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Environmental effects caused by the usage of fossil fuels
Environmental effects caused by the usage of fossil fuels
Environmental effects caused by the usage of fossil fuels
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Stop Frackin’ with the Water
The amount of damage that has been done to our planet is not minute, and continues to grow. Most people like to believe that using natural gases has the ability to solve the problems that have been created over the years to the Earth. Now the question has been raised, is this really true? What if using natural gases is bringing more damage to our planet? One of the most controversial topics right now is based on the concern that water is being contaminated with poisonous chemicals left in the ground from fracking. Companies argue that fracking is not bringing any issues to the table, however research indicates that is not the case. Hydraulic fracturing continues to spread across the country and so does its baggage.
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Fracking is the destructive process of injecting millions of gallons of chemical filled water down into the ancient rock to extract the natural gasses from within. Emily Griswold, an award-winning American Journalist and poet from Princeton University was published in The New York Times speaking on the issues of fracking. Griswold indicates in her article that there are two kinds of people when it comes to the issue of fracking: people who love the idea of using natural gas and would rather have all the jobs created to help the economy or people who see it as one of the biggest issues the US is currently facing due to the amount of problems it brings with it.
One of the most heavily fracked areas are small towns in Pennsylvania. Griswold focuses on the amount of fracking wells in this area as well as the issues that follow alongside them. According to Griswold, Pennsylvania alone has over 4,000 wells with an estimated climb of 2,500 per year. Due to the high numbers the E. P. A. has gotten involved to investigate the effects on rivers, streams, drinking water, and human health. Once the investigations began it became clear that not only humans were at risk, but animals were being placed in a dangerous position as
In the video “Fracking Hell: The Untold Story” by Link TV explains how natural gas has been a huge problem not only for the earth in general but for everyone and everything living in it. The video explains how North East of Pennsylvania is having difficulties to conserve a healthy environment and people. North East of Pennsylvania is the main sources to extract gas and send it throughout the United States for gasoline and so on. However, this action is wonderful for the cost of gas, but has a huge impact on the environment and the people living in Pennsylvania. A lot of people in this state are worried having health issues because everything is not usable is being thrown out to the rivers where they get their fresh water.
In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon emission from electricity production plants, reducing carbon footprints on the environment. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing uses millions of gallons of pressurized liquid, which contains toxic chemicals, and some of this water is left over undealt with. The air near fracking sites is often also polluted and unsafe for nearby community residents. Injecting millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals into the rock thousands of feet deep can cause earthquakes, causing a safety hazards for all nearby areas. Hydraulic Fracturing makes rare natural gases easily attainable, boosting the economy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the negative side effects such as contaminated water and air, make hydraulic fracturing a process that may not be worth the benefits.
The U.S federal government should significantly increase fracking because oil and gas fracking is big business in America, with more than two million hydraulically fractured wells across the country producing 43 and 67 percent of our national oil and gas outputs, respectively. But in my opinion these wells also nearly played a secondary role as nuclear waste storage sites and had the Atomic Energy Commission had its way with Project Plowshare. And fracking is the process of pumping water deep into the Earth, specifically into underground oil and gas reserves, at tremendous pressures in order to break apart the surrounding rock and free the energy product, which can then be pumped out and used. However in the mid 1950s, scientists from the Atomic Energy Commission and officials from the U.S. Bureau of Mines did begin experimenting with an alternative method of fracking, one that employed nuclear bombs more powerful than anything we dropped on the Japanese.
Marcellus Shale drilling causes a problem because it involves the use of hundreds of deadly chemicals. Over three hundred chemicals are used in the Marcellus Shale drilling process (Environmental). According to Howells, author of the article “Don’t Frack with Our Water!,” these chemicals are especially dangerous because the companies that use them will not tell the public what specific chemicals are being used. However, through studies of the chemicals, some of them can be identified. Some of the chemicals in the fracking fluid and wastewater have been identified as carcinogens. Many of the other chemicals have been found to be harmful to humans (Environmental). According to Griswold, author of the article “The Fracturing of Pennsylvania,” wastewater is a combination of different chemicals that come from the process of fracking. Not only does this wastewater contain chemicals that were originally used in the drilling, but it also contains harmful substances that come from the earth like salts and other compounds (Griswold).
Current research, in the field of public health, is looking at the adverse health effects of hydraulic fracturing on community members. This research is focused on looking for evidence-based research in processes, procedures, materials and cleanup from drilling and running a well. In recent years, several states such as Maryland and New York, have called for special advisory commissions to examine the potential adverse health implications for the community if the moratoriums are lifted and fracturing is allowed to start. A lot of the previous research conducted focused on the anecdotal perspective of the adverse health effects. This perspective does not offer scientific verification that the fracturing processes are causing them or evidence where the contaminations are coming from.
While methane is not a rare contaminant in drinking water wells, the fracking process seems to allow more methane to seep into the wells. A study headed by Duke University’s Robert B. Jackson, a professor of Environmental Sciences, shows that in Pennsylvania, drinking water wells within one kilometer of fracking sites contain nearly six times more methane than in wells farther away (Banerjee). Methane, no matter where it is contained, is flammable, thereby posing a risk for explosion, which is not good for homes. Reports show that a fracking site in Dimock, Pennsylvania caused methane to leak into a water well, where it detonated, leading to even further contamination of other water wells and homes (Henheffer 30). The domino effect presented here raises fear in critics of fracking, who seek only to stop the process from happen-
Fracking can cause harm to people, animals, and nature. When they drill into the ground they are pumping chemicals to extract the gas and oil, and this contaminates the water sources around it. “An editorial on gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale in the Post-Star, a newspaper in Glens Falls, New York, contends, “New York state simply can’t take the risk. There are plenty of places to find fuel. It’s not so easy to find a new water supply for 17 million people.”” (Hydrofracking
In the documentary Gasland the main concerns of Josh Fox regarding hydraulic fracturing were the industry was highly unregulated and reckless which caused the contamination of ground and drinking water which was the cause of illness.. The most important concern Josh had was hydraulic fracturing was causing the contamination of peoples ground and drinking water. He claims hydraulic fracturing is causing gases such as methane and heavy metals such as mercury, use...
