Fracking Research Paper

Hydraulic fracturing is also known as “fracking” is a technique which involves drilling down, then horizontally as far as 10,000 feet below the surface to release natural gasses stored in the sedimentary rock known as Shale. The channel is then encased with concrete or occasionally steel to allow millions of gallons of water to be injected into the wellbore. Most water used in fracking comes from surface water sources such as rivers, lakes, or other accessible bodies of water nearby. Not only is there water being funneled into the wellbore, but also a mixture of sand and other chemicals. When the high-pressure mixture is injected underground it fractures the Shale around the wellbore and creates fissures. The fissures are then held open with

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.

The most obvious economic benefit of fracking is that it allows the U.S. to collect natural gas and oil from our own land, meaning that we do not have to import as much from other countries (Jackson, 2014). Reducing the amount of natural gas and oil

Thesis: Hydraulic fracturing is not “the energy solution to the future” (Johnson). Through an in depth look at the current energy crisis, a detailed study of

Fracking is a process in which a drill is inserted into a shale, which is a cracked surface,

Many people have many different views. And a vast majority of the opinions are negative. Green Peace recently quoted- “Fracking is the fossil fuel industry’s latest false solution to our energy challenge. It’s more expensive, more polluting, and more dangerous than clean, renewable energy.

This method has been used multiple industries that were placed under scrutiny for environmental damages caused including the coal and oil industry. However renewable energy sources actually employ more people than the natural gas industry in the United Sates. It is important to remember that even tough natural gas is abundant in the United States, it will run out after a certain point. Meanwhile, renewable energy sources will stay here forever and will provide the capacity to provide hundreds of thousands of more jobs. According to Renewable Energy World Director Laura Small (2015): “IRENA did a separate estimate of jobs in the renewable energy industry in the United States, finding a total of 625,000 direct and indirect jobs in the solar, biofuel, wind, biomass, hydropower and geothermal industries” (par. 17). The fracking industry does support many jobs but so does the tobacco companies. There shouldn’t be an expansion to dangerous fracking when new and renewable energy sources can provide a more efficient way to create

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.

Fracking has brought the world’s energy supply from a crisis level to a stable supply that supports global energy demands. As energy prices rose and the energy supply slowly decreased, experts began to

Fracking, better known as hydraulic fracking has been around since 1949 (Global Energy Affairs), and has helped our economy in many different ways; such as, providing economic benefits, supporting the U.S. with more natural resources, and using safer drilling and production practices, and it is better for our environment. However, fracking can also be extremely terrible for our economy, such as; water droughts, health effects, and noise pollution. There are two sides to hydraulic fracking, and through resource I will form my opinion (Occupy Theory).

A professor of molecular medicine at Cornell’s college of veterinary medicine by the name of Robert Oswald and Michelle Bamberger a veterinarian interviewed animal owners in six states Colorado, New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas. The interviews turned up twenty four cases of animals possibly being harmed by fracking. It is impossible to tell if it was caused directly from fracking due to incomplete tests on how fracking is affecting these areas but signs strongly point to it being the cause. Oswald said, “We have a number of case studies -- they don't tell us about the prevalence of problems associated with hydraulic fracturing, but they do tell us how things can happen." (Cornell.edu). Some of the case studies show death of many animals such as in Louisiana seventeen cows died after about an hour after being exposed to fracking fluid. The cause of death was circulatory failures which lead to their death. Another case was of one hundred and forty cows were exposed to hydrofracking fluid and seventy died and those that lived many gave still births or had serious defects. As we see the water and chemicals that are pumped into the ground are not healthy and can lead to death or birth defects. Fracking is dangerous and definitely needs to be regulated but there are some upsides to it as

Hydraulic fracturing is a process used in nine out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States, where millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart the rock and release the gas. Scientists are worried that the chemicals used in fracturing may pose a threat either underground or when waste fluids are handled and sometimes spilled on the surface. The natural gas industry defends hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, as safe and efficient. Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, a pro-industry non-profit organization, claims fracking has been “a widely deployed as safe extraction technique,” dating back to 1949. What he doesn’t say is that until recently energy

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.

There are numerous pros and cons for fracking. The use of fracking has given the oil and gas industry a huge access to different oils and gasses. Fracking opens doors to a large variety of fossils fuels used for cooking, heating and also powering our cars. Fracking takes place entirely underground, therefore the air quality remains the same. Furthermore fracking also limits the amount of carbon dioxide