Benefits Of Fracking

Respiratory problems have been created by fracking pollution. “Impacts of can include asthma attacks, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and lung disease. Levels of pollutants high enough to cause respiratory problems, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children, have been found both close to fracking sites and in regions with intense oil and gas activity.” We must guard the air we breathe because we are going to the be the ones who will get harmed by it. Exposure to pollutants such as hydrogen sulfide and VOCs can cause neurological problems with ranges from a headache and dizziness to loss of consciousness and seizures. “Multiple studies have measured benzene levels close to fracking sites that are higher than the thresholds set to protect people from these impacts.” These are the problems that a lot of people living near the fracking wells have to face. A number of PAHs and VOCs have been found to interfere with fetal and child development resulting in dangerous harm to the developing brain, nervous system, and heart. “Because even short-term exposures to these pollutants at critical moments of development can result in long-lasting harm, health experts have identified this as a threat to communities living in close proximity to fracking sites.” These impacts can change a child’s entire life with the child having many kinds

Hydraulic fracking has been known to release ‘more than 650 chemicals”( source 3), because of this people who are living ‘near these wells fear their health may be harmed” ( source 3). Even though hydraulic fracking has not caused any known health problems there is still the threat that could come soon when more and more well build up. This could also harm the wildlife and could cause their habitat to be destroyed.

The dictionary states that fracking is a method used for getting oil and gas from underground rocks by injecting liquid into the rocks so that they can break apart (Merriam-Webster). Fracking can be a controversial topic in numerous people’s eyes due to the side effects that coincide with this procedure. Fracking has evolved over the years and made a comeback around 2010. Lately, the United States has heard tremendous news regarding this procedure and the drawbacks from fracking natural gases and oil. Fracking can be beneficial; sadly, the side effects greatly outweigh the benefits. The environmental risks, pollution, and the overall risk factors prove to not worth the risk of fracking.

According to an eight year long study around fracking sites, one negative effect of fracking is that it can worsen the symptoms of asthma for the people who live around the sites in which the oil and gas method is used. This particular study showed that for the people with asthma who lived around these sites were using treatments as much as 4 times more than that of another person who lived further away from the sites. Sara Rasmussen, the lead author of the article, “Fracking may worsen Asthma for Nearby Residents, Study Says” reported that the air pollution caused by fracking, which had also been proven in another study to have caused heavy air pollution by the oil and gas fracking sites, and the stress caused by the noise produced by the trucks and

Illness and disease around wells is unfortunately common as a result of the following. First, chemicals used can damage organs such as, lungs, brain, and ?. Second, there are health risks from air emissions produced during fracking. Third, the number of cancer patients around fracking wells increased. To protect its citizens from these illnesses and health related issues, the government should address safety by implementing the following ideal: limiting residential areas in a certain radius of fracking wells.

Furthermore, one way to prove that fracking is bad is the condition of water near fracking sites. Fracking is notorious for the pollution of well and spring water. Chemical fluids may spill, then they run off into well water. Hydraulic fracking can be dangerous to well water if the hydraulic fluid is mismanaged, and spills. If the hydraulic fluids spill, it then pours out into the people’s well water or spring water, and then pollutes the water. Fracking can also cause a shortage of water. Shale fracking uses a lot of water, and that amount is about 11.5 million liters. The amount of water taken by fracking can leave a town with a limited supply of water. Also, fluid leak off can pour into well water, and the treatment plants can’t do anything

Particularly, there is a concern about produced water (i.e., water that reaches the surface after fracking) because it contains various dangerous chemicals (e.g., radium) and it can mix with the ground water and surface water (US EPA, 2016). Furthermore, the air of fracking areas contains compounds that are carcinogens, and that cause respiratory and neurological problems (Carpenter, 2015). Fracking also affects certain people more; for example in Southern Texas, areas with high numbers of colored people and high levels of poverty were more likely to have disposal wells from fracking (Johnston, Werder, & Sebastian, 2016). Additionally, the laws are not on the people’s side; many laws have been passed in order to protect the oil and gas industry (Twomey et al., 2016). Ideally, the best solution would be to stop fracking all together in order to prevent any more detrimental events from happening. However, a more approachable solution would involve moving towards renewable energy. Renewal energy is a better alternative, because it will not damage the environment to such a great extent as fossil fuels (Cohen, 2015). Also, renewable energy is long-term energy solution in comparison to natural gas (Mathews & Tan, 2014). Eventually, natural gas will be depleted if it is utilized as a main energy source (Cohen,