Fracking has a detrimental effect on the surrounding environment through pollution and earthquakes. Fracking is the process of extracting natural gas from layers of shale rock deep within the earth. One of the world’s largest plays of natural gas is in the Marcellus Shale, located in the Appalachian basin and extends across New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, eastern Ohio and portions of Kentucky and Tennessee. The “plays” are areas where companies are actively looking for natural gas inside shale rock formations. Plays are drilled for natural gas by hydraulic fracturing in a two step process.
Conflicting reports make it difficult to discern just how detrimental the practice is to the environment and people. What is known is that fracking uses phenomenal amounts of water, which is becoming a scarce resource in many parts of the country. There is no doubt that the fluid used in the fracking process contains chemicals, and when released into water supplies has negative effects on these sources. Injection of flowback materials into deep wells has been definitively linked to increased seismic activity. Damage to roads due to the high traffic of trucks shipping equipment and product is astronomical. Worldwide, four countries have outright banned the practice and others are waiting for more research to be done before they continue to allow it. A few states know the devastating side effects that come with the practice, and have banned hydraulic fracturing. While there is no doubt that fracking can produce resources that are used by Americans, there is a lot of doubt as to whether it is safe or not. Hopefully, the country will follow those that have banned the practice, and adopt other safer forms of energy
Before one can see the devastating effects of fracking, one must first understand how fracking works. As previously stated, the main intent of hydro-fracking is to access and harvest natural gas that lies below the surface of the Earth. Having formed over 400 million years ago by the collision of tectonic plates (Marsa 3), the Marcellus Shale plays host to a gold mine of natural gas, which is currently at the center of the fracking debate in the Northeastern region of the United States. Unfortunately, access...
What is Hydraulic Fracturing or as some refer to as Fracking? Hydraulic Fracturing or Fracking is a method of mining. The process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at high pressure in order to crack shale rocks and release trapped natural gas from the ground. Fracking was first used in 1947, at the Hugoton field in southwestern Kansas. Stanolind Oil (AMOCO) was the company that conducted the experimental fracking method. Floyd Farris, who works for AMOCO, is the person who preformed studies of the pressure of injecting water and certain chemicals into oil and gas wells; the process of fracking was introduced. Fracking can produce a lot of energy, but it also has the potential to harm the environment. One question that is asked is “Will Fracking affect our water that we drink and change our lifestyle?” America could become independent on energy if there is more fracking. Independence on gas and oil would help all of our country.
Since the early 2000’s, after new technological advancements in fracking and the discovery of large shale reserves across the country, fracking has increased domestic energy production substantially. Shale gas production has increased 20% from 2005 to 2012, promoting a more prosperous economic demand for domestic energy solutions (Pritchard). The demand for transportation vehicles, fuel, housing and water also increases with the expansion of fracking. Furthermore, the increase in fracking has increased employment significantly. In a country struggling to rebound from a recession, well-paying jobs are easily accessible in the booming oil field. This is evident in the prosperous state of North Dakota, in which the unemployment rate has fallen to 2.8 %( Gottesdiener). However, although this industrial expansion creates temporary employment, the consequences of mismanagement may also cost millions of dollars to repair. Fracking has the potential to create environmental damage such as water contamination, radioactive spills, and increased seismic activity that could cost thousands of dollars in damage. The cleanup of drinking water contamination is difficult and expensive, and ultimately rarely attempted. Moreover, the cost to replace the drinking water of contaminated homes and communities also cost a substantial amount of money (The Costs of
Numerous reports have been given on the dangerous affects of hydraulic fracturing. One such affect that has been noticed is that drinking water wells near the fracturing sites have been contaminated. During the hydro-fracking process, injected fluids that help to break and keep open the rock bed where the natural gas is kept, have “been known to travel three thousand feet from the well (Goldman).” This fluid could have the potential to enter and contaminate any water well for homes around hydraulic fracturing sites. This incident is one of the major problems that people want to figure out and know about before they allow a fracturing site by them. It has been the most feared outcome of having a fracking site nearby, and it is highly appropriate. One site in Wyoming had this happen, “…in August, EPA reported that eleven of thirty-nine drinking-water wells near a Wyoming hydraulic fracturing operation were contaminated with chemicals used in the fracturing process (Hobson EPA).” In Pennsylvania, another such case occurred, “There have already been severe pollution cases in Pennsylvania, mo...
Fracking is a pressurized, chemically treated mixture of water and sand to release and extract natural gas and petroleum from shale rock. There are many articles, studies being done, and organizations fighting for what they think is right. Environmentalist want the technique of fracking banned because it plays a part in global warming, affects our water, and causes human health problems. If fracking cannot be banned because of its necessity then it should be made safe and eco-friendly. The process involves a well being drilled vertically to the desired depth, then turns ninety degrees and continues horizontally for thousands of feet into the shale believed to contain the trapped natural gas. A mix of water, sand, and various chemicals is pumped into the well at high pressure in order to create fissures in the shale through which the gas can escape. Natural gas escapes through the fissures and is drawn back up the well to the surface, where it is processed, refined, and shipped to market. Flowback returns to the surface after the