Hydraulic Fracturing
Natural gas is a keystone of United States economy, it providing the United States a quarter of the country’s total energy; Outstanding to the many advances in technology. Production from shale formations has gone from a small amount just a few years ago to being almost thirty percent of total United States natural gas manufacture. This has gotten lower prices, domestic jobs due to the possible of extensive production growth. Although the growth has also brought many difficult questions about both current and future making can be done in a naturally way that meets the needs of the public trust.
Hydraulic fracturing is a gas and oil, which involves a process that involves injecting sand, water, and many other chemicals
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These wells are drilled to a depth of 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Many argue that this water is taken out of the hydrologic cycle because it doesn’t evaporate back into the atmosphere.
In a political perspective is very uncertain many are against this because the facts surrounding chemical use are clear water and sand comprises and majority of the mixture used. United States environmentalist and civic community groups are seeking specific chemical disclosure and supporting lawsuits of potential drinking water contamination. Many other questions are being raised about the use and reuse and disposal of water in the process of fracturing. The EPA had already concluded a study explaining that hydraulic fracturing environmental risks in 2004.If hydraulic fracturing environmental risks existed, they would occur in the shallow fields. The federal government has been really reluctant to enact some environmental regulation to the expanding industry to expand. As natural gas prices rise and the use to use a different source for oil has spread; it has become a very large export for the United States (Mandel, 2010).
From an ethical point of view we have to look at both the harms and benefits that we can obtain from hydraulic fracturing. We have to view the dangers of fracking; which can mean contaminating our water supply. But on the other hand there are huge benefits,
Once the well reaches the right depth, it turns right or left and becomes horizontal. This is called the kick off point. The horizontal section can span anywhere from 1,000 to 6,000 feet. The drill is removed but the surrounding steel casing remains. These steel casings are meant to protect the groundwater and the surrounding area from any potential leakage during the fracking process. Down at the horizontal section of the well, little holes are punctured through the steel in thousands of spots. Then, a water solution is pumped at a extremely high pressure down the well. This causes tons of cracks and fissures in the rock. Additives and sand in the water mixture hold the cracks open, allowing oil to escape and be brought up to the surface.
Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer caused by the presence of a pressurized fluid. (wiki 2011). This occurs naturally in nature, but the Hydraulic fracturing that I will speak of in this paper is a process being used by gas companies nationwide. Fracking is currently regulated by the EPA under the clean water act of 2005 (EPA.gov). However, this only partially governs the methods of injecting fluids and the retrieval of such fluids into the earth. It does not govern the types of chemicals that
Even though I would need to do more research to have a more coherent opinion, I believe that fracking should not be practiced in the United States. My opinion is heavily based on the fact that fracking is still such a new discovery and that safe methods have not been identified. Thus, too many people are at risk for being exposed to contaminated drinking water (Jackson, 2014). The methane contamination of the drinking water is very concerning because it is very flammable, which can be incredibly dangerous to the citizens in the affected area (Hoffman, 2016). Thirdly, the amount of pollutants that are released into the atmosphere is not safe for people to inhale. Both children and adults have been exposed to these pollutants, which have had severely negative effects. Lung disease is just one of the major negative health effects of fracking. Cancer and birth defects in infants are other incredibly disabling diseases that affect people in proximity to these wells (Kiely, 2016). Another issue that I find disturbing about the process of fracking is that the waste water wells are disposing of the chemical waste deep into the Earth’s crust. However, some of this chemical waste is disposed of in landfills, which, in turn, pollutes the groundwater (StateImpact, 2017). Overall, I find the process of fracking
Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is an oil and gas drilling process that is used to extract oil and natural gas from deep underground. Fracking is the cheapest route for oil and gas companies to make billions of dollars. The majority of the time the cheapest way is not always the best way of doing things. Hydraulic fracturing is not a good thing just because it makes money for--at times--everyone involved, as it causes our air and water to be polluted. There should be more regulations and laws to prevent contamination and protect our air and water from fracking pollution.
During the mid 2000s hydraulic fracking was starting to grow because ‘It was a good way to meet energy needs.”(source 5). Hydraulic fracking has been said to release chemicals and pollute drinking water.
