Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of extracting natural gas and oil out of shale rock in the ground. It's been in development for a few decades, but only recently has become technologically feasible. Fracking fueled the oil boom in North Dakota and has boosted U.S. oil output to a twenty-five year high and pushed the country closer to energy independence. But fracking has also created fears and worries over water contamination and environmental destruction. But over the past year, the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado has led civil and thoughtful conversation on hydraulic fracturing in an ongoing lecture series called FrackingSENSE.  Dr. Patty Limerick is the Faculty Director and Chair of the Board of the Center of the American West and moderates the series. She's in Brookings at South Dakota State University for this evening's Harding Lecture. It's titled "A Fractured Society Confronts Hydraulic Fracturing: How Historical Perspective Makes a Current Dilemma Both Better and Worse" and the talk begins at 7:00 in the Performing Arts Center.