Fracking Environmental Issues

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

Over the past decade oil and gas producers have increasingly used hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking to extract oil and gas from the earth. Most people believe fracking is a new process but it has been around for over 100 years. Modern day fracking began in the 1990’s when George P Mitchell created a new technique by combining fracking with horizontal drilling. Since then, U.S. oil and gas production has skyrocketed. But the “new” perception of fracking leads people to incorrectly believe that fracking is temporary and that it somehow harms the environment. The truth is fracking is a reasonable energy solution if oversight and safeguards are used. In the last ten years fracking has improved conditions in the U.S. in three

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 mismanagement of the practice has the potential to create environmental damage such as water contamination, radioactive spills, and increased seismic activity that could cost thousands in dollars in damage. Furthermore, the unintended consequences of fracking can have detrimental effects on the environmental. The potential for water contamination can pose both an immediate and long term risk to environmental stability, including landscape distortion, inhabitability and ecological displacement. This contamination of drinking water can also be detrimental to the human environment, limiting the amount of safe water available for both the residential and commercial human environment. With the increase of fracking, the level of disapproval for the practice has only mounted. Concerns including overconsumption of

No matter what the government does to promote hydraulic fracturing, it is still going to be extremely unappealing to those knowledgeable on the topic. As Lisa Bracken states, “Crap is crap no matter what package you put it in” (GasLand). Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of drilling about a mile into the shale below. Once the shale has been reached, water, sand, and a mixture of over 500 chemicals are injected into the Earth. When the pressure of the Earth hits a certain point, a portion of the injected water flows back up to the surface and the well begins to produce the valuable resource known as natural gas (McElroy and Lu 27). Fracking currently occupies thirty-four states and is quickly expanding. The government is

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.

This debate covered the controversial issue of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The two sides that can be taken within this debate are, Bruce McKenzie Everett’s side or John Rumpler’s side. Everett believes that hydraulic fracturing is completely worth it, due to the fact that the economic benefits outweigh the negative impacts on our environment. While Rumpler argues that there are very crucial tolls fracking is taking on our environment, and also our health. Throughout the article there are 6 question proposed to each person. The first, and maybe most important, question asked is ‘is fracking safe?’ Everett responds first by saying that nothing in the world is entirely safe, and then continues to nullify the multitude of threats fracking

To environmental advocates and opponents of fracking, the process is more than dollars and cents. On a rudimentary level, the oil and natural gas produced via hydraulic fracturing are fossil fuels, and thus harmful to the environment in comparison to renewable, clean sources of energy such as solar and wind power. These renewable energy fields are likewise capable of bolstering American energy production and independence and creating high paying careers. Moreover, research suggests that fracking practices could cause serious methane leaks, canceling out the supposed reduction in greenhouse gas

In “Fracking” authors Michael D. Holloway and Oliver Rudd cover the technology and methods of hydraulic fracturing while explaining the consequences it has on our health, agriculture, and the planet. The two set out to expose the truths and fallacies regarding impacts of the controversial topic. Throughout the book excerpt, the authors reiterate their goal of not making false claims; “the goal is to educate and share insight.” The authors work to relieve the public of common hydraulic fracking related misconceptions brought on by the media. While the majority of citizens opposed to fracking report contamination to their water source and air, the authors’ collected studies reveal that these problems are not unique to fracking; they occur whenever

Fracking has always been a problem, but seems to become more of a problem as time goes on. Although gas, oil, and coal are necessities for living, there is a better way to obtain these substances instead of fracking.

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.

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.

The transition of power that is currently happening in American politics has brought an air of uncertainty, especially with regard to the environment. Specifically, an issue that has recently gained attention has been hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. In simple terms, fracking is a procedure where the ground is drilled with water and chemicals in order to obtain natural gas or oil. Fracking is the most important public health issue at this time because the change in power is bound to create more leniency on big business, especially those involved with gas and oil (Garber, 2017). The procedure has been controversial because on one end, people argue that fracking will make the United States energy self-dependent, will create jobs, and will be

Fracking is a practice done by natural gas companies to obtain gas. The explanation of fracking in Hydraulic Fracturing: A Critical Physical Geography Review, is summarized as “Shale gas development combines two long-established but rapidly advancing technologies: hydraulic fracturing, in which millions of gallons of water treated with chemical additives and sand are injected into subsurface formations at high pressure to break up the rock so that trapped oil and gas can flow, and horizontal drilling, in which the well bore can be pivoted horizontally to follow the contours of oil and gas producing layers of rock. Together, these two technologies allow energy companies to exploit gas and oil formations that were previously uneconomical to tap, catalyzing both large upward revisions in oil and gas reserves estimates, and a dramatic shift in the geographical distribution of energy production in the US.” The controversial part of this process is where chemical additives and sand are injected into the ground, and because of this there are a very black white stance on the topic. Most of the rhetoric used is either pro or anti-fracking. The anti-fracking movement claims that this process is hurting the environment and contaminating water supplies around the United States. While the fracking movement sees it as a clean, new way to get natural gas from within the U.S. Like anything there is trade offs for doing it, on one side we needed natural gas to power the American people’s lifestyle and on the other we need to protect the environment because we do not yet know the effects of fracking. The narrative used on both sides are highly

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, has been around since the 1940’s. This is the act of injecting fluid into rocks or rock formations underground that will ultimately release natural gasses and oils. In the U.S. there are over 500,000 natural gas wells. On top of the already existing wells, many states across the country are rescinding their ban on fracking. This is one of the more debated topics when it comes to alternative energy. There is a big split on this issue and it is understandable. There are many pros but there are also many cons to come along with it.