Fracking Pros And Cons

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.

The mismanagement of the practice has the potential to create environmental damage such as water contamination, radioactive spills, and increased seismic activity that could cost thousands in dollars in damage. Furthermore, the unintended consequences of fracking can have detrimental effects on the environmental. The potential for water contamination can pose both an immediate and long term risk to environmental stability, including landscape distortion, inhabitability and ecological displacement. This contamination of drinking water can also be detrimental to the human environment, limiting the amount of safe water available for both the residential and commercial human environment. With the increase of fracking, the level of disapproval for the practice has only mounted. Concerns including overconsumption of

Hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, is the process of removing oil and natural gas from in between layers of shale and other low-permeability rocks. This is done by drilling both a well and a horizontal tunnel. Sand and chemicals are shot through the tunnel with incredible pressure, which cracks the shale allowing the oil and natural gas to travel up the well (Jackson, 2014). Fracking has caused a breadth of controversy due to the economic benefits and the geological consequences.

“Fracking is the process of obtaining Natural Gas from below Earth’s surface by drilling 1000’s of feet into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.” Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.” (Jackson). Hydraulic Fracturing got its name due to the fact of how the rock is fractured apart by the high pressure mixture of a number of chemicals, sand, and water. Drilling companies first began Fracking in the early 1940’s, and starting in the 1990’s companies began “safer drilling” due to the amount of concerns that had arisen because early drillers had to detonate small explosions that eventually ended up killing many people. Fracking has been used for nearly 60 years and the number of concerns about it are rising every day. Due to the new technological advancements in drilling Fracking has changed greatly over the years. Before, the drilling would go on for weeks on end in order to extract only a small amount of natural gas. Now, due to the invention of higher powered drills, the drills get double the amount then they used to be able to get in more then half the time. Over 95,000 square miles of shale deposits have been found around the Appalachian Basin but the only way to reach these deposits of shale is through fracking. “Fracking is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock by drilling

But not everywhere is fracking a viable extraction technique. Blackwill and O’sullivan’s paper states, “The fracking revolution required more than just favourable geology; it also took financiers with a tolerance for risk, a property-rights regime that let landowners claim underground resources, a network of service providers and delivery infrastructure, and an industry structure characterized by thousands of entrepreneurs rather than a single national oil company.” The paper declares that although many countries around the world have the shale gas, aside from the USA and Canada, no other countries have the right industrial environment in order to have hydraulic fracturing expand as rapidly.

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.

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.

In his book The Boom, Russell Gold discusses the history of fracking from its origins through its development into modern times. As an accredited Senior Energy Reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Gold has a very unique relationship with the subject; one that makes him privy to the benefits and consequences of fracking from both a personal and employment-based perspective. Gold is able to contextualize the topics he discusses, including more technical aspects of fracking, and move between his vastly different perspectives with such fluidity that it remains relatable, no matter the background of the reader.

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.

One of the strongest arguments in favour of fracking is the reduction in CO2 that would occur with increased fracking. As of 2013, coal provided approximately 40% of the world’s electricity needs and provides 29% of the total world energy supply with oil being the largest at 31%. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for over 83% of the CO2 pollution since 1990, and have the highest ratio of CO2 output per unit of electricity out of all the fossil fuels. These emissions cause effects worldwide; acid rain, air pollution, toxic waste, to name a few. It is estimated that by replacing coal with gas from fracking, CO2 emissions would be reduced by more than 50%. This massive reduction in carbon emissions would have a global impact, resulting in unprecedented reductions in the effects of climate change. Allowing fracking is a fundamental advance in the efforts to reduce global warming; with this in mind fracking should be allowed and in this case it would benefit everyone when considering the reduction in CO2 emissions. However this poses an issue, if fracking was widely used then CO2 emissions may decrease but there would then be a halt in research and implementation of renewable energy. In some areas where fracking has become more prominent the price for the fuel has fallen; making it a cheaper alternative to expensive renewable energy. Fatih Birol, chief economist for the IEA, aired this concern, ‘Renewable energy may being the victim of cheap gas prices if governments do not

Not only has fracking supported jobs relative to the drilling company, it has also supported indirect jobs. These jobs, described as “induced” jobs, are other businesses such as restaurants, hotels and retail (Efstathiou). The expansion of jobs in the drilling industry has created a greater demand for other businesses such as restaurants and hotels (Efstathiou). This is because the new dispensable income generated by the workers has allowed the public to afford these conveniences and luxuries (Efstathiou). One of these reasons is because according to Harvard economist Michael Porter, “cheaper natural gas is helping businesses and people all around the country save money” (qtd. in Arnold). According to the IHS report, the “drilling industry will support about 360,000 direct jobs, 537,000 jobs in supplying industries and more than 850,000 jobs outside the industry,” all of which is essential in circulating and stimulating the economy (Efstathiou). Porter believes that the fracking industry is a “game changer," to the economy (qtd. in Arnold). The fracking industry according to Porter

Klare explores contentious issues in which easily obtained supplies are terminating. Particularly, companies that deal in such resources must turn to the more difficult methods to extract sources of oil, natural gas, and various minerals. This has led to controversial methods such as deep-water oil wells, hydrofracking for natural gas and other energy sources. Also, the acid fracking for copper: which some environmentalists maintain that these methods cause environmental damage and should not be permitted.

Oil Drilling has many effects on the environment from the air we breathe to the oceans that inhabit many species. While one of the outcomes of oil drilling is money, it is forgotten that money won’t help repair all of the damage that is done to mother nature. Not only does the outcome of drilling for fossil fuels affect the oceans, rainforest, etc. it also has an effect on local business’ and the health of humans. If people want change, they need to be the

Gas and oil development plans are branded by huge capital investments. Exploration and production operations incorporate numerous activities, reaching from undertaking geological surveys, finding hydrocarbon resources, and commercially exploiting them. Projects in this area are of a high risk nature in physical trading, and political sense as it is hard to know in advance the presence, degree and value of hydrocarbon resources, as well as production costs and the price oil of oil in the global world market Kaiser, Mark .J (2007)