impacts on the human health, experiments prove that coal has a far more damaging average  on air quality than  shale gas or natural gas. When mining coal this could radically alter landscapes  and whole mountains and wind turbines use just slightly less land  area then a shale gas derrick . Also a shale gas derrick will  only  stands for just 30 days whereas  wind turbines could stand  for 20 to 30 years. Also there has been a lot of research in how to drill shale gas without polluting the water.

frankly, when I had realized the impact of the drilling of shale gas, I was also apprehensive . This is because of  all the negative effects that you see and remember . But after doing more background reading I concluded  that this  no longer applied. My irrational emotional  thoughts were put to rest after I knew the current safety measures and possible  benefits.

In my opinion, when debating with all stakeholders involved, and when emotions hinder the implementation. Is to go deeper into these emotions, where lies the anxiety and how could or is this already prevented. By doing so emotions are put to a rest and the support could be increased substantially.