The world’s biggest ... fracker

It’s not only toxic — it’s driven by a right-wing billionaire who profits more from flipping land than drilling for gas. Is energy’s latest boon just another scam founded on hot air? Jeff Goodell reports

The world’s biggest ... fracker

AUBREY McClendon, America’s second-largest producer of natural gas, has never been afraid of a fight. He has become a billionaire by directing his company, Chesapeake Energy, to blast apart gas-soaked rocks a mile underground and pump the fuel to the surface.

“We’re the biggest frackers in the world,” he declares proudly over a $400 bottle of French Bordeaux at a restaurant he co-owns in his hometown of Oklahoma City. “We frack all the time. What’s the big deal?”

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