Environmental Analysis Assignment On The State Of Illinois

Hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”)1 is already beginning to change the nature of how we approach future energy needs. The processes of fracking also carry environmental risks. This paper is aimed at exploring the ethical, social, and legal issues related to “fracking’. In order to accomplish these tasks, it will 1st be necessary to describe the processes involved in fracking. The technical problems with fracking create a number of ethical, social, and legal problems related to the environment. Some of these issues include land clearing for digging the wells, the impact on freshwater aquifers, and the well bore. Once the well bore is created, around 1-5 million gallons of water is inserted into the shale along with proprietary fluids. It is

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

“Fracking is the process of obtaining Natural Gas from below Earth’s surface by drilling 1000’s of feet into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.” Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.” (Jackson). Hydraulic Fracturing got its name due to the fact of how the rock is fractured apart by the high pressure mixture of a number of chemicals, sand, and water. Drilling companies first began Fracking in the early 1940’s, and starting in the 1990’s companies began “safer drilling” due to the amount of concerns that had arisen because early drillers had to detonate small explosions that eventually ended up killing many people. Fracking has been used for nearly 60 years and the number of concerns about it are rising every day. Due to the new technological advancements in drilling Fracking has changed greatly over the years. Before, the drilling would go on for weeks on end in order to extract only a small amount of natural gas. Now, due to the invention of higher powered drills, the drills get double the amount then they used to be able to get in more then half the time. Over 95,000 square miles of shale deposits have been found around the Appalachian Basin but the only way to reach these deposits of shale is through fracking. “Fracking is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock by drilling

Natural gas is a fossil fuel that plays a critical role in the demand and supply of energy in the United States. It is considered to be a clean burning transition fuel. Compared to coal and oil, natural gas combustion does not generate as much pollution and is therefore considered an ideal partner for renewable energy resources. Natural gas is extracted from shale formations underground that require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – “hydrofracking” or “fracking”. This drilling and extraction method is currently considered a global widespread issue due to the rapid increase in the amount of new gas wells that threatens the quality of water around the source (Entriken, Evans-White, Johnson & Hagenbuch, 2011).

Hydraulic Fracturing, also known as fracking, is directly linked to having effects on the environment and the overall public health. The debate on whether or not fracking is too harsh on the environment has been going on ever since the United States has increased its use of this process to obtain more natural resources. Hydraulic fracturing is also directly correlated to having effects on drinking water. The process of fracking includes the injection of water containing other chemicals into the ground to extract natural resources that would otherwise be more difficult to obtain (Hydraulic Fracturing Overview, 2012). Although the process of fracking has resulted in an increase of natural resources, such as natural gas and oil, public health and environmental concerns have arisen. This topic has been the discussion of many people and whether or not there should be some form of government regulation in place, as it is nonexistent to this day. With that said, hydraulic fracturing in the United States has more negative effects on drinking water and the environment over time and should not be used as a means to obtain natural resources.

Fracking is a process in which a drill is inserted into a shale, which is a cracked surface,

Yet, according to Environmental Heath Perspectives author David Holzman (2011), “In a study of 68 private drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania and New York, methane contamination rose sharply with proximity to natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) sites” (p. 1). The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) suspects that the cause of this contamination is the result of leaks caused by poor gas well construction at the fracking sites. Not only is the water surrounding the hydraulic fracturing sites getting contaminated but it is also getting depleted at a fast rate. According to Scientific American journalist Bobby Magill (2015), “Oil and natural gas fracking, on average, uses more than 28 times the water it did 15 years ago, … putting farming and drinking sources at risk in arid states, especially during drought” (p. 1). One of these states is California which is undergoing one the worst droughts in its history. Despite this fact, California is still extracting natural gas using hydraulic fracturing. There are also other types of environmental problems that threaten America’s landscapes which are caused by hydraulic

Since the development of this modern deep earth fracking technology, many scientists, environmentalists and health advocates have shown a concern for the health effects the method has on the surrounding regions. Current evidence shows that fracking is a high-risk method of drilling, particularly

The water mixture used to break the shale rock contains sand as well as over 600 different chemicals. The amount of water needed just for one gas well to take place is over eight million gallons. Not only do these natural gas wells use up so much water, the methane gas and chemicals in the water contaminate nearby groundwater, causing the people who drink it to become very ill and suffer serious mental and physical injuries. Most of these companies who are in the business of drilling gas wells do not show what really goes on behind the scenes. The leftover fracturing fluid, which are retrieved after the fracking, is only half of what first went down the well. Not only is this a problem because the chemicals that are left sink further down into the ground but they are also not biodegradable, which could go on to contaminate more

The global crisis surrounding energy needs grows in severity as time goes by and in order to solve it, scientists have created the innovative solution known as hydraulic fracturing (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” is a process that injects water, chemicals, sand, and other materials into layers of shale. The injected mixture cracks the layers of shale, releasing trapped natural gasses that can be collected (Source 1). Fracking occurs deep under the surface of the earth, miles below the groundwater that is accessed from drinking-water wells. In the mid-2000s, “fuel prices were rising rapidly” (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing was a cheap solution that not only brought the world out of a state of emergency but made oil prices drop. The new method of gas collection grew the oil and gas industry, benefiting people all around the world. Fracking is a cheap, effective solution to global needs, but is under attack from skeptics who worry about environmental hazards. The claims against fracking not only have no real evidence but also risk destroying the jobs in the oil and gas industry as well as support for energy needs. Hydraulic fracturing is not only a cheap but a safe method that supports global needs surrounding both energy and jobs.

Hydraulic fracturing is just one part of the process of this environmental issue. Along side with the drilling and extraction of fossil fuels, there has to be construction to set

Fracking is referring to the procedure of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them further open. The step-by-step process to fracking is this: First they start out by drilling downward approximately 6,000 feet into the ground, penetrating through several geological layers. The drilling then turns ninety degrees and continues horizontally several thousand feet into shale, which is believed to contain trapped natural gas. A mixture of water, sand, and various chemicals that fracking companies will not disclose, is pumped into the well which splits the shale so that the natural gas can escape. The natural gas escapes through the cracks made in the shale and is brought back up to the surface to be processed.

Hydraulic fracturing is a process used in nine out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States, where millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart the rock and release the gas. Scientists are worried that the chemicals used in fracturing may pose a threat either underground or when waste fluids are handled and sometimes spilled on the surface. The natural gas industry defends hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, as safe and efficient. Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, a pro-industry non-profit organization, claims fracking has been “a widely deployed as safe extraction technique,” dating back to 1949. What he doesn’t say is that until recently energy

The United States has become one of the largest producers of natural gas and most of the production is from shale plays. Solar, wind, biomass waste and geothermal and hydroelectric energy have long been recognized as renewable and sustainable energy resources; however, they only comprise 9% of our energy consumption; this is in comparison to the growing production of natural gas which accounts for 40% of industrial and 74% of residential energy consumption in 2012 (Chen et al. 1). With natural gas production on the rise, several studies have been made that raises questions about how safe hydraulic fracturing is to the land, water and air. Hydraulic fracturing (known as “fracking”) is viewed as

Where this agreement usually ends, however, is with the question of quality control refining processes from my viewpoint. Anotherwords, what control measures are enforced to ensure all contaminants are entirely removed to guarantee a high level of quality assurance and security of the petroleum sectors within the nation’s infrastructures? Are there residual contaminants affecting the quality of fuel supplied to the nation’s energy consumers? From a preceding viewpoint, it can be related to the Colorado Floods that occurred in September 2013. Even the prevailing thought of hazardous waste introduced to the Colorado geographical landscape does not eliminate the second and third order affects imposed on the nation’s petroleum pipeline infrastructure by way of corrosion, introducing chemicals into the pipeline arteries through small cracks that may extend beyond Colorado, an implication that cannot be ruled out. Water contamination prevention-or across the board programs-from the negative effect of hydraulic fracturing should be an expectation from petroleum energy producers. Moreover, it reminds us of an infrastructure security vulnerability, which is not often specified, when hydraulic fracturing is correlated to the role water functions through the conventional petroleum refining process, along with vast arrays of petroleum pipelines that exist across the nation’s geographical landscapes. These concerns should be brought