Shale is very dangerous ground with long term consequences, that the people making money out of today won't give a rat's arse about.
The oil industry knows the dangers but as with the global impact of fossil fuel going back years, they will get laws passed.
Dirty money.
Shale is not new..its just the technology that is new to extract it......fractured sandstone (where the oil is held) gets infilled with water to create the pressure needed for extraction of oil. Many water tables have been documented as been contaminated on account of extraction methods...