You've heard that there ain't no such thing as "Clean" Coal. Maybe scrubbing some of the sulpher and removing some of the heavly metals. But certainly not clean. And then there's the dirty little secret of Coal Ash!.
But this article sums up the current research related to fracking. Ouch. Evidense keeps mounting about the down-side of oil fracking. This article really sums it up.
Link to the Ecologist article on Fracking.
Of course, our argument here at SustainZine, is focused around the sustainability nature of fossil fuels in general. It's okay, kinda, to use fossil fuels, but only do so when you have a long term plan that is sustainable, and this is the bridge to the future.