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Positives and negatives of fracking
Positives and negatives of fracking
Positives and negatives of fracking
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The use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been both a blessing and a curse to us. It holds great promise and great demise in one bundle, where when we have one we have the other. I feel fracking is good, but if not monitored it can lead to mass pollution and the destruction of environments. The recent advances in fracking technology has enabled us to reach previously unreachable reserves of natural gas and oil, “In 2008, after the breakthrough, the amount of domestic natural resources surged to 2.5 quadrillion feet. In other words, in just one year's time, we expanded our access to domestic natural gas by 66 percent”(Simmons ) and these reserves are huge. They are estimated to contain enough natural gases to power America for hundreds
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 United States relies on imports for about forty percent of its crude oil, which is the lowest rate of dependency since 1991 according to the U.S Energy Information Administration. Today our country is trying to keep on track in becoming less and less dependent. When it comes to the topic of the future ways the United States will get its fuel, most of us readily agree that the United States should become more independent by using natural gas that is already here on our land. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of the consequences drilling for natural gas brings. Whereas some are convinced drilling is safe, others maintain that it is actually in fact dangerous. Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking", the terms for drilling for natural gas, is dangerous to our public health and to the environment because of the water contamination it causes. Therefore, it is not something that should become a project for alternative fuel used by the United States.
Fracking is quickly becoming a debatable topic in our society today. The practice involves injecting fluid into the ground to fracture rock in order to release natural gas. It sounds like it would be a safe way to harness fuels in the earth’s surface, but it actually is a danger to our environment. Because of the dangers of fracking, what little fresh water remains on earth is being contaminated. It is also releasing toxins into the airs creating contaminated air and acid rain. Because of the many health and environmental dangers of fracking, it should be stopped immediately to help prevent more worldwide health issues down the road.
What is Fracking? Hydraulic fracturing, also known as ‘fracking’ is a technology that involves the extraction of natural gases through the injection of harmful chemicals, sand, and water. This technique includes the process of drilling a hole deep within the surface layer of the environment. As a result, it deteriorates the density of the land, pollutes the air, and contaminates underground drinking water sources. According to Bill Freemans’s “Fracking Is Not Harmful to the Environment,” the author argues that fracking is a technique that does not harm the environment and that instead, it helps the United States achieve energy independence. In contrast to his statement, hydraulic fracturing should not be
In his article “How Fracking Is Bad for Our Bodies,” Jason Silverstein who is a lecturer and writer in residence in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School states the problem of hydraulic fracking in cities in the US. Silverstein article, which was published in, The Atlantic, on October 8, 2013, shows the problems caused by hydraulic fracking. Although Silverstein provides a wide array of disadvantages of fracking, he does not mention any advantages brought by fracking.
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
Fracking is dangerous to America’s water supply, water quality, and to other resources. Due to fracking America’s water supply and quality could be compromised. Fracking is also a large scale operation. Evidence of how fracking is a large scale operation would be the use of 400 tanker trucks to transport all the
Fracking has become a highly controversial and publicized topic due to rising concerns and growing analysis into the mutual benefits of hydraulic fracturing to retrieve natural gas and oil reserves. With concerns of water pollution, mismanagement of toxic waste and irreversible
Fracking is a bad idea for the U.S because it may be causing water pollution. When fracking continues to
Fracking, has begun to rise in popularity over the past few years. Its sends tons of water and chemicals beneath the Earth’s surface to gain access to natural gas. Its has become useful but it's not something our society should rely on.It's an unnecessary risk
In regards to a lack of advancement, many people are concerned that due to how easily we can attain natural gas through fracking reaching difficult deposits, we will not look into a situation that proves harder-finding renewable and alternative energy resources. Rather than search for solar, geothermal, or wind energy perhaps, we will continue to pump harmful chemicals into the ground and cause global warming much more rapidly due to our excessive use of fossil and atmosphere-damaging fuels. Based on this point, it is no wonder that another con to fracking pertains to the conflict of air pollution. In regards to the prospect of seismic activity, based on the 2014 Annual Reviews of Environment and Resources paper, between 1967 and 2000, geologists observed a rate of 21 earthquakes level 3.0 Mw or greater in the central US per year. In 2001, when fracking was used to provide shale gas and other “unconventional” energy sources more frequently, the number increased to 100 earthquakes of that caliber, with 188 in 2011 alone. Supplemental research in Texas and Oklahoma also suggest that fracking can cause risky changes on seismic activity. Lastly, one of the greatest concerns with fracking- water pollution. The water that is pumped into the ground during fracking is filled with chemicals, and is not always properly
To conclude, hydraulic fracturing pollutes our air and drinking water and hurts communities. Communities with fracking have seen declines in property values,and losses in tourism and agriculture. It worsens climate change due to the chemicals released in the process, and is linked to earthquakes. “ facturing produces approximately 300,000 barrels of natural gases a day”. It is not safe, think about the communities that are already suffering from droughts? Water used on fracturing projects can be used to supply states in the west where there is no fresh water to
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.
"You can't get water out of stone," goes the old saying and maybe you can't, but you can get oil and natural gas out of stone with a dangerous practice called fracking. "Fracking is a technique to extract petroleum and natural gas from underground rock formations" (ProQuest). According to Ellen Gilliland, a geophysicist and researcher at Virginia Center for Coal and Energy research, fracking is one of the most controversial practices in the energy industry to develop oil and gas reserves (Gilliland). Kathleen Hartnett, a Harvard graduate, has discovered that fracking causes many environmental concerns such as contamination of drinking water, waste water pollution of rivers, groundwater depletion, air emissions of toxic pollutants, radiation, and even earthquakes (Hartnett). Fracking should not be continued due to the risks it causes to the environment such as damaging property, contaminating water, and polluting the air.
In recent history there has been a push to find more efficient sources of energy as we are quickly depleting the ones that we currently use. Fracking in definition means “Hydraulic fracking is a well stimulation process used to maximize the extraction of underground resources; including oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, and even water.” (Hydraulic Fracturing), which basically means they shoot harmful chemicals into the ground in order to bring up natural gas or other materials. Although there seem to be many benefits to fracking to get these resources, there are more disadvantages. There are many issues that stem from hydraulic fracking but the most predominant seem to be; the many health risks associated with the toxic chemicals used in the process, the pollution put into the air with the high methane use, and the degrading of local infrastructure and the environmental degrade from the invasive process used.