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
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, is a drilling method used for extracting oil or natural gas from deep underground. Fracking is a problem that not many see as controversial. Each human being depends on daily energy, as long as they see the cost for use of energy is cheap they won't question the actual effects it may present to the environment. The energy sources can be mined or pumped from locations worldwide. Each technique for extraction of the resource is having serious impacts on wildlife. Even worse is that fracking can have a serious impact on our water supply. Large amounts of gas now is available due to high use amount of fracking. Though fracking is used worldwide to extract gas and oil, a fracking boom has occurred
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking, which it is more commonly known by, is a method used to retrieve oil and gas out of shale rock. This is a very effective way to retrieve oil and is now a very commonly used method to retrieve oil. This method is responsible for about a quarter of the United States oil production. The problem is that there are possible health concerns to this method but this technique is used all over the United States and has opened doors to retrieving oil that was not possible almost a decade ago. So should the U.S. continue hydraulic fracturing even though there are environmental and health concerns? Fracking is worth the risk because if the U.S. stopped fracking they would have to become more dependent on another country,
Hydraulic fracturing in combination with advancement in directional drilling has made it possible to economically extract oil and gas from unconventional resources. The growth in U.S. oil and gas exploration and production made possible by the increase in use of hydraulic fracturing, has raised concerns about its potential to impact human health and the environment. Concerns have been raised by the public about the effects of hydraulic fracturing on quality and quantity of drinking water resources. The hydraulic fracturing water cycle includes five main activities: the withdrawal of ground or surface water needed for hydraulic fracturing fluids; the mixing of water, chemicals, and proppant on the well pad to create the hydraulic fracturing fluid; the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into the well to fracture the formation, the return of injected fluid and water produced from the formation to the surface; and the reuse, treatment and disposal of wastewater generated at the well pad, including produced water (U.S. EPA, 2015). With the water cycle being so massive and prolonged, the presence of potential negative impacts is greatly increased.
Ultimately Hydraulic fracturing has no real advantage and why should we continue with something that has no benefit and causes so much damage,
Hydraulic fracturing is harmful to the environment and people. I believe there are alternative methods that are safer. In order to protect the environment and the population, precautions need to be implemented to reduce the damaging effects of fracking. The government needs to use other methods to change the current process of hydraulic fracturing.
In recent years, the topic of hydraulic fracturing has been widely discussed about in applied ethics. Interest in unconventional resources has been researched by the advances of oil and gas technology which many researchers in the US suggest that it will become practical to use fracking as it is the key to energy self-sufficiency. Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is the process in which oil and gas companies drill into the ground to recover natural gas from the shale rock that lies thousands of feet underground.
Water droughts are also a concern as many of the places where hydraulic fracturing is used have water drought and because of the huge amount of water used to recover natural gas and oil this can lead to increases in water droughts.There is concern about increased pollution to the water and air in those surrounding areas where fracking takes place. It is also known that there is an increased presence of toxins in the water supply in the areas surrounding. The toxins are released into the air and cause an increase in air pollution. 10-40 % of the fracking wastewater is comes back into the original drilling hole and this can cause long term consequences such as ground water supplies becoming
Hydraulic fracturing, or more commonly known as ‘fracking’ is a technique designed by engineers to open fissures deep within shale to extract oil and natural gas. The practice involves using large amounts of high-pressured water along with proppants, usually sand, and a small amount of a chemical solution. The diagram below pictures the process of hydraulic fracturing. In the last few years, hydraulic fracturing has become a popular topic of debate centering on whether the increase in amount of fossil fuels is worth the cost of possible environmental damage. Fracking is not simply a way of providing more fossil fuels, but should also be seen as a viable solution to the nation’s foreign oil
pg. 1) “In a July 19 letter to ten oil and gas producers – including BP, Chesapeake Energy, and ExxonMobil – the lawmakers requested information on the companies’ hydraulic fracturing operations and on possible human impacts. According to a subcommittee staff memo, the hydraulic fracturing companies ‘do not track whether the wells they fracture are located in underground sources of drinking water (Hobson Penn.).”