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” 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.
In recent years, the subject of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking has been a constant subject of interest in the news media. The pros and cons of fracking are passionately debated. However, the public should become educated on the subject of fracking prior to choosing a side of the argument. In the scholarly article, “Super Fracking,” published in 2014, by Donald L. Trucotte, Eldridge M. Moores, and John B. Rundle, a detailed description of fracking is provided, followed by their analysis of current issues surrounding the controversy. According to Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle, fracking saves the consumer money. The wellhead cost to produce natural gas in January of 2000 was two dollars and sixty cents per one thousand cubic feet. At an alarming rate, the cost at the wellhead to produce natural gas had risen to eight dollars per one thousand cubic feet by January of 2006. Comfortingly, the wellhead cost dropped to two dollars and eighty-nine cents by the end of 2012. Impressively, gas production increase and price decrease over the time period are a result of fracking. In their article, Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle describe in great detail that hydraulic fracturing, most commonly referred to as fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth to fracture the layers of rock so that a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the oil or natural gas inside. This method of fracking has been used commercially for the last fifty years.
the desire to achieve independence from foreign energy sources” (Ben Harris). “The environmental safety of fracking has yet to be conclusively demonstrated, they say, and the industry has a poor track record”(Ben
Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction (Erich Fromm). Introduction Fracking is a complex political topic; nonetheless, fracking is showing a positive impact on the United States economy and leaving a harmful footprint behind the environment. In addition,
Therefore with resources becoming scarce humanity needs to extract the most from what the earth has. In fact from adding gasoline to your vehicle, to power plant facilities using natural gas instead of burning coal to power homes, to computes and cell phones, almost everything in our lives depend on an oil based product and fracking is the solution for the depletion of fossil fuels. Three controversial issues with hydraulic fracking are nearly everything people use daily has a petroleum based product, contamination of drinking water also the surrounding soil, and the financial impact on the economy. Many people in America do not realize the positives that comes with fracking. It is a great way to help the economy in the United States. Fracking decreases the price of all petroleum products including the price in gas. When gas prices decrease it allows other products such as food, plastics, and other petroleum goods to also go down in price. With these savings being passed down to the consumers it makes the cost of living in America much easier for many people who are living with a minimum wage budget. Minimum wage going up in Oregon and gas prices declining creates a stir in people making them spend more and builds consumer confidence on what is spent. In turn this rapid spending creates a boom in the American economy. With fracking producing nine million barrels a day and decreasing prices by forty five
Danny Vinik, a staff at new republic wrote “Fracking Is Good For American Consumers” he argues that fracking is good for the economy because it brought down the price of gas and saved a lot of money. Vinik cleverly argues his point that fracking saves a lot of money for the united states, he weakens his argument by using a lot of numbers and not calculating the damages caused by fracking. The outcome is an article that has all numbers but the numbers don 't outweigh the amount of damage caused by fracking.
If John D. Rockefeller, one of the first oil tycoons, were to look at the oil industry today, would he believe his eyes? With millions of oil barrels being imported and exported each year, the oil industry has changed dramatically since the 19th century. At the forefront of the oil industry is the emergence of an oil drilling technique known as fracking. Fracking is an unconventional drilling process that is accomplished by using high-pressured water to release oil and natural gas from rock formations, known as shales. The use of fracking in the United States has made it one of the top oil producing countries in the world. However, this newfound oil and gas drilling method has not come without its costs. Despite the economic boom near drilling locations, politically, fracking has caused some international relationships to be strained. Also, fracking is seen as highly controversial by conservationists because of the environmental threats that it poses. The drilling method of fracking has deeply impacted the United States from an economic, a political, and an environmental standpoint.
What are the effects of fracking? Fracking has actually changed out future as we know it, and has made it possible for many things. Fracking will make the world run on natural fossil fuels for much longer, which is also better for the environment and us. In 2015, the U.S. reached its all time high in oil production in 14 years and is only expected to continually rise. Oil production in the U.S. is one of the main sources of jobs for people living in the U.S. (Nunez, 2013). Fracking is a good way to employ U.S. citizens and is also a good way to get natural ways of oil production. As we all
One of the strongest arguments in favour of fracking is the reduction in CO2 that would occur with increased fracking. As of 2013, coal provided approximately 40% of the world’s electricity needs and provides 29% of the total world energy supply with oil being the largest at 31%. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for over 83% of the CO2 pollution since 1990, and have the highest ratio of CO2 output per unit of electricity out of all the fossil fuels. These emissions cause effects worldwide; acid rain, air pollution, toxic waste, to name a few. It is estimated that by replacing coal with gas from fracking, CO2 emissions would be reduced by more than 50%. This massive reduction in carbon emissions would have a global impact, resulting in unprecedented reductions in the effects of climate change. Allowing fracking is a fundamental advance in the efforts to reduce global warming; with this in mind fracking should be allowed and in this case it would benefit everyone when considering the reduction in CO2 emissions. However this poses an issue, if fracking was widely used then CO2 emissions may decrease but there would then be a halt in research and implementation of renewable energy. In some areas where fracking has become more prominent the price for the fuel has fallen; making it a cheaper alternative to expensive renewable energy. Fatih Birol, chief economist for the IEA, aired this concern, ‘Renewable energy may being the victim of cheap gas prices if governments do not
Too Many Fracking Problems “Fracking ensures that the age of oil-and it 's princely hydrocarbon cousin, the natural gas molecule-will not end because we have run out of fossil fuels. But it may end because burning these wonderful fuels puts the planet farther down a path we don 't want to
The fracking industry in its entirety, although surrounded by a shroud of controversy, is an economic stimulator that many do not acknowledge. The potential replacement of coal for efficient and clean energy would not be possible if it weren’t for the utilization of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, and horizontal drilling. To consider fracking as only a danger to the environment would be an overstatement while saying fracking only provides natural gas and nothing else is an understatement. It’s important to consider all of the potential benefits that fracking gives to the economy and how its minor environmental destruction could lead to an economic reconstruction. Although fracking has a negative connotation with most people,
Research Fracking Have you ever thought about what it took to get the goods you own from the manufacturer home? It may seem hard to believe, but “96% of the manufactured goods we use every day contain products that were made possible with natural gas feedstock” (energyfromshale.org). Aside from my third period global teacher lecturing for a living, he makes great amount of money fracking. At first glance the word may be misread or even start a few chuckles here or there. Fracking has huge potential in the United States with the major basins containing trillions of cubic feet of shale gas. The production of fracking has vastly increased over the years and the United States has started to rely on our own resources rather than our own. This industry has brought up new companies and jobs around the country. To understand the controversy behind hydraulic fracturing, the process and history should be made clear.
Introduction Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is the process of drilling wells thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface to extract natural gas deposits that are trapped in shale layers. Large amounts of a solution containing water, sand, and chemicals are shot down the well to fracture the shale layers, thus releasing the desired product. Natural gas is seen as a potential solution to the energy dilemma that faces the world today. However, the process of fracking and the advantages and disadvantages it poses to the environment are heavily debated. In order to gather a real idea of viability of fracking, all issues must be taken in to account and the subject must be looked at from multiple perspectives.
left undeveloped and wasted, it was once considered “unusable” and “worthless”, compared to oil. In order to try to break our country’s dependence on foreign oil supplies, we have begun to dip into our own natural gas supply. Natural gas is found underground, and is produced when trapped gas is released above ground. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process that extracts natural gas from the ground. As harmless as the billion dollar producing oil companies would want us to believe, environmental groups, scientists, and average citizens have raised concerns about the negative impact of hydraulic fracking on the environment and