What does hydraulic fracturing look like? The slideshow embedded below takes an up-close look at fracking - the breakthrough technologies and procedures used to produce natural gas from shale rock formations thousands of feet below the surface.

My favorite photo: A detail shot of sand grains in a worker's palm. Fracking fluid is 90 percent water, 9.5 percent sand and 0.5 percent chemicals. Once the rock is fractured, sand in the mixture keeps the cracks open so natural gas can escape and be collected. The term "hydraulic fracturing" sounds pretty traumatic, but cracks in the rock are no bigger than the grains of sand.

To learn more, visit the Energy From Shale website.

Fuel Fix's William O'Keefe has an interesting take on oil and natural gas company earnings that have come out this week - and have been targeted by proponents of higher taxes on energy producers. O'Keefe writes:

"In the midst of several major oil companies reporting their third-quarter earnings, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is leveraging those figures to launch attacks on its opponents. The strategy behind the assault entails pointing to positive corporate earnings to justify selectively levying putative tax hikes on the oil and gas industry. However, attempts to position energy producers as outliers based on their profits fail to hold up to scrutiny.

"Misplaced scrutiny? (Reflexively, my eyebrow rises.) Tell me more:

"The oil and natural gas industry has a narrow p... more »

Here's another video from API's hydraulic fracturing workshop earlier this month. Anadarko Petroleum's Rebecca Thingelstad discusses HF-3, from the standards and industry guidelines developed by API and its members. HF-3 helps companies that are producing natural gas from shale to foster good relations with host communities.

Subjects addressed in the guideline include positive engagement of residents and local officials, protecting the air, reducing noise, preventing spills and managing water resources used in fracking. "HF-3 is kind of a cumulative look, it's a holistic approach at being good stewards and good neighbors," Thinglestad says. Take a look:

People in Williamsport, Pa., have an easy explanation for city's current economic bloom: natural gas from shale.

The city in the state's center, perhaps best known for hosting the annual Little League World Series, once was a thriving lumber center but in recent decades had seen economic decline. Now natural gas production, using hydraulic fracturing to tap the Marcellus Shale formation, has transformed it into one of the fastest growing communities in the country. Here's a video that captures Williamsport's story:

When America's oil and natural gas companies report quarterly earnings, as a number are doing this week, lots of folks wonder: Who's benefiting?

In large part, we are - millions of Americans who in one form or another own stock in oil and natural gas companies.

Updating its 2007 study on oil and natural gas company ownership, the Sonecon consulting firm found that nearly 50 percent of all corporate shares are held by public and private pension and retirement funds, including 401(k)s, and IRAs. Individual investors own 20 percent, while financial institutions and asset management companies own 27 percent. That's 97 percent. Less than 3 percent is owned by corporate officers and board members.

In a conference call with reporters Kyle Isakower, API's vice president of regulatory and economic... more »