CBS News On Fracking

Video with transcript of a report from December 30, 2012, in which David Pogue interviews some people on both sides of the controversy.

I was really hoping that I'd be able to tell you, once and for all, who's right: the gas companies or the worried environmentalists.

But I'm sorry; I can't. There's so much we don't know. We don't know exactly what chemicals are being pumped into the ground.

"The problem is there are a number of proprietary compounds that are used; they're not revealed," said [Cornell professor Bob] Oswald.

We don't know how often problems occur - a number of cases have been closed by non-disclosure agreements. "The landowner, the farmer is compensated, and in exchange for that compensation, their silence is purchased," said Oswald.

So: Is fracking worth the risk? Trouble is, we don't know what the risk is. The EPA is conducting the first national, comprehensive study, but it won't be finished until 2014.

Here's one thing we do know: fracking has been incredibly successful. There are 36,000 fracking wells in this country; thousands more open up every year. The price of batural gas has dropped by 33 percent since 2006 - we're actually about to start exporting it.