December 16, 2014, by Wil Knight

Shale Gas Massive Open Online Course

On the 2nd February 2015 the University of Nottingham is launching it’s Shale Gas Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The course is written by the Shale Gas Research team here at the University who have been publishing the Public Perceptions of Shale Gas UK Public Surveys for the last two years. In this Blog we present some of the brilliant imagery used in the course to give you a flavour of the science and debates around shale gas. Sign Up Here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/shale-gas  Follow the debate on Twitter: @ShaleGas_MOOC

During this four-week course, we’ll study the politics, economics, and science of shale gas. We’ll examine how shale gas was formed, and how we extract it through hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’. We will look at the impact of shale gas on energy markets and energy security.

We then move on to the environmental politics of shale. What are the local effects in terms of water contamination, seismic activity, and air pollution? What are the global effects? Does shale gas offer a ‘bridge’ to a low-carbon future, or would we be walking the plank?

Finally we look at the question of what the public thinks, an area where the University of Nottingham has particular expertise, having run a public opinion survey on shale gas since 2012. Why are the US and UK experiences so different? What do the public think of allowing unconventional gas to be developed?

At the end of the course you will have improved you understanding of the costs and benefits of shale gas, and you will have made your contribution to the public debate on this important topic.

#UoNShale

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