My First White Water Fracking Expedition

As I jump off the pontoon, I feel the freezing water surround my body. I'll slip on the boots of the skis and grab the handlebar. Releasing my grip, I put one thumb up into the wind to signal I’m ready to go. Suddenly there is a tug on the rope, and I’m being dragged through the water. Pressing the skis against the cold water, I can finally stand up above the waves. The boat pulls me around the bend of the lake, and the view of all the enormous cabins is thrilling. The seniors on the campground beach will clap and stand up from their Adirondack chairs to wave or whistle. As my legs begin to feel tired, I wave one last time and let go of the handlebar. I can feel my body quickly sink down into the water; the life jacket on my chest will be

at Keuka Lake. Grandpa put his strong arms under me and told me to paddle with my arms and kick with my legs. “Reach as far as you can, Lynnie,” he told me. Grandpa showed me how he cupped his hands to pull through the water, keeping his fingers together. One time, I took such a big gulp of air before going under, that I made Grandpa laugh. Grandpa laughed so hard that he swallowed some of the lake water. He made me laugh, too. Suddenly, I wasn’t afraid anymore! And before I knew it, I was swimming through the water on my own. Just as my grandfather stayed by my side and prepared me to go out on my own, so too did Garvey prepare Cole for his important

In 2000, shale beds where the number one source of America’s constant need for gas. Most of that production increase has come about to the growing need of hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking”, which is a process used to release oil or gas from underground formations that are otherwise too hard to mine with other tools. Over the past few years, advances in fracking technology have made huge reserves of natural gas in America economically recoverable. According to the Energy Information Administration, shale gas plays, or fields, in the United States, most notably the Marcellus, in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York, and the Barnett, in Texas, are said to contain enough natural gas to give power to the country for a hundred and ten years. With the everlasting specter of energy independence, some have argued that such efforts to recover natural gas need to be expanded. Activists concerned with fracking’s potential environmental hazards view the new process as a serious threat to our environment. There are many different opinions on wether or not fracking is a safe way to gain our gasoline, and to meet the growing demands of gasoline around the world. The process of fracking creates cracks that come from wells into oil and gas formations by pumping highly pressurized fluids, ceramic beads, sand, and a mixture of chemicals, into the gas formation. As this fluid holds the underground fissures open, oil and gas fly up the well to the surface where they are

My heart pounded as my feet gradually left the safety of the grounds and began its ascent on a ladder that rattled on every step. Sweat formed in the palms of my hands while my gaze remained transfixed to the ground. In my mind’s eye, I envisioned myself landing with a splat on the ground. This was my first time at White Water, Six Flags. At first, when my cousins invited me to the trip, I presumed that in the worst case scenario, I would face a roller coaster; I can stomach that as long as there were seat

Thoughts of drowning run rampant in every man’s mind on that boat. At dawn, the men decided that their only chance is to row toward the distant shore again and swim when the boat finally capsizes.

That afternoon, on the Shoshone River in the mountains of Wyoming, might have been my last. In hindsight, I knew the raft was going to overturn. Having looked downstream, I saw the imminent threat of the canyon wall. The raft guide yells “ALL IN,” but the opposite occurs. The five of us are tossed to the mercy of the waves. I do not recall hitting the wall; the only memory I possess is looking back and seeing nothing but crashing waves on every side of me. Our entire crew was out of view.

Alvarado. First, environmental consequences may have affected David, as well as residents of his community, most severely. Throughout the entire interview with Mr. MacDonald and the countless tragedies that he and his community had to ensue due to fracking, the most heart wrenching of all was his battle with cancer. David remembers, “Three of us friends live within 5 miles, all have well water, all went to the Methodist Church, and all were diagnosed with left kidney cancer…I quit the Methodist Church, just in case…I had stage three along with Job, and Bill had stage one. Bill ended up dying.” Statistically, the lifetime risk for developing kidney cancer is 1 in 63, or 1.6%. However, Doctor’s claim that the odds of all three men being diagnosed with left kidney cancer is miniscule. The fact that all three men lived within 5 miles of each other and drank well water and developed the same rare form of cancer is a devastating example of the effects caused by the cancerous chemicals used during fracking. In fact, David sought a professional’s opinion and discovered, “Doctors and environmental engineers verified that Benzene (used in fracking) caused kidney cancer. The engineer also verified that radioactive materials were used and are in the land”. The evidence is clear and apparent, and exemplifies the problems with fracking in the DFW Metroplex and the deadly effects it can have on friends and communities. As far as the visual distortion of the tap water, David informed me that, “Our water was almost orange, it stained white clothes so badly you had

