Pros And Cons Of Hydraulic Fracturing

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.

Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial topic that has a clear stigma associated to its name, creating issues to its feasibility. Regardless of the conventional uncertainties, prejudices, laws, regulation and environmental consequences that makes unconventional methods a bitter topic, the fate of hydraulic fracking is rather ardours due to the nature of the province and history behind it. The provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, carry an exclusive component that escalates the complications of hydraulic fracturing, and that is the fact that it is the traditional land and territory of the aboriginal people of Canada – The Mi’kmaq (pg.282). Nova Scotia alone, is currently the home of over 24,000 people and 13 communities of the Mi’kmaq and Aboriginal people (pg. 283), all of whom are protected by historical rights and treaties, whereupon the infringement of their rights could lead to serious consequences by the federal government of Canada (pg. 287) and the United Nations (pg. 285).

Hydraulic Fracturing, also known as fracking, is directly linked to having effects on the environment and the overall public health. The debate on whether or not fracking is too harsh on the environment has been going on ever since the United States has increased its use of this process to obtain more natural resources. Hydraulic fracturing is also directly correlated to having effects on drinking water. The process of fracking includes the injection of water containing other chemicals into the ground to extract natural resources that would otherwise be more difficult to obtain (Hydraulic Fracturing Overview, 2012). Although the process of fracking has resulted in an increase of natural resources, such as natural gas and oil, public health and environmental concerns have arisen. This topic has been the discussion of many people and whether or not there should be some form of government regulation in place, as it is nonexistent to this day. With that said, hydraulic fracturing in the United States has more negative effects on drinking water and the environment over time and should not be used as a means to obtain natural resources.

Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is a process the the oil and gas industry uses to extract natural gas and oil from shale rock formations buried deep within the Earth. Fracking is done in order to recover oil and natural gas from formations and areas that scientists didn’t think were possible to produce. It is also used for the extraction of oil and natural gas from older wells in more mature oil and natural gas fields. Many people don’t know about the many harmful effects to people and the environment because of fracking. Hydraulic fracturing is harmful to the environment and people because it contaminates drinking water, pollutes the air, and threatens the climate.

Yet, according to Environmental Heath Perspectives author David Holzman (2011), “In a study of 68 private drinking water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania and New York, methane contamination rose sharply with proximity to natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) sites” (p. 1). The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) suspects that the cause of this contamination is the result of leaks caused by poor gas well construction at the fracking sites. Not only is the water surrounding the hydraulic fracturing sites getting contaminated but it is also getting depleted at a fast rate. According to Scientific American journalist Bobby Magill (2015), “Oil and natural gas fracking, on average, uses more than 28 times the water it did 15 years ago, … putting farming and drinking sources at risk in arid states, especially during drought” (p. 1). One of these states is California which is undergoing one the worst droughts in its history. Despite this fact, California is still extracting natural gas using hydraulic fracturing. There are also other types of environmental problems that threaten America’s landscapes which are caused by hydraulic

Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) is the process of drilling into the ground and pumping sand, water, and fracking fluid at high pressures in order to extract natural shale gas that was previously unattainable. This process comes with environmental issues: the chemicals from the fracking fluid can contaminate nearby drinking water wells and harm the citizens of that area. Despite the fact that there have been several contaminated drinking water cases reported, there is little being done about this matter. This paper analyzes the available research that asserts why fracking is a dangerous process that should be banned immediately. The intended audience is my peers and instructor, as well as anyone interested in the debacle of fracking-caused water contamination that may come across this piece. As you are reading, I ask that you keep in mind that this is a very perplexing issue that has not been given much of an opportunity for true research and investigation. Therefore, the data discussed has not been officially proven or disproven to be directly related in every way to local fracking. However, the research gathered on the proposed danger of the Hydraulic Fracturing process is solely based on science that has already been proven as well as documented illnesses and symptoms from residents and contractors around or near fracking operation sites.

Hydraulic fracturing is an increasingly common practice used to access otherwise unobtainable oil or natural gas reserves. While it shows promise as both a valuable economic resource as well as a source of energy independence, many oppose the practice due to alleged environmental dangers. In order to foster a greater understanding of the issues at hand, the following topics are discussed: what hydraulic fracturing is, how it is performed, and where it is located in the United States and abroad; how it has benefited the United States’ economy and how it can support the United States’ energy needs; legal and environmental issues; domestic and overseas regulations; and last but not least, what President Obama had to say about the practice in his 2012 Executive Order. The paper concludes with the author’s personal opinion regarding regulation of the practice here in the United States.

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.

The process of hydraulic fracturing – shooting water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure into underground wells to release natural gas – is a divisive issue: Some say it dumps chemicals into ground water supplies, others argue it causes earthquakes, and still others think it can revolutionize America’s energy industry.

Hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking) is a highly controversial process in which gas and oil are extracted from rock formations thousands of feet underground. While there are definite benefits of using fracking, there are also environmental issues that we need to be aware of. There are green alternatives to hydraulic fracturing, and further research needs to be done to identify the possible long term environmental and health concerns that are associated with fracking before our government continues to use it as a source of obtaining oil and gas.

Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial practice commonly used by oil and natural gas producers. This practice, better known as “fracking”, is used to stimulate the production of oil by fracturing shale to release natural gas. The birth modern day hydraulic fracturing began as early as the 1940s and today it is widely practiced across the United States, from new york, to Oklahoma, even all the way to California. The process of fracking is fairly simple, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) involves tapping shale and other tight-rock formations by drilling a mile or more below the surface before turning horizontal and continuing to drill several thousand feet more (Energy from Shale 2016). is drilled water is injected at an extremely high rate

In today’s society the issues of producing energy is becoming more and more scare which, constantly posses the question, “How will energy be obtained in order to sustain future generations?” Hydraulic fracturing, informally known as fracking is believed to be an effective alternative to provide us with the energy we need to fuel tomorrow. Hydraulic fracking was first used at Texas Stanolind Oil and Gas Cooperations in 1947. However, it was not until 1949 that The Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Cooperation was given a licensee to use hydraulic fracturing. Since then a combination of two advanced methods have been introduced and incorporated (4). These methods are slick-water hydraulic fracturing and precision drilling of wells. Nevertheless,

The nation is shifting towards electricity generated by natural gas- over the past ten years 81 percent of new electricity capacity has been gas fired- and state governments are playing regulatory catch-up with the drilling technology’s rapid expansion to meet this burgeoning demand”. (http://www.gracelinks.org/191/natural-gas-fracking-introduction) However; to meet this demand, gas and oil companies have ignored some rather important harmful effects of hydraulic fracturing. These harmful effects include; water droughts, increased pollution, the spread of toxins, and possible negative influence on local economies. Water droughts because of the fracking process are caused by using up to approximately one-hundred times more water than previous drilling methods. This means that gradually less and less of the world where drilling is active or was active will have the ability to attain non chemical induced water. The article, “List of Pros and Cons of Fracking” published by Occupy Theory states that, “Anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of fracking waste water flows back to the original drilling surface” (http://occupytheory.org/list-of-pros-and-cons-of-fracking/) Hydraulic fracturing causes pollution in several different aspects. Oil and gas companies are not required to provide a list of chemicals used in the process which causes those in the areas where drilling is present to not be able to adapt correctly to these toxins. According to research, a few of the chemicals that have been found present in fracking include; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. These three chemicals are known to the scientific community to cause harmful effects on the health of people. Also, the article, “Pros and Cons of Fracking: 5 Key Issues” explains that because of the dropping gas prices, drilling use will

Hydraulic fracturing is when solutions are pumped into the ground to produce the energy source of natural gas. Using it has its benefits and downfalls. From an economic perspective, it can be highly beneficial because it would provide more access to oil and gas through the crevices in the ground that ends up getting left out in regular extractions. This would allow these resources to be cheaper and it can give us more time to deal with environmental conditions since its a cleaner source of fuel. Some companies take it upon themselves to advertise this portion and how it would create more jobs on a social level. This is done to ensure that more people in the population can become more acceptable to this method of extraction.

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