Fracking Industry: A Case Study

In recent years there has been great concern over the growing demand for energy, and the lack of non-renewable energy resources to meet the demand in the future. In addition, the question of “sustainability”—the ability to balance social, economic, and environmental needs in energy production to meet both current and long-term requirements—has come to the fore. It is clear that America must expand energy production quickly, and that we must develop renewable, sustainable energy sources to meet long-term demand and protect our future. There are many proposed solutions, such as wind and solar power. But the technology for these resources is not yet fully developed, making them, at best, low-output alternatives. Because renewable sources are

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.

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.

“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

Energy is a hot topic in the United States both in the private sector as well as the political arena. Debates over the most cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly energy happen in many US homes as well as on Capitol Hill. Two energy sources that have been debated recently are solar power and fracking of natural gas wells. Solar power is created by converting the heat from the sun’s rays into electricity, most commonly, by using solar panels. Over the years, since solar power panels have become available for home and business purchase, the cost has decreased, therefore making it more accessible to a larger population. Although fracking is not a new process, it has received

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

In America poverty is a problem; fracking helped with this problem because it crated job opportunities. Although people in America have had a hard time finding good paying jobs, fracking has helped solve this problem. Ed Rendell confirms that “natural gas restores jobs for hardworking Americans”, and it created “thousands of solid jobs with good salaries”. While fracking helped people who are having troubles finding jobs, but it also creates new opportunities for other things like businesses. Ed Rendell points out that “It’s already creating new opportunities consumers and businesses and promoting economic growth”. Another thing that has benefitted from fracking is construction industries. Ed Rendell states that “steel, lumber, and construction

Hydraulic fracking in the United States is a current environmental hazard that has to be addressed by the American people and by the federal government. Fracking in America has opened up millions of acres of lands that were once not economically viable to produce oil and gas. While the Bureau of land Management has paved the way for hydraulic fracturing on public lands, there is a need for retaliation. Fracking is a dirty method of extracting gases and oils at the price of numerous environmental, safety, and health hazards. The environment is not a means of income when rather it is the capital for future generations.

Thieves who planned a major cyber attack on banks in 2013 struck while the iron was hot. job applicants need to highlight what they bring to the table. as soon as a director blocks a scene, some actors want to rehearse wearing the shoes that are part of their costumes. employers might want to incentivize employees to reach beyond the low hanging fruit. university of Michigan students illustrated how to improve housing projects on Manhattans lower east side with infill. As an alternative to fracking, some countries are studying the environmental advantages of using methane hydrate- what Atlantic writer Charles C. Mann refers to as "ice you can set on

Gasland is a documentary directed by the American filmmaker Josh Fox in 2011 that focuses on how citizens are being affected by Shale formations known as hydraulic fracturing. The documentary had brought a good amount of attention to it and it can be considered as a key mobilizer for the anti-fracking movement in the United States. In addition, the documentary’s good use of pathos and logos had inspired people to learn and research the term “hydraulic fracturing”. It has been noted that the it contained some reliable ethos, because of the witness and the subcommittee. Unfortunately, the documentary at most is semi- authentic to lack of professionalism (ethos).

When you look at the title of this paper you ask yourself, what is fracking, and you probably try to learn the definition so that you’ll actually understand what I am writing about. However, I am going to tell you what fracking is. What is fracking? Fracking is the injection of fluid into the ground in order to get natural fossil fuels to come to the surface, in order to use them for gas and other things (Fracking). How does fracking work? Water and sand are pushed into the ground horizontally and small explosives are inserted in order to push out oil and gas from the natural rocks that are there. Fracking has been going on for decades but there is a new type of fracking, deep fracking, that was first used in Texas in 1999 (MacDonald, 2004). There are good and bad effects of using fracking to get natural gas, many different things are effected on the Earth either way.

Imagine if one day the United States no longer defended the oil fields in other countries because the United States decided to use its own energy resources instead. (Beyond Oil) Fracking is when gas companies drill into the ground using high-pressure water to break apart rock to release natural gas. Fracking increases the amount of natural gas that the United States can get to. The United States needs to make more of its own energy so it does not see the day that the whole world runs out of fuels to make energy. It is important for the U.S. to make more jobs because it gets energy around the United States faster, and fracking gives people more money. Anti-frackers think it is important to protect the environment so that people do not destroy

Adam Briggle is a professor that explores the world of fracking, and he gets his first look at “Fracking” comes when he’s pushing his son on a swing set at a playground and far out; he get’s his first look at what the headquarters of fracking look like. He’s baffled by the carelessness the industry shows by putting an oil drill next to a playground. This sight would be the start of a fight between government and its citizens. His first step was to learn what “Fracking” actually meant; because it was his first time ever knowing what “Fracking” was until he moved to Denton, Texas. After this sight he leads a revolutionary group to stop the creation of a new oil drill. In the process they face

The fracking process involves a lot of hazardous chemicals that if not taken into consideration can cause a lot of issues to workers health, the surrounding area and can compromise the safety of the well and the gas purification plant. (FEASTA, 2017) A health consideration that has been taken into account is the amount of Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) that is being emitted to the air. Hydrogen sulphide is a very hazardous compound at which concentrations of over 100ppm can cause coughing, eye irritation and loss of smell at above 500ppm if it not detected can cause someone to be unconscious and potential fatality within an hour. In addition if too much hydrogen sulphide is emitted into the surrounding environment it can react with the oxygen and

With American population expected to increase by approximately fifty percent over the next fifty years, some sort of energy reform is needed (Lehrman 2). The most commonly proposed idea is for America to stop relying so heavily on fossil fuels, and to turn its focus onto renewable sources of energy, such as solar power and hydroelectricity (Energy Information Administration). If the United States could realize the benefits of renewable energy, then much of the world’s energy problems could be solved.