Suddenly, in the middle of all that sulking and whining and complaining, I found myself in a wetsuit and oversized life jacket, glaring at the side of a roaring river, scowling at the wispy trees that seemed to be waving goodbye while they whispered about my tragic, inevitable death. I barely caught the tail-end of his speech as the guide droned on about, “--and that is how you lift someone out of the water using

July 5th 2016 was a very hot and very sunny day, it felt as if my skin was being cooked. My family and I went on the boat and hung out by the sand bar all morning. It’s mixed emotions being on the tube, considering the boat is going about 35 MPH, I’m on a tube in the wavy lake, connected by a rope to the boat. It’s hard to focus on one emotion. I’m excited and terrified all in one. Although we picture lake time always being a great time, that July day was not a great time. I remember feeling as if our bodies were giving in to the sun so we decided to call it a day around 2 PM. We approached the pier to pull the boat in. Our dock is a parking space in water surrounded by a wooden pier on the sides and the front. To prevent the boat hitting from the sides, my brothers, my mom, and I will grab the sides of the pier as my dad steers it.

I remember the day I sliced my head open, as if it were yesterday. It was the summer of freshman year, a particularly gusty Sunday morning, but nothing was going to stop me from hauling my old, undersized, pink, ‘liquid force’ wakeboard down to the boat to snag some extra ‘board’ time. After almost a decade, the boat driver, my dad, and two others boarded the boat. I could finally enjoy the peacefulness of solitude, as I rode alone to the blaring sound of “Chicken Fried” and the savory aroma of barbeque that permeated my sense of smell. While I was riding, it appeared the water was churning as fast as a hand mixer in cake batter. Although I was getting tossed around like a bouncy ball in the hands of a five-year-old, I was not going to give

Eager and hopeful, I rushed to put it around my chest and braced for my last shot of survival. With all their strength, they tugged on the rope, moving me inch by inch out of the treacherous waters and onto dry land. Trying to find my footing, I hobbled back to the four-wheeler bundling in all of the clothing I could acquire. I was rushed back to the camp where a warm shower was waiting for me. It took at least 10 minutes idling in the steaming water to finally regain feeling in my toes and fingers as they tingled when the warm water hit them. Realizing that I was going to be okay, I jumped out the shower to put on dry clothes to go express my gratitude to my friends for saving

Our raft almost sank a few times because of the constant splashing of water into our raft. Each time we passed a stretch of rapids, and especially when we made it to the top of each fall a sense of anticipation would come over me I didn’t know what would happen next. There was always a chance that our raft might hit a boulder and flip, or that someone might fall out. We were always passing these jagged rocks and giant boulders that could have easily flipped our raft or got us stuck. Some of the rocks were sharp enough to give you a bad gash or even break a bone if you hit them with enough force. Many rafts floating aside us were caught on big boulders, and they had a hard time getting there raft loose and back in the water. There were only one or two very unfortunate groups of people that had the misfortune of accidentally flipping their rafts. Our guide kept screaming out orders telling us which way to paddle or lean to keep us from flipping. Luckily, we never did.

The bridge, the bridge, the bridge. I kept on repeating that in my head so I would not forget. Suddenly, everyone started clapping. It was finally time to get off. Preet and I rushed to get the tubes for everyone in our family, and some twine to attach it. We were filled with excitement. Time flew by, and we were finally on the dock. We got our tubes tied up, and went into the water. The sun was shining through the dancing, tall, trees and everyone was smiling. Groups started to pass us by, to the point we were isolated. We couldn’t see anyone else in the vast river. There was no possible way to get of neither. The land was all slanted, so you would have to climb, along with that it was all private property. I was slightly worried about this.

In conclusion, this rafting experience taught me a lot, which I never expected. It taught me to be more vigilant while embarking on any undertaking. Also, I could hold my nerves in such terrific circumstances, which assured me the strength of my patience. Further, this experience gave me the strength to face such circumstances, which I never face in my life and helped me to be more courageous. Though, it was a frightening experience for me, but it is also true that it could not change my attitude on the road to practice adventure interest and I will be definitely coming here for one more

My rescuer’s hand plunged through the glassy surface above and took a hold of mine. I was drawn from my trance as I was drawn from the water. I immediately gasped for air, thrashing as the oxygen started to fill my lungs. At first I couldn’t tell who carried me to the side of the pool, focusing on breathing, feeling like I had never used my lungs before. When I caught my breath, I stared into my lifesaver’s face. To my surprise my father’s eyes stared back.