Oil Shale Research Paper

There are many different factors contributing to global warming. The Alberta oil sands are only one of them, but they're one of the largest sources of harmful air pollutants in Canada. The oil sands are polluting our air and water, clear cutting the Northern boreal forest and affecting the First Nation tribes living around the sites. Canada should no longer be funding the Alberta oil sands because of the negative impact it has on the environment and people near them.

From the day in 1901 when a little hilltop near Beaumont began to gush oil,a big part of Texas changed that day. Oil has been changing our life ever since that historical day in 1901. Today, more than a century later, Texas still produces more oil than any other state in the Union.Oil has brought more wealth to Texas than ever before.

Human health and environmental integrity are both at risk from fracking. However, it allows America to be self-sufficient in an energy driven world. In the end, the debate comes down to whether or not the risks outweigh the benefits. In his interview, Josh Fox brings up firsthand

295 Why we should stop fracking During 1947 a technology called hydraulic fracking was introduced and started to grow. 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.

Fracking is a technique designed to get gas and oil out of shale rock in the earth. Natural gas has been used for light and heat for more than 100 years, natural gas is considered one of the cleanest fossil fuel but since it is a fossil fuel it is also a finite resource. Natural gas industry developed a new drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking . fracking is a means of extracting natural gases from shale. Tons of chemicals some toxic are mixed with large amounts of water and sand and pumped up to 8,000 feet under ground. The pressure fractures the shale and allows the gas to freely move.

Texas has always been proud of their heritage and their industry. The boost in the economy is much appreciated by Texas, and our government appears to be hushed by the counter weights and balances where money appears to overpower the concern of environmental harm. Two articles that were reviewed gave the opportunity to enlightened Texans about how production appears to be affecting air quality and water and in turn is hurting Texans’ health. Through facts presented, it is apparent that Texas government must take measures to improve the regulatory agencies so that the health of Texans is secure. I am personally appalled by the facts stated in the articles, and reform is definitely required.

Hydraulic Fracking These mountains have a very active and complex underground water system, one which Feeds the LaVale wells at Red Hill and many local wells. If drilling were to occur in

Fracking, or the removal of natural gas from shale, has rapidly grown in popularity and is predicted to overcome coal as the nation’s top power source. Even though burning natural gas releases less carbon dioxide than coal or diesel, fracking releases methane into the atmosphere and the increase in storage accidents over the past few years support Emily Schwartz Greco’s claim on the dangers of fracking and the need for a change in public opinion over fracking.

Hydraulic fracking is vertical well bores are drilled thousands of feet into the earth, through sediment layers, the water table, and shale rock formations in order to reach the oil and gas. The drilling is then angled horizontally, where a cement casing is installed and will serve as a conduit for the massive volume of water, fracking fluid, chemicals and sand needed to fracture the rock and shale. In some cases, prior to the injection of fluids, small explosives are used to open up the bedrock. The fractures allow the gas and oil to be removed from the formerly impervious rock formations. Although fracking has technically been in existence for decades, the scale and type of drilling now taking place, deep fracking, is a new form of drilling

Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic fracturing synonymous to the term “fracking” is a well-favored procedure that is used to exploit natural gases and oils from depths below the Earth’s surface at which they tend to accumulate. Some people believe fracking is the most efficient way to go about obtaining these much needed resources. Although it is beneficial too much of something is never a good thing. Over time the use of this procedure has grown causing some serious environmental adversities. Fracking contaminates drinking water, causes water stress, gives rise to earthquakes, and degrades the air quality.

Fracking Fracking is the short term used for hydraulic fracturing, the forcing of water at high pressure into the ground in order to open natural lines to underground gas and oil deposits extracting it by forcing it upwards. We currently use fracking as a way to keep gas prices down and not have our country dependent of foreign gas.

Works Cited Environment, Alberta. Alberta’s Oil Sands. Opportunity. Balance. Edmonton, AB: Dept. of Environment, 2008. Print. This publication from the Government of Alberta’s Department of Energy tries to focus on an all-around view of the oil sands. It talks about what they are, how they work, and environmental problems and solutions. The publication is not nearly as current as some other sources, it was published late 2008. It is free from bias but tries to stay overly optimistic, something is a “challenge” not an environmental concern. Since it is a government source it is mostly objective but does try to keep the oil sands in a positive view, possibly to benefit our economy. The publication is factual, accurate, and has a limited bias

When you crack your knuckles this is why there is a noise, the synovial fluid present in your joints acts like a lubricant. The fluid contains the gases oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. When you pop or crack a knuckle, you stretch the joint capsule. Gas is rapidly released, which forms bubbles. In order to crack the same knuckle again, you have to wait until the gases return to the synovial fluid. (Arthritis)

Most fracking extraction used about 2 million cubits of water mixed with proppant materials like sand and thickening agents (Montgomery 26). Proppant materials such as sand are resistant to the hydraulic pressure of the fracking process. It is because sand is made from quartz and silica which is durable and its grains are rounded which makes is ideal for the fracking process. Ceramic beads made from aluminum or sintered bauxite is also used as proppant materials in the fracking process. Sand and ceramic beads make the perfect fracking materials since they can hold the fractures created open. Other materials crush from the pressure of the hydraulic process and from the pressure of the fractures created after the fracking process (Curtis

The shale is a light to medium gray rock. It has slaty cleavages. The shale has a dull luster and is composed mostly of quartz and clay. The grain size is fine with a smooth texture. It has distinctive compositional horizontal bedding of about 2.2cm (light gray) to 12cm (dark gray) in thickness. The bedding is horizontal and parallel to the ground with a thickness of approximately 16cm to 24cm.