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A Brief Note On The Impact Of Fracking

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Kyle Quintana
Candace Craig
English 121
6 May 2015
The Impact of Fracking
When it comes to vast amounts of energy sources, natural gas in America is not something most people believe is plentiful. As resources are used up it then becomes time to look for a new supply elsewhere. America has always been dependent on foreign trade, including fuels, which in turn leaves us vulnerable to steep prices.
Natural gas is one very important fossil fuel and from its various uses, its numbers have continued to dwindle. Supply and demand has taken a toll on this very precious commodity. Ordinary vertical drilling of natural gas has ceased to produce much and this once prevalent method may eventually end up becoming obsolete. In the 1990’s a different method that was being used, but wasn’t common, caught some attention and is called horizontal hydraulic fracturing or fracking for short. Since the method of fracking was first used in 1940, it has gradually changed and is now combined with a new strategy of drilling horizontally. This new way of drilling helps to reach vast amounts of previously inaccessible gases and oils that are stuck in shale. According to oil industries Devon energy, Chesapeake, and Halliburton’s estimates, around 827 million cubic feet of untapped gases and oils are under the U. S. but may not be as easily accessible as once thought (Mooney 80-85).
The method of fracking involves the use of large amounts of water in conjunction with various chemicals and sand that

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