The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

Hydraulic fracking isn 't all good though, there are many controversial things about it. First off, water contamination is a hazard. There are many ways that the water supply could be contaminated by fracking. One way is by groundwater entering through cracks that fracking has made. The water solution that 's pumped into the ground is a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals. Water and sand make up 98% of the mixture, while the remaining 2% is chemicals. Although fracking companies have never realised the chemicals used, scientists studying wastewater have found many harmful additives. A few of these are benzene, toluene, and many acids, all of which pose huge threats to humans. For each fracking well, more than 8 million liters of

“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 has become a nation wide debate and one that doesn’t seem to have an end. The state of North Carolina is one of the most involved areas of the fracking process. “North Carolina is sitting on top of large natural gas reserves (WRAL 1).” For this reason, many natural gas companies come to North Carolina for business. This helps the states economy because it produces more income and creates more jobs. The only problem is that the hydraulic fracking process has a reputation of contaminating local drinking water. This causes controversy with the citizens in cities such as Raleigh. Many cities welcome fracking while others try to completely ban it. The worst problem with fracking is that there seems to be no alternatives for it.

It has been proven that important water wells across the nation have been polluted with chemicals deriving from fracking drills. “Each well uses between two and five million gallons of locally-sourced fresh water which will be permanently contaminated by ground contaminants and toxic chemicals contained in the fracking fluid.”(cleanwateraction.org). It is impossible for us to live without fresh water. The water used in fracking destroys the environment. “The millions of gallons of water used in fracking operations not only strain water resources, but end up as vast amounts of contaminated wastewater. Fracking has been reported as a suspect in polluted drinking water around the country. And methane -- a potent climate change pollutant -- leaks rampantly throughout the extraction, processing, and distribution of oil and gas.”(nrdc.org). Besides hampering water consumption to communities, the pollution destroys all related environments, including the atmosphere, which is affected by the evaporated fumes. However, according to geologist Gary Lash of the State University of New York at Fredonia, it is not possible for the fracking fluid to seep through the rocks and into the water. That is not the case since there are multiple documented cases of

Last year alone, oil and gas companies put hundreds of millions of gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluids into the earth. Many of these fluids were found to contain harmful chemicals such as carcinogens- substances that directly cause cancer. This is why hydraulic fracking has been the topic of heated debate over the past few years. This process of drilling for natural gas has become increasingly popular over the past decade, and has in turn produced many questions about the safety of its wells and the chemicals that are used in drilling. Under current regulations, hydraulic fracking is permitted to be conducted at drilling sites that are located very close to residential areas. The chemicals used in the drilling process have been leaking out of wells, and have contaminated drinking water for some communities. In addition, it pollutes the air by putting methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Concerned about the safety of fracking, cities such as Longmont have shown great opposition to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA)’s regulations. In fact, Longmont citizens voted to put a ban on fracking within city limits in 2012. This ban has been met with retaliation from COGA, who sued the city because of the ban. If fracking isn’t allowed to be banned by cities that don’t want it, then the regulations need to change in order to make the practice both prosperous and safe for the community.

fracking as, “Good News for America’s Economy”, however some claim this method is dangerous, environmentally destructive, and unreliable. Fracking exists in 32 states, and the industry is still growing. This method can retrieve gallons of shale gas quickly, unfortunately, it can cause water contamination. Supporters view fracking as an productive way to retrieve natural gases, while opponents view it as a danger, due to of possible health implications. Fracking is a well controlled way to extract natural gases and fossil fuels however ,there are concerns.

Unfortunately, the extent of the environmental risks that are associated with hydraulic fracturing are