A new word drills its way into our consciousness

What's the top word of the 2011? It's one of those questions to which everyone has a different answer. For my sons it would probably be 'football' or 'Lego'. For me, 'email' or 'holiday'.

But according to Global Language Monitor (GLM), a US company looking at worldwide language trends, the top word is 'occupy', just ahead of 'deficit' and then 'fracking'.

'Occupy' and 'deficit' are in fairly common use, but 'fracking'? Its prominence maybe shows the American focus of the list. But it has started to be used more this side of the Atlantic in the last few months and it's going become more well-known in the next year.

'Fracking' is short for hydraulic fracturing, the controversial technique used to extract shale gas from rocks thousands of feet below the earth's surface. Wells are drilled and then a mixture of water, sand and a small amount of chemicals is injected into the rock at very high pressure to help the gas flow. American production of shale gas has rocketed in the last decade, moving the US from being on the point of importing gas to one of the world's leading gas producers.

In the UK, shale gas is being promoted by some as the miracle solution to our energy problems - a clean, cheap, secure supply of gas. But the development of the industry in the US has brought major concerns about its potential impacts on the environment and human health.

Locally, the key concern is about the potential impact of fracking on water supplies. There is evidence from the US of water contamination from methane gas and from the fracking chemicals. And earlier this month, Cuadrilla (the only company currently test-drilling for shale gas in the UK) admitted its activities had triggered minor earth tremors in Lancashire.

Friends of the Earth's other key concern about shale gas is its impact on climate change. If you believe Cuadrilla, there's enough gas under Lancashire alone to keep the UK supplied for over 50 years, though these numbers have been questioned as purely speculative.

Continuing to rely on gas to heat our homes and generate our electricity risks locking us into an energy system addicted to dirty fossil fuels and make it much harder to meet our climate change targets.

And our dependence on fossil fuels has already hit us in the pocket, with rises in electricity and gas bills in recent years overwhelmingly driven by rises in fossil fuel prices. Shale gas has cut gas prices in the US, but experts say it won't do the same in the UK.

Advocates of shale gas say we should bet the farm on this new 'wonder-fuel'. But the UK has vast potential resources of renewable energy. If we link a major program of cutting energy waste with really exploiting this renewable potential, then the wind, waves and sun can give us the vast majority of the electricity we need. We will also create tens of thousands of green jobs.

'Renewable' didn't feature in GLM's list of top words for 2011. If it got into the top 10 for 2012, it would be a sign we're heading in the right direction.