If you are a person who follows news about environmental issues, you might know about fracking. Many companies use this method to extract natural gas from the ground. Fracking can cause many issues, as any environmental activist can tell you. At the same time, fracking can help economically, as any business owner can tell you. Many arguments have risen due to these disagreements about both sides. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is the process of extracting natural gas from the ground. A well is drilled vertically to the shale layer (where the natural gas is located), then turns ninety degrees and continues horizontally for several thousand feet into the shale. A mix of water, sand, and chemicals is pumped into the …show more content…
The people who the pollution is affecting are the ones who agree to it on their own property because they will be paid for it. Another issue to consider is the economy. Recently, the United States debt has exceeded $18,000,000,000,000 (USD $18 trillion), and the debt keeps rising. Many of this is due to trading with other countries, and a large part of this is the trading of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). Americans use these fossil fuels for so many reasons, including electricity and cars. Using natural gas to heat our homes and power our cars releases fewer carbon emissions than coal. There are enough fossil fuels located in the shale layer under North American soil to make the United States energy independent, and possibly an exporter of oil and gas in the future. Making use of these vast amounts of natural gas would make the United States less dependent, economically and politically, on unstable countries. OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) takes advantages of these weaknesses, knowing we need the fossil fuels. You could also view it as a way to buy time until the U.S. can harness the power of wind, solar and hydroelectricity in place of fossil
Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, is a technique designed to release the gas and oil from shale rock hidden underneath earth’s surface. The term fracking itself is referring to the point at which the shale rock is broken open by a high-pressure mixture of water, sand, and chemicals. Oil and gas fracking can be dangerous to the environment and also to humans. “In 2011, energy company Cuadrilla suspended test fracking operations near Blackpool, in Lancashire, after two earthquakes of 1.5 and 2.2 magnitudes hit the area. A subsequent study found it was highly probable that shale gas test drilling triggered the tremors” (BBC). Although these tremors were too small to do any damage above ground, this was still a test drill. If an oil rig were to become operational, the tremors could increase in magnitude, causing significant damage both above ground and underneath the earth’s
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.
The people who are being asked permission to transform their land into drilling sites for natural gas have more reason to be concerned than most because it will affect them more directly than people who do not live in that specific area (although it does affect people who do not live in the vicinity as well). Although fracking may seem to concern to only a small group of people, it should also concern anyone who cares about doing what is safe for our country's citizens. The truth is, fracking is extremely dangerous, not only because of the negative effects on the environment, but also because it could make people ill.
In the past couple of years the word fracking has been prevalent in the media whether its been mentioned in the news or in the movie Matt Damon stared in titled “Promised Land”. Many people know it as a method of extracting gas from the earth and don’t inquire further into what hydraulic fracturing actually is. Before the process is explained we should understand why it has become prevalent in the last decade. The reason Hydraulic fracturing has become so popular in the last couple of years is because of the passage of the energy policy act of 2005, which contained the Halliburton loophole. The Halliburton loophole stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing (New York Times 2009). Allowing Hydraulic Fracturing allowed companies to finally access the abundant sources of natural gas legally. This act made it possible to access the vast amounts of natural gas contained in the Marcellus Shale, which created a boom in hydraulic fracturing. What exactly is hydraulic fracturing? Hydraulic fracturing is a method of extracting oil and gas, that is not accessible by conventional drilling methods. The process, injects chemically treated water and sand at high pressures into shale rock to release the oil and gas (Pritchard 2013).
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
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.
“Hydraulic fracturing involves the use of water pressure to create fractures in rock that allow the oil and natural gas it contains to escape and flow out of a well (Energy From Shale).” Fracking has served to extract natural gas and oil where other methods would not be as successful but many environmentalists argue that fracking is affecting the environment and our drinking supply of water. Although fracking is still a controversial topic, it provides Americans jobs, increases the economy of the region, and the natural gas and oil are cleaner and more affordable source of energy. The EPA recognizes that natural gas and oil are an essential part to help our planet survive but do not want fracking to come at an expense to the public health of the citizens or to the environment.
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
Fossil fuels have been proven to be damaging to our environment, economy and has made the United States vulnerable to dangerous and unstable countries by exporting the resources that they have. The U.S. depends on countries like Sadie Arabia for our oil supplies. How would we be affected if Sadie Arabia refused to sell us their oil? Would our oil reserves run out or would we be able to buy from another country? These are scenarios that we need to be concerned about. According to Rebecca Lefton and Daniel J. Weiss in their article “Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit”, the U.S. has increased import of oil in the recent years, creating a bigger deficit in the United States. Our countries deficit has resulted in nationwide budget cuts. The continuation of oil imports with foreign countries is going to create an even larger debt in America. In 2008 our country spent around $150 Billion on oil imports alone (Lefton, R. & Weiss, D.J. (2014) Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit. Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/report/2010/01/13/7200/oil-dependence-is-a-dangerous-habit/). Environmentally, the burning of fossil fuels have led to global warming. As most of us know, global warming can cause changes in our clim...
Hydraulic fracturing aka “fracking” is the mechanical process that uses fluids and other macro sized materials to create small fractures in the shale and bed rock under surfaces of the earth. The fractures, usually no more than an inch wide, allow the highly pressurized oil and natural gas to flow freely to the pipe to the pumped back to the surface. The first known commercial use of hydraulic fracking first came about during the 1940s but dates all the way back 1865 during the Civil War. To increase their available water supply, which in some cases meant the difference between life and death, soldiers would drop sticks of lit dynamite down dry wells or those with low water levels. They hoped by doing this that that explosion from the dynamite would deepen or loosen the ground to allow water to permeate to an accessible point.
Fracking is killing this earth. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a form of drilling into the earth to obtain oil. There are many ways that fracking kills this earth. If fracking continues, Earth as we know it will not be the same. The world will be a healthier place to live if fracking was banned.
Hydraulic fracturing, or it’s more common name fracking, has been a very debatable topic for decades. Fracking is when chemicals, water and sand are pumped into the ground to break apart rock so that natural gas can be released. Not only is fracking obviously bad for the environment, but it also has many impacts on the people that surround the area. Fracking has short term benefits, but long term consequences and impacts to the entire ecosystem. Fracking that is done today can affect our future generations for many years and generations to come. Although hydraulic fracking may reduce our dependency of oil on other countries and stabilize our economy, fracking has way too many environmental and health impacts; therefore proving that fracking is problematic and should not be an energy resource that countries depend on.
Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, we have been using fossil fuels to power our lives, and factories. Little did we know that our miracle energy producer was destroying our planet. The burning of fossil fuels produces a byproduct called carbon dioxide. This natural occurring gas does not harm the planet in any way when released in small quantities, but at the rate we have released it, there is nowhere for it to go so it becomes trapped in the atmosphere. When the gas becomes trapped in the atmosphere, it creates a “Green House” effect. This effect causes the surface temperature to rise, which has adverse effects on the planet. A number of bills to regulate carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere have been proposed and even accepted,
The process of Hydraulic Fracturing is a process that 90% of natural gas wells in the United States use to extract gas from the ground. The first step in fracturing is digging anywhere straight into the ground Fractures are created by pumping large amounts of fluids at high pressure down a wellbore and into the rock formation. Hydraulic fracturing fluid commonly consists of water, proppant and chemical additives that open and enlarge fractures within the rock formation. These fractures can extend several hundred feet away from the well. The proppants - sand, ceramic pellets or other small incompressible particles - hold open the newly created fractures.