Summary: The Effects Of Hydraulic Fracturing

For the past twenty to thirty years, hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, has been the number one source of natural gas, oil, and energy in the United States. The process of fracking is that a well is built above the ground and then a drill digs several thousand feet deep into the ground to extract the oil and natural gas that is trapped inside of rock formations. Fracking is very controversial because of the cost of the process and the environmental “threats” that it poses. From methane emissions to earthquakes, fracking has been accused to be linked with several environmental issues. To prevent any environmental dangers, states place regulations and boundaries that energy companies have to follow in order to build a well and keep it up and running. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also works with states to help regulate these wells. More importantly, fracking in the United States is very important and acts as a bridge to the future. While it may be argued that hydraulic fracturing is not beneficial to the economy and harmful to the environment, fracking in the United States should not be banned because fracking is not only imperative to the growth of jobs and the economy, but it also does not put the surrounding environment in danger.

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.

Therefore with resources becoming scarce humanity needs to extract the most from what the earth has. In fact from adding gasoline to your vehicle, to power plant facilities using natural gas instead of burning coal to power homes, to computes and cell phones, almost everything in our lives depend on an oil based product and fracking is the solution for the depletion of fossil fuels. Three controversial issues with hydraulic fracking are nearly everything people use daily has a petroleum based product, contamination of drinking water also the surrounding soil, and the financial impact on the economy. Many people in America do not realize the positives that comes with fracking. It is a great way to help the economy in the United States. Fracking decreases the price of all petroleum products including the price in gas. When gas prices decrease it allows other products such as food, plastics, and other petroleum goods to also go down in price. With these savings being passed down to the consumers it makes the cost of living in America much easier for many people who are living with a minimum wage budget. Minimum wage going up in Oregon and gas prices declining creates a stir in people making them spend more and builds consumer confidence on what is spent. In turn this rapid spending creates a boom in the American economy. With fracking producing nine million barrels a day and decreasing prices by forty five

Introduction: In the kind of world we live in today, we are in dire need of oil. Our cars need oil, our buses need it, our planes and machines. Oil and gas production are very important in order for the many tasks we do day to day and we have become dependent on it. Fracking is a process that uses high pressure water and other chemicals to gather oil under the ground. Although fracking is a fantastic way to gather oil, there have been several problems that have been occurring. In Texas many jobs and drilling locations are appearing because of the high demand for oil. Fracking is a very good way to gather natural gas however, it is causing a lot of problems for society and the environment in Texas.

In the article, “The truth about fracking,” Chris Mooney analyzes the effects of fracking by big companies looking to extract natural gas. Fracking is done by drilling deep underground, even 5000 feet at times, and shooting high pressure water loaded with chemicals to extract gases that serve as energy. The U.S. has been fracking for about 65 years and there is enough gas in U.S. soil to last many decades to come but there are many setbacks.

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.

Hydraulic fracking in the United States is a current environmental hazard that has to be addressed by the American people and by the federal government. Fracking in America has opened up millions of acres of lands that were once not economically viable to produce oil and gas. While the Bureau of land Management has paved the way for hydraulic fracturing on public lands, there is a need for retaliation. Fracking is a dirty method of extracting gases and oils at the price of numerous environmental, safety, and health hazards. The environment is not a means of income when rather it is the capital for future generations.

This article tries to advocate fracking by giving insights on how safe fracking is for the environment. To begin with, a brief description is given as to how fracking is done to extract natural gas. Views of Manhattan Institute senior fellow Robert Bryce which compare the CO2 emissions in 2002 and 2012 show a drop of 8% due to surge in shale gas production, which reduced coal usage. Water usage and other resources like land and habitat protection for wild animals has been presented in the article to highlight how fracking is much environment friendly compared to other energy sources, even wind and solar.

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.

Fracking refers to the process of drilling into the earth, which is commonly referred to as hydraulic fracturing. This injection of water, sand, and chemicals especially in shale deposits releases oil or gas that has been trapped for many years that was initiated many years ago for the purpose of oil and gas extraction from the earth (Anderson and Bosselmann, 2013). The process can be carried out both vertically or horizontally such that it creates new pathways or extend already existing ones. The process causes a lot of controversy and at the same time, it acts as a potential key that will someday in the future unlock greater sources of energy (Bamberger and Oswald, 2014). This research therefore seeks to look at the positive aspects of the

The global crisis surrounding energy needs grows in severity as time goes by and in order to solve it, scientists have created the innovative solution known as hydraulic fracturing (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” is a process that injects water, chemicals, sand, and other materials into layers of shale. The injected mixture cracks the layers of shale, releasing trapped natural gasses that can be collected (Source 1). Fracking occurs deep under the surface of the earth, miles below the groundwater that is accessed from drinking-water wells. In the mid-2000s, “fuel prices were rising rapidly” (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing was a cheap solution that not only brought the world out of a state of emergency but made oil prices drop. The new method of gas collection grew the oil and gas industry, benefiting people all around the world. Fracking is a cheap, effective solution to global needs, but is under attack from skeptics who worry about environmental hazards. The claims against fracking not only have no real evidence but also risk destroying the jobs in the oil and gas industry as well as support for energy needs. Hydraulic fracturing is not only a cheap but a safe method that supports global needs surrounding both energy and jobs.

Scientists are worried that the chemicals used in fracturing may pose a threat either underground or when waste fluids are handled they are sometimes spilled on the surface which can cause site contamination or find its way back to water clean water. The natural gas industry defends hydraulic fracturing, or 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 Mr. Pyle fails to explain is that until recently energy companies had used low-pressure methods to extract natural gas from fields closer to the surface than the current high-pressure technology that extracts more gas, by digging to deeper levels and it also uses significantly more water, sand and chemicals. There have been serious environmental impacts associated with the process which has raised public concern. At this point, a causal relationship has not been established but increasing attention opens the possibility that further government action could be imminent regarding the practice. According to Baumgartner and

Fracking has actually changed out future as we know it, and has made it possible for many things. Fracking will make the world run on natural fossil fuels for much longer, which is also better for the environment and us. In 2015, the U.S. reached its all time high in oil production in 14 years and is only expected to continually rise. Oil production in the U.S. is one of the main sources of jobs for people living in the U.S. (Nunez, 2013). Fracking is a good way to employ U.S. citizens and is also a good way to get natural ways of oil production. As we all

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

“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