The Effects Of Fracking On The American Public

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.

“Fracking” isn’t a word that most people are familiar with unless they are well informed or active in local government or natural gas extraction. “Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves extracting natural gas from shale formations underground” (Collier, Galatas, Harrelson-Stephens, 2008). During the process known as fracking, millions of gallons of water are shot underground into shale formations to help bring the natural gas trapped inside the formations to be released so that it can surface and become available for extraction. This is the technique that is used for traditional fracking methods. Although fracking increases the states natural gas production, it also carries some negative side effects that are affecting the state and its people.

Fracking is a highly controversial practice that utilizes the injection of water, chemicals and abrasives to extract relatively inaccessible pockets of natural resources. Although fracking has the potential to benefit the domestic economy, the practice of hydraulic fracturing, if left unregulated and mismanaged poses significant risks to the environment, the ecosystem and safety.

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

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 accounts of what fracking does to humans, animals, and the environment. Fox tells the story of Debbie May, a land owner who allowed oil companies to frack on her land. May owns serval cats and a horse, all of whom started losing hair and weight since the fracking started (Fox). This is on top of the fact that in several homeowners in various areas found that their water would light on fire after fracking started (Fox). Lastly, in Colorado, benzene is found in

In 2026, life in Dimock, Pennsylvania was a lot different than how it was twenty years ago. This is evident by all the new advances in technology within the two decades. However, what changed the town the most was the hydraulic fracturing boom back in the mid-2000s. The town has experienced many ups and downs because of all the gas companies coming in to extract the natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, that lies underneath the land. Dimock had received a lot of attention from the media due to the side-effects of fracking, some families also engaged in long lawsuits against the companies because of these harmful side-effects of fracking. The government finally stepped in and demanded the gas companies to pay for

In fact, animals are dying due to exposure of fracking. In Louisiana, 17 cows died from an hour of direct exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid. Plus, 60 cows had been exposed to a creek that had wastewater from fracking dumped in. 21 of those cows had died, 16 of those cows failed to produce calves, that following spring. Not to mention earthquake rates are going up. From 1967 to 2000, there was a steady rate consisting of 21 earthquakes per year. Beginning in 2001, is when shale gas and other oil companies began to gain popularity, because of this earthquake rates grew by 188 per year.Equally important, half of the nation is experiencing a water drought. Fracking uses a large amounts of water to get the oil and gas out of the ground. 72 trillion gallons of water each time to be exact. As shown above, fracturing causes major

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, is a drilling method used for extracting oil or natural gas from deep underground. Fracking is a problem that not many see as controversial. Each human being depends on daily energy, as long as they see the cost for use of energy is cheap they won't question the actual effects it may present to the environment. The energy sources can be mined or pumped from locations worldwide. Each technique for extraction of the resource is having serious impacts on wildlife. Even worse is that fracking can have a serious impact on our water supply. Large amounts of gas now is available due to high use amount of fracking. Though fracking is used worldwide to extract gas and oil, a fracking boom has occurred

Fracking has a negative effect on the planet and the creatures living on it. In the article “Environment America” the author is trying to state that this is harming us, and the world around us. For example “ However, the true cost of fracking — ranging from cleaning up contaminated water to repairing ruined roads and beyond.” “ Environment America” is trying to say how this can even make our water contaminated. Then it just takes more time to clean the water, and it takes a lot more money as well. Another piece of evidence from “Environment America” is “ And as with the damage done by previous extractive booms, the public may experience these costs for decades to come.” This other piece of evidence explains that if someone does not stop this now it will go on for decades, and just become a bigger problem.

“While disagreement over hydraulic fracturing is new, the practice itself is not. Hydraulic fracturing has been used since 1947.”(No Evidence) Fracking helps get energy for the United states so that we do not have to buy oil from other states. Fracking is drilling for natural gas so that it can help the United States produce energy. Fracking is important to the United States because it bring more jobs to the United States so that we can make more money for our government. Activist think that it is important to protect the environment from fracking because it is it is a potential hazard.Fracking helps the U.S make more of their own energy, and fracking brings jobs and money into the United States, however some claim that fracking harms

In this comprehensive research paper from a journal, Benjamin Sovacool provides both the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing and outlines how shale gas extraction is a potential for growth or decline. He provides the idea that fracking costs significantly less than other fossil fuels, which is growing exponentially lower in price over the years. Sovacool also mentions that fracking has a cleaner environmental footprint than coal and oil. In contrast, towards the end of the journal he proposes a holistic view on how to improve fracking.

Fourthly, fracking creates real environmental concerns (Lieberman, 2016). Fracking is a process that unearths large amounts of oil and natural gas. “During fracking, a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals are injected into a well at high pressures, fracturing rock far beneath the surface and releasing the gas trapped inside. The gas then flows up toward the surface and out of the head of a well.” One of the causes of concern are due to the huge amounts of water used in the process, which must usually be transported to remote locations. The chemicals used in the process create another area of concern as they could potentially contaminate underground water supplies. To make matters worse, “the fossil fuel industry has been reluctant to

Hydraulic Fracturing or Fracking for short is the process of pumping water, sand, and numbers of chemicals into deposits of Marcellus Shale to release the natural gas that is trapped under ground. Fracking is a process that is the center of debate between well companies and environmentalists. Pennsylvania is a huge center of Hydraulic Fracturing so much that there is a town called Frackville. These small mountain towns are few and far in between. The rest of the area is untouched wilderness besides the Hydraulic Fracking wells that intrude on this pristine land. Hydraulic Fracturing needs to be highly monitored and regulated and the people affected by it firsthand should be aware of what exactly is being pumped into their backyards. Natural

There is a gold rush going on right now. Man is breaking the earth, looking for natural gas. It’s a mad scene, with hucksters on every side of the issue. There is a lot going on underground and that process is called Fracking. The word alone can stir up controversy. The process of extracting natural gas through hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” might summon in someone’s imagination an environment and damaged communities. Natural gas hides from sight it is invisible. Perhaps envisioned a prettier picture—one that involves clean-burning fuel, job growth and affordable energy. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that fracking “is the process of injecting large