Although the Germans can now call themselves World Cup champions, they may be headed for a losing energy proposition. Last week, Germany’s energy and environment ministers announced that they were considering a ban on shale oil and gas drilling. Barbara Hendricks, minister for the environment, went so far as to say that these would be the “strictest regulations [Germany has] ever set” and that “there will be no fracking for economic purposes in Germany in the near future.”[1]