I would like to answer that by pointing to a higher principle: our modern civilization has been built thanks to the drive of the "everyperson" to improve his/her own lot and that of their families. What you might call the "animal spirit". This led to "business organizations" and markets. While both have drawbacks, they are overwhelmingly responsible of humanity's much improved lot today, compared to any number of centuries prior. So I would try to let the "business organizations" and the markets answer your question: certainly, if there is a more economical way than fracking, they will do it. If there's not, then let's look at what happened in the US: they've been fracking for more than a decade now. They are all the richer, more prosperous and more autonomous than us in Europe, and no big catastrophe seems to have been caused by them fracking incessantly for more than a decade ... Is the situation ideal ? Clearly not, the choice is what the French would call "Cornellien" (after the French poet Corneille). But when all is said and done, it seems to me pretty clear that the US has made the better choice.