Fracking Issues

effectively argue for its continued use and expansion in its current form. Finally, I will support

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.

Fracking has become a highly controversial and publicized topic in recent years due to rising concerns into the potential benefits and consequences of using hydraulic fracturing to retrieve natural gas and oil reserves. With concerns over water pollution, mismanagement of toxic waste and irreversible environmental damage mounting, the practice of fracking has

The issue of whether we should continue fracking without research has been widely debated around the world. The issue is important because it has fundamental environmental concerns and economic questions about the process of hydraulic fracturing. “Fracking” is the process of penetrating down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is absorbed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand, and chemicals are then inserted into the rock with compression which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well. Fracking fluid, which can be polluted with heavy metals like arsenic, known human carcinogens, has seeped into local waterways and polluted groundwater. People who live near fracking wells have a heightened danger of developing cancer, asthma, and other serious ailments associated with inhaling or ingesting the toxic chemicals involved in the fracking process. Countries approach fracking and researching much differently from each other. The injection of fluid into shale beds at high pressure to extract petroleum resources has been happening across the United States of America at rapid pace. By 2003, a gigantic public relations campaign was launched to lobby Congress to pass what is

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

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

In his book The Boom, Russell Gold discusses the history of fracking from its origins through its development into modern times. As an accredited Senior Energy Reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Gold has a very unique relationship with the subject; one that makes him privy to the benefits and consequences of fracking from both a personal and employment-based perspective. Gold is able to contextualize the topics he discusses, including more technical aspects of fracking, and move between his vastly different perspectives with such fluidity that it remains relatable, no matter the background of the reader.

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.

Energy sources in today’s world are becoming scarcer by the day, as energy is one of our most needed and essential commodities. Who supplies the energy and how much energy they are supplying typically determines the amount of influence one country might have over another regarding our global economy. This is where hydraulic fracturing becomes a controversial and important topic to those of us in the United States. Lately, environmental campaigners have voiced concerns over the large amounts of water that is needed to carry out the fracking process and the possibility of tremors it could cause. For example, in 2011, the Black pool area in England experienced two relatively small quakes. One reading 1.5 and the other reading 2.2 on the magnitude scale. Collin Richardson, vice president of operations for Mineral Resources Inc., feels that the issue is perplexed when he states, "People go to a light switch and expect energy to be there, but they don't think about where it comes from. I don't think most people understand that without hydraulic fracturing, we wouldn't have natural gas to provide electricity to our homes or gas in our cars” (Rydbom). It seems as though there is a misconception about fracking that arises from the environmentalist groups as to what fracking really is. These misconceptions cause an emotional upset with citizens due to the twisting of facts and fake news.

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

Frack sites can break down and cause a bundle of problems. Communities with fracking have seen decline in property values, increases in crime, and losses in local tourism. When a community loses tourism and gains an increase in crime it may not be an area where a new company would want to settle, worsening the economy. Fracking is said to have caused earthquakes when a pipe ruptures. If a pipe ruptures it damage a fault line pushing one tectonic plate closer toward the earthquake point. If a storage tank for fracking breaks it may leak out into crops and streams and poison our ecosystem. If the fracking fluid does as much as decimates on of the species in the ecosystem, then it will put the whole ecosystem out of whack causing numerous problems.

“While disagreement over hydraulic fracturing is new, the practice itself is not. Hydraulic fracturing has been used since 1947.”(No Evidence) Fracking helps get energy for the United states so that we do not have to buy oil from other states. Fracking is drilling for natural gas so that it can help the United States produce energy. Fracking is important to the United States because it bring more jobs to the United States so that we can make more money for our government. Activist think that it is important to protect the environment from fracking because it is it is a potential hazard.Fracking helps the U.S make more of their own energy, and fracking brings jobs and money into the United States, however some claim that fracking harms

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,

Over the course of this report the arguments for and against fracking shall be set out and evaluated as well as the respective policy implications regarding the problems which will inevitably arise. The conclusion that is reached is that the UK does require fracking for numerous security and economic reasons, whilst the environmental risks can be sufficiently reduced through effective management. The next section shall cover the environmental issues, which range from water over abstraction and pollution to greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast the economic benefits, such as increases in employment, investment and government revenue, shall be analysed.