Hydraulic Fracturing

Hi,MY names G. from Middle School during this quarter are grade has been studying what is fracking Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling down vertically to get natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth. Fracking produces natural gas extraction. Recent advancements for the drilling technology have led to new manmade fractures in shale plays that were once not available for exploration.(What is fracking online). I think fracking is not safe because in the areas where Fracking is taking place, it is causing crimes which isn’t beneficial to the economy, it also causes methane to get into peoples water and it is effecting surrounding Fracking areas with toxins.

In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon

Hydraulic fracturing also called fracking has been around for many years despite the recent events of controversy to continue fracturing or not. With the earth’s resources depleting rapidly every year and no sufficient replacement for energy humanity needs fracking. The process of fracking has been around for more than six decades. Fracking has been around since the 1940s and was created to increase the removal flow of oil and natural gas. In the words of chemical engineer Robert Rapier “Fracking involves pumping water, chemicals, and a proppant down an oil or gas well under high pressure to break open channels in the rock holding the oil or gas (Rapier).” A proppant can be different materials,

Safe natural gas fracturing or “fracking” is on the rise and our country is benefiting from in on several levels. From meeting energy needs to creating jobs and helping the economy, natural gas is an invisible miracle. Many precautions are taken during the fracking process in order to ensure it is safe as possible. Natural gas is something I work around every day due to the fact I work in the oilfield and the work I do is carried out during a “frac.” Many environmentalist and various people from different scientific fields argue that the benefits are not worth the risk.

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.

Stephen holditch of the department of petroleum engineering, Texas A&M University believe that hydraulic fracking does not cause pollution and has not contaminated any water in any known cases when fracking was used in wells; however there have been many cases of this and could cause a more serious problem if it continues. ‘The oil and natural gas industry support more than 2.1 million jobs according to IHS. Economics” (source 8). ‘Other policy experts say hydraulic fracturing could supply more than half of U.S. natural-gas production by 2030” (source 5). With this being said if we stop hydraulic fracturing we could have millions of people lose jobs and would have a great energy shortage. Though if Hydraulic fracturing continues, climate change could speed up, lots of ground water sources could be polluted and some of the ‘650 chemicals that can cause cancer” (source 3) could spread and there could be a cancer epidemic. Going back to loosing ground water sources, it was found that ‘scientist discovered methane in 115 out of 141 shallow drinking-water wells. It [was also] found the closer the water source was to the natural gas well, the more methane it contained.” (source 4) taking this information in there are also other ways to generate power such as solar farms and hydraulic

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

Did you know that at one point, the United States (U.S.) had a fear that they would run out of natural gas? Roughly a decade ago, government officials and industry analysts predicted that the U.S. would have a shortage in natural gas, the main source of energy in the states. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would shortly be the answer to the problem. Hydraulic fracturing was developed sixty years ago by George P. Mitchell, who combined hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling as a process to extract natural gas from within the ground. Fracking is the process of pumping millions of gallons of chemically treated water, sand, and various chemicals into deep shale formations at pressures of nine thousand pounds per square inch or more.

America has one of the highest energy consumption rates in the world. This demand has led to the popularization of the hydraulic fracturing industry. First introduced in the 1940s, hydraulic fracturing is method by which a well is drilled one to two miles below the Earth’s surface. The well then injects water and chemicals in the Earth that create fractures through which gas can flow through. Hydraulic fracturing, which is also known as fracking, became popular because of horizontal drilling in fracking is more efficient at extracting gas. As a result, a fracking boom ensued in which over a million wells were drilled in the United States in the past decade. However,

The practice of Hydraulic fracturing, or releasing a mixture of water, sand, and various chemicals into wells dug beneath the earth to unlock its natural gas has become a very controversial issue (Earthworks ). For some, the practice means new forms of energy in the U.S. and thousands of new jobs. While others have pointed to the connections between the release of chemicals into the environment and the contamination of water supplies. Other studies have linked this new technology to air pollutants and an increase in earthquakes due to disturbances in the earth’s shell. All of these issues and concerns point to a need for further regulations to diminish these negative effects on the environment.

Unfortunately, the extent of the environmental risks that are associated with hydraulic fracturing are largely unknown. According to a number of studies and publications GAO reviewed, fracking may pose risks to air quality. This ‘wishy washy’ finding was because the studies that were reviewed were not taking into account the long-term, cumulative effects of this extractive process (“Oil and Gas” 2012). The increase in air pollutants, the reports found, were more likely a result of engine exhaust, emissions from diesel-powered pumps, gas that was vented or flared for operational reasons, and unintentional emissions from faulty equipment or storage areas for waste (“Oil and Gas” 2012). Not surprisingly, a number of studies and publications GAO reviewed also indicated that fracking only might put our water quality at risk. Fracking can cause the contamination of surface water and groundwater as a result of erosion, spills and releases of chemicals, or the underground migration of chemicals (“Oil and Gas” 2012). So we have oversight agencies that release reports siting cases that are understudied, yet in the meantime permits are still being

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

“A man’s errors are his portals of discovery” (Joyce). The question that arises from this quote is, are some errors worth making in hope for future discovery? One presumable error that is being practiced today is Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking). The debate of this issue is very controversial and it is hard to decide which side of the argument is the right side. But before one can plunge into the debate, one must understand Fracking entirely. Fracking is the process of breaking shale rock deep beneath the surface of the Earth, to get the natural gas caught inside of the shale out. Fracking itself is not a bad thing, it is quite beneficial to the economy and it is causing the, “US carbon emissions [to] fall” (Elias). The problem arises in, “the method of extraction,” the things driven into the earth are, “a witch’s brew of toxic chemicals,” these chemicals are pumped, “into the shale at high pressure” (Elias). At the end the product is the natural gas that the Fracking companies were after, but the items left behind cause the ultimate issue. On occasion the chemicals, which are pumped into the earth, leak, then the, “water from all gas wells often returns to the surface,” this water which resurfaces contains, “extremely low but measurable concentrations of radioactive elements” (Brantley, Meyendroff). For reasons listed above and many more Fracking must be put to an end because it is contributing to climate change may very well be helping global

Hydraulic fracturing may also pose a risk to human health through contamination of drinking water supplies, with several instances of contamination having been reported in the news over the past few years and verified by the EPA in its five-year study published in 2015. Despite this, the overall finding of the report is that “hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water sources.”(2) While there have been instances of water contamination, when compared to the overall number of hydraulic fracturing wells, fracking poses an exceedingly low risk to drinking water supplies as demonstrated in a study of drinking water contamination in the Marcellus Shale drilling region where there were only a handful of incidents among the 3,500 wells.(3) As technology improves and the surface operations and piping made sounder,

Another problem that we know exists with hydraulic fracturing is the contamination of the water, the ground, and the air around the sites (Goldman pg. 2). It has been shown that “…residents living near the hydraulic fracturing sites are increasingly worried that the drilling process might be contaminating their well water, polluting streams, and releasing toxic gases into the air (Hobson).” Water sources, as well as the soil, are often polluted from flowback fluid and from production brine (Hydro-Fracking pg.4). Flowback fluid is “the contaminated fluid that returns to the surface during the drilling process, and is estimated to be between 9% - 35% of the fluids injected during