Fracking brings jobs and money to the United States by fracking . “ The development of marcellus shale is estimated to create more than 111,000 jobs and add $10 billion as the money went to the state's economy in 2011.”( no evidence of groundwater contamination) “In 2008, only 4 percent of United States natural gas production came from "fracked" shale wells.”(Fracking and Poverty)The number of shale wells grew to 40 percent since 2012. Fracking helps the low income people so that the people can afford natural gas for the first time. Fracking helped the United states economy get money since 2011 and employs tons of people. The price of natural gas has went down 66% since 2011 so it is cheaper to buy for the first time. Fracking is making

I do not support hydraulic fracking because of all the negative factors that contribute to the operation. After reading and doing research, I found that there were a lot of unknown answers in the process of fracking and it made me concerned. Although the process is said to lower the price of gas and collect more gas, fracking seems to have more cons than pros. The process does not seem like it was investigated and shows little to no research background observations. Similarly to coal, the process of fracking seems unsafe and does not seem like it will be a good idea in the long run. As a matter of fact, extracting natural gas could possibly have similar environmental impacts as coal does if the process continues. Also, the process of fracking does not have a lot of evidence that it will work nor has it been tested thoroughly. Fracking can cause contamination to groundwater, air pollution, release of hazardous chemicals, huge amounts of water intake, and many other consequences.

Fracking helps the United States economy. Many new jobs are required to develop the Marcellus Shale. It was estimated in 2011 that 111,000 jobs and ten billion dollars would be added to the economy. (No Evidence of Groundwater Contamination) Even anti-fracking activists, people who think that fracking is bad for the environment, know that we need the jobs that the natural gas industry will provide. Fracking is a gas that is less expensive to drill and it will make the prices of fuel go down. The United States has tremendous reserves of this cheap alternative to gas. People with low incomes need low fuel prices to heat their homes in the winter. When the cost goes down, people can afford heat and other things they need. (Fracking and Poverty)

The nation is shifting towards electricity generated by natural gas- over the past ten years 81 percent of new electricity capacity has been gas fired- and state governments are playing regulatory catch-up with the drilling technology’s rapid expansion to meet this burgeoning demand”. (http://www.gracelinks.org/191/natural-gas-fracking-introduction) However; to meet this demand, gas and oil companies have ignored some rather important harmful effects of hydraulic fracturing. These harmful effects include; water droughts, increased pollution, the spread of toxins, and possible negative influence on local economies. Water droughts because of the fracking process are caused by using up to approximately one-hundred times more water than previous drilling methods. This means that gradually less and less of the world where drilling is active or was active will have the ability to attain non chemical induced water. The article, “List of Pros and Cons of Fracking” published by Occupy Theory states that, “Anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of fracking waste water flows back to the original drilling surface” (http://occupytheory.org/list-of-pros-and-cons-of-fracking/) Hydraulic fracturing causes pollution in several different aspects. Oil and gas companies are not required to provide a list of chemicals used in the process which causes those in the areas where drilling is present to not be able to adapt correctly to these toxins. According to research, a few of the chemicals that have been found present in fracking include; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. These three chemicals are known to the scientific community to cause harmful effects on the health of people. Also, the article, “Pros and Cons of Fracking: 5 Key Issues” explains that because of the dropping gas prices, drilling use will

Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is a mine stimulation technique that is taking the country by storm. It is a multi-billion dollar industry and in some parts of the country there are so many wells clustered together that they can be seen from space. The commodity being mined is natural gas. Natural gas has earned itself many new names depending on who is asked. According to big gas companies like Haiburton, it’s America’s solution to the energy crisis and a fuel for the 21st century. They claim this current period of economic and energy prosperity is due to increased fracking. However, this prosperity does not come without a cost. Many landowners, environmentalists, and scientists claim the process is poisoning the air, ground, water,

While it is good for the economy, fracking is dangerous and bad because it could damage the air, the water, and damage the health of citizens. Fracking is good for the economy because it can provide many jobs for people who are unemployed. Fracking can damage the air because the waste fluid that is left behind from fracking releases harmful VOC’S into the atmosphere which causes contaminated air. Fracking could damage the water because during the process of fracking methane gas and toxic and chemical leach out from the system and contaminates nearby ground water. Fracking can damage the health of citizens because it produces approximately 300,000 barrels of natural gas a day, which can cause health hazards and gets citizens really sick. To

Fracking adds to the economies benefit while also adds to the environment's benefit as well. For instance, certain statistics show that fracking is cheaper and safer than burning coal. Along with benefiting the environment it also helps human health. This is so because 40% of the world’s energy is produced by natural gas causing citizens health to improve. Another example of it benefiting the economy along with the environment is that it is known to be cheaper to drill a well than most energy obtaining methods. Thus showing that fracking benefits this country environmentally and

One thing fracking does for people is supply them with jobs. Most of the United States is employed in the oil field. Back in 2012, the oil and gas industry supplied the United States with more than 1.2 million jobs. Without these jobs, the United states unemployment rate would be especially high.