Shale Gas Fracking As A Means Of Increasing Energy Security Essay

the desire to achieve independence from foreign energy sources” (Ben Harris). “The environmental safety of fracking has yet to be conclusively demonstrated, they say, and the industry has a poor track record”(Ben

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

Over the past decade oil and gas producers have increasingly used hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking to extract oil and gas from the earth. Most people believe fracking is a new process but it has been around for over 100 years. Modern day fracking began in the 1990’s when George P Mitchell created a new technique by combining fracking with horizontal drilling. Since then, U.S. oil and gas production has skyrocketed. But the “new” perception of fracking leads people to incorrectly believe that fracking is temporary and that it somehow harms the environment. The truth is fracking is a reasonable energy solution if oversight and safeguards are used. In the last ten years fracking has improved conditions in the U.S. in three

In recent years, the subject of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking has been a constant subject of interest in the news media. The pros and cons of fracking are passionately debated. However, the public should become educated on the subject of fracking prior to choosing a side of the argument. In the scholarly article, “Super Fracking,” published in 2014, by Donald L. Trucotte, Eldridge M. Moores, and John B. Rundle, a detailed description of fracking is provided, followed by their analysis of current issues surrounding the controversy. According to Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle, fracking saves the consumer money. The wellhead cost to produce natural gas in January of 2000 was two dollars and sixty cents per one thousand cubic feet. At an alarming rate, the cost at the wellhead to produce natural gas had risen to eight dollars per one thousand cubic feet by January of 2006. Comfortingly, the wellhead cost dropped to two dollars and eighty-nine cents by the end of 2012. Impressively, gas production increase and price decrease over the time period are a result of fracking. In their article, Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle describe in great detail that hydraulic fracturing, most commonly referred to as fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth to fracture the layers of rock so that a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the oil or natural gas inside. This method of fracking has been used commercially for the last fifty years.

When most people think of Texas they think of the booming oil industry that the state has. According to our textbook, “Texas accounts for almost one-third of the country’s natural gas production and holds almost almost a quarter of the country’s natural gas reserves.” Texas has greatly invested in the recourses that are found within the state which makes gives the state a huge economic advantage. When fracking is used to help turn out even larger quantities of natural gas, the economic impact is huge. If the state greatly invested in fracking sites and the use of both traditional and horizontal fracking, the economic gain in the near future could be huge. The state could be turning out twice the amount of natural gas as it is

This pursuit toward a greener future and cleaner environment has encouraged many to research fracking and its potential consequences to America.

The American energy revolution, otherwise known as The "Shale Gas Revolution," is described as being the big change in the ways in which we get our oil. In other words, it is a way of making the longevity of the oil we use as energy last just a little bit longer. The conventional oil we extract from the ground is rapidly running out, fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is another way to get more oil out of the ground from less. Much of the oil we have left on Earth is trapped in shale rocks beneath the surface, not easily retrieved. These rocks are impermeable making it difficult to get to the oil enclosed inside. By the use of fracking, which opens up these rocks in order to let the natural gas and crude oil inside flow out, we increase the time in which we have oil left in the Earth, to use this valuable fossil fuel. According to Gold, in 2008 it was a small energy firm located in Canada that was first to administer a report entitled "The Shale Gas Revolution," which took to its supporters and is now used commonly. Gold believes in the revolution because he recognizes that the old ways of extracting the oil are crumbling, coal is no longer the major source of energy for making electricity, and a big change is occurring (Gold, 2014).

Natural gas is the transitional fuel that is cleaner than coal and oil that has been experiencing a boom in the United States for the last few decades. Natural gas is most familiar to us in the form of heating and cooking on gas ranges. It is abundantly available and modern technology has made it much more accessible and cheaper than other energy sources. Hydraulic fracturing, known short as fracking, is the combination of technology with water and chemicals, and high pressure, that breaks through shale rocks to capture energy. The Climate One podcast titled “ Fracking Boom,”explains America’s recent obsession with fracking, surrounding its history, economic stimulus, construction, and community opposition among other issues. Presenting the talk were Russell Gold, author of The Boom: How Fracking Ignited American Energy Revolution and Changed the World, Mark Zoback, professor of Geophysics at Stanford University, and Trevor Houser, co-author of Fueling Up: The Economic Implications of America’s Oil and Gas Boom. The three guest speakers shared their expertise on how the fracking boom can power America’s economy, but can only be successful if the process in making the wells for fracking, are done along guidelines within the regulations.

Fracking has brought the world’s energy supply from a crisis level to a stable supply that supports global energy demands. As energy prices rose and the energy supply slowly decreased, experts began to

There is wide agreement among experts and the public that the current energy sources we use in the United States are in need of a replacement. The successful development of horizontal drilling by the energy industry coupled with the existing technology of hydraulic fracturing is now providing access to 100 years’ worth of energy in the form of natural gas located within our own borders, thousands of feet below the surface. Fracking is a fairly new method of extracting natural gas and has been very beneficial to our energy needs. The question is not how fracking has helped our goals for cleaner energy, but how fracking has affected our environment, our health and our water.

In order to comply with the goal to cut traditional fossil fuel consumption by 2050, the UK needs to turn to alternative types of energy. Fracking is a method of extracting shale gas from deep within the earth’s surface, by injecting large quantities of water at very high pressures. This water is mixed with chemicals, in order to free the gas by breaking down the shale within sedimentary rocks (Goodwin 2014). These rocks are impermeable, the gas cannot flow through it, and so it needs extracting via fracking. Currently

Over the course of this report the arguments for and against fracking shall be set out and evaluated as well as the respective policy implications regarding the problems which will inevitably arise. The conclusion that is reached is that the UK does require fracking for numerous security and economic reasons, whilst the environmental risks can be sufficiently reduced through effective management. The next section shall cover the environmental issues, which range from water over abstraction and pollution to greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast the economic benefits, such as increases in employment, investment and government revenue, shall be analysed.

Development of infrastructure and market for natural gas, a product of hydraulic fracking, has blossomed in recent years. Interestingly though, hydraulic fracturing, a process that’s been around since the early 1900s, has recently become a topic of significant controversy, especially through the expansion of large reservoirs throughout the United States, including the Barnett Shale, the Marcellus, and the Bakken. However, the unsustainable nature of hydraulic fracking demands that US attention be focused on expanding renewable infrastructure and bolstering actual sustainable development; hydraulic fracking is an economic distraction fueled by big business, and the benefits are grossly temporary. Simply stated, investment and expansion of the natural gas industry in the United States is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. First, the paper will provide an outline of exactly why investment and development of hydraulic fracturing in the US is not sustainable. This will be accomplished by looking at the economics of natural gas fracturing, as well as the environmental effects and the public health impacts. Then further evaluation will provide insight on the practicality and necessity of national investment in renewable infrastructure to catalyze the nation into a global future.

Recently, America was introduced to a new invention called fracking, which makes it conveniently possible to access oil and gas. The fracking process consists of using a technical machine that digs through the surface of the earth and inserts large amounts of water with mixed chemicals to rapidly attain large amounts of oil and gas. However, it has been difficult for people to reach a median between its risks and benefits. Those who refuse fracking are concerned that their health and freshwater will be at risk of contamination. Those who are pro fracking, are not as concerned for risks and may focus more on the good profit they will receive. In order to understand why fracking has become a very controversial topic, I have to go through some deep research and understand the public 's and business point of view.

While it is true “fracking”, a procedure to obtain natural gas removal from shale formations, it is also true there have been infrastructure security issues associated with this practice. Furthermore, there have been ecological considerations from fracking brought to the forefront by countless environmentalists. Indeed, hydraulic fracturing, as it is referred to, is a process by which shale gas and oil is uprooted from a depth far below the earth’s exterior. The process of extracting shale gas and oil is employed aggressively while water is forced deep beneath the earth surface through a geological arrangement. From this arrangement, oil and gas is exerted back to the earth’s surface. Moreover, once the hydraulic fracturing process is