Speech On Fracking

“Soon this will be us”

Imagine a desolate world where all your drinking water is infected. The ground underneath your feet slowly is deteriorating away and the air is always filled with pollutants, until you can barely breathe.Soon the rain will be acid. Soon this will be our reality. The United States of America, the “the greatest nation in the world,” won't be as great as people say. What is going to be our demise? Fracking. This is a major problem that can happen sooner than you think. Fracking will soon turn this nation into the worst nation in the world. “The fluids used in fracking (and the wastewater that comes back up the well) is disposed of by injecting it into wells deep underground. This is generally the safest, most cost-efficient way to get rid of it. But in some parts of

the country, especially in the Barnett Shale area around Dallas-Fort Worth,Texas, it has also been causing earthquakes.”( "How Oil and Gas Disposal Wells Can Cause Earthquakes." ) This world will soon be our reality if we don't put a stop to hydraulic fracking.

All over this country fracking fluids and waste are being left in open air pits/ponds, which in result release harmful chemicals into the air we breathe and the atmosphere. Advocates for fracking protest that it's safe, but critics claim that it can destroy water supplies and produce greenhouse gases. 21 out of 50 states in the United States ,including Missouri, support fracking in their own state. Fracking can produce man-made earthquakes causing massive damage to any buildings around. A US Geological Survey study that found the number of earthquakes occurring in the central United States was six times higher in 2011 than it was in 2000. For example,Oklahoma experienced less than three quakes a year from 1975 – 2008. Since then, there have been an average of 40 earthquakes every year.(“States unite to fight fracking-linked earthquakes”) These problems are starting to pop up all over the world.

Many countries have started to ban fracking all over the world including Australia, Bulgaria, and France. The court in Paris, France has stated that the law on fracking has “conformed to the constitution, and is too excessive.” The Bulgarian drilling ban imposed a fine of 100 levs (£43; $66) for any infringements. Protesters rallied in several Bulgarian cities urging the government to halt drilling for shale gas. Bulgaria and many of its former communist neighbors rely heavily on imported Russian gas and Chevron’s permit to prospect for shale gas in northeastern Bulgaria. Fracking is also a huge waste of resources.

For one fracking job, it is required for 400 tanker trucks to carry water and supplies to and from the site.

In order to complete a job it takes 1-8 million gallons of water.72 trillion gallons of water and 360 million gallons of chemicals are needed to run our current gas wells. After the water is brought in it is then mixed with sand and approximately 40,000 gallons of chemicals to just make the fluid. Over 600 chemicals have been found in fracking fluid including, Lead, Uranium, Mercury, Ethylene, Glycol, Radium, Methanol, Hydrochloric Acid, and Formaldehyde.(“what goes in and out of fracking”) These are just some of the chemicals that can be in your drinking water. During the process of shale fracturing, Methane gas and toxins pour out from the system and contaminate the groundwater. The methane concentrations are 17 times higher in drinking water wells near fracking sites, than in normal wells. The chemicals in your drinking water can cause sensory, respiratory and neurological damage if ingested. (“what goes in and out of fracking”) In the end, hydraulic fracking produces 300,000 barrels of natural gas a day, but it cost us our environment and creates health

hazards.

At a federal level, fracking is excluded from the Safe Water Drinking Act. Particularly the requirement to disclose the chemicals used in the process of fracking. In 2005, Dick Cheney negotiated the Halliburton loophole. Since hydraulic fracking is not currently regulated by the EPA. This means that oil companies don't have to disclose the toxic chemicals used in the process. But it doesn't always have to be this way. You can help support the FRAC (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act) which would require fracking companies to properly disclose of the chemicals used in fracking fluids. It would also repeal the exemption to the Safe Water Drinking Act.

Now more than ever people are using solar power. Just in the year 2015, 784,000 homes and businesses have gone solar. Solar and wind power has the potential to create millions of jobs and break our dependency on oil and fossil fuel like the gas extracted by fracking. Many alternative energy sources could also be used like geothermal energy and wind power. Policymakers should avoid to “sell” fracking to the public. Currently the EPA is undertaking a national study to understand potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Underground Injection Control (UIC) is setting requirements for proper well siting, construction, and operations to minimize risk to underground sources of drinking water. One major thing that you can do is sign a petition to pass the Safe Drinking Water Act. You could also urge the president to deny permits to export fracked gas to China. Most of all use renewable energy as much as possible.