Ethical Concerns : Ethical Issues

For the past twenty to thirty years, hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, has been the number one source of natural gas, oil, and energy in the United States. The process of fracking is that a well is built above the ground and then a drill digs several thousand feet deep into the ground to extract the oil and natural gas that is trapped inside of rock formations. Fracking is very controversial because of the cost of the process and the environmental “threats” that it poses. From methane emissions to earthquakes, fracking has been accused to be linked with several environmental issues. To prevent any environmental dangers, states place regulations and boundaries that energy companies have to follow in order to build a well and keep it up and running. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also works with states to help regulate these wells. More importantly, fracking in the United States is very important and acts as a bridge to the future. While it may be argued that hydraulic fracturing is not beneficial to the economy and harmful to the environment, fracking in the United States should not be banned because fracking is not only imperative to the growth of jobs and the economy, but it also does not put the surrounding environment in danger.

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

“Fracking” isn’t a word that most people are familiar with unless they are well informed or active in local government or natural gas extraction. “Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves extracting natural gas from shale formations underground” (Collier, Galatas, Harrelson-Stephens, 2008). During the process known as fracking, millions of gallons of water are shot underground into shale formations to help bring the natural gas trapped inside the formations to be released so that it can surface and become available for extraction. This is the technique that is used for traditional fracking methods. Although fracking increases the states natural gas production, it also carries some negative side effects that are affecting the state and its people.

Fracking is a highly controversial practice that utilizes the injection of water, chemicals and abrasives to extract relatively inaccessible pockets of natural resources. Although fracking has the potential to benefit the domestic economy, the practice of hydraulic fracturing, if left unregulated and mismanaged poses significant risks to the environment, the ecosystem and safety.

A process for retrieving natural gas from 7,000 feet below the earth’s surface has caused environmental concerns. Hydrofracking has been around since the 40’s but wasn’t until the 90’s where technology allowed for a vertical drill to drill horizontally into shall deep below the surface creating several bores and accessing hundreds of acres of shale. Hydrofarcking comes with its controversy, some argue that it is contaminating water sources and creating environmental concerns, while others say there is no proof of this despite many studies.

The two major ethical considerations that are important to address are 9.02 - Use of Assessments and 9.06 - Interpreting Assessment Results. 9.02 - Use of Assessments is particularly important because the psychologist must consider the individual’s language preference and competence. As was noted in the initial case description, Brandon’s parents are both Polish immigrants, and Brandon spoke Polish in home until he attended junior kindergarten. Although he may not have an accent, his language preference should be noted as English may not be the language he is more comfortable using. 9.06 - Interpreting Assessment Results should also be considered. Brandon’s test-taking abilities should be highlighted, as he is suspicious and ambivalent towards the psychological testing. These feelings may negatively affect his test scores, as he may try to either hide how he truly feels, or lie to make himself seem better or worse. It should also be noted that there could be other client characteristics that affect his scores as well, particularly cultural factors.

From an ethical lens, fracking has both advantages and disadvantages. It raises the question of what is more important; the oil or the water. Fracking provides jobs and oil leads to economic growth. From an ethical point of view, people need to know about any danger that they might face as a result of fracking (Schultz, P.

According to research, hydrofracking refers to hydraulic fracturing,a technique in which large amounts of chemicals and sand, are pumped under high pressure into a drilled gas well. This process is bad for the environment because it breaks down natural shale deposits and contaminates near-by water tables and water supplies. As said in the New york times report on Hydrofracking; it is bad for the environment because the fracking and drilling of the shale deposits contaminates the water deposits and water supplies. The opinion i have is that Hydrofracking is bad and should be banned.

Stephen holditch of the department of petroleum engineering, Texas A&M University believe that hydraulic fracking does not cause pollution and has not contaminated any water in any known cases when fracking was used in wells; however there have been many cases of this and could cause a more serious problem if it continues. ‘The oil and natural gas industry support more than 2.1 million jobs according to IHS. Economics” (source 8). ‘Other policy experts say hydraulic fracturing could supply more than half of U.S. natural-gas production by 2030” (source 5). With this being said if we stop hydraulic fracturing we could have millions of people lose jobs and would have a great energy shortage. Though if Hydraulic fracturing continues, climate change could speed up, lots of ground water sources could be polluted and some of the ‘650 chemicals that can cause cancer” (source 3) could spread and there could be a cancer epidemic. Going back to loosing ground water sources, it was found that ‘scientist discovered methane in 115 out of 141 shallow drinking-water wells. It [was also] found the closer the water source was to the natural gas well, the more methane it contained.” (source 4) taking this information in there are also other ways to generate power such as solar farms and hydraulic

Strict regulations should be put into place allowing only a certain amount water to be used for each fracking well that is built. Fracking should not be allowed to take place in places where there is low water availability.

My position is that i'm against hydrofracking and the reasons i'm going to give will get you to agree with me. They are dangerous jobs that involve hydrofracking. Hydrofracking involves water pollution. Hydrofracking also includes air pollution.

Hydraulic fracking is putting a pressurized mixture of water, sand, and chemicals deep into the Earth to release oil and other gas. Not only does hydraulic fracking use enough water annually to supply five million people a year, but it some environmentalist believe it may contaminate the water (Dechert, 2015). In 2016, The State Senate committee in Florida turned down a bill to regulate hydraulic fracking even though nearly eight counties and cities either ban or opposes this new technique (Alvarez, 2016). Haliburton Co. is regulating themselves by setting a goal to use twenty-five percent less water for hydraulic fracking by the end of 2014. Some also believe that hydraulic fracking is not harming the water supply and is actually decreasing the amount of water used to sustain an oil driven society (Fracking Does Not, 2015). According to the Environmental Protection Agency in 2015, there are no “widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States” (Fractured Thinking, 2016). No matter the case, city officials and corporations are going to have to work together to reduce the amount of contaminated water in this

Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) is the process of drilling into the ground and pumping sand, water, and fracking fluid at high pressures in order to extract natural shale gas that was previously unattainable. This process comes with environmental issues: the chemicals from the fracking fluid can contaminate nearby drinking water wells and harm the citizens of that area. Despite the fact that there have been several contaminated drinking water cases reported, there is little being done about this matter. This paper analyzes the available research that asserts why fracking is a dangerous process that should be banned immediately. The intended audience is my peers and instructor, as well as anyone interested in the debacle of fracking-caused water contamination that may come across this piece. As you are reading, I ask that you keep in mind that this is a very perplexing issue that has not been given much of an opportunity for true research and investigation. Therefore, the data discussed has not been officially proven or disproven to be directly related in every way to local fracking. However, the research gathered on the proposed danger of the Hydraulic Fracturing process is solely based on science that has already been proven as well as documented illnesses and symptoms from residents and contractors around or near fracking operation sites.

What are the relevant facts of the case? What facts are not known? Can I learn more about the situation? Do I know enough to make a decision?

Another problem that we know exists with hydraulic fracturing is the contamination of the water, the ground, and the air around the sites (Goldman pg. 2). It has been shown that “…residents living near the hydraulic fracturing sites are increasingly worried that the drilling process might be contaminating their well water, polluting streams, and releasing toxic gases into the air (Hobson).” Water sources, as well as the soil, are often polluted from flowback fluid and from production brine (Hydro-Fracking pg.4). Flowback fluid is “the contaminated fluid that returns to the surface during the drilling process, and is estimated to be between 9% - 35% of the fluids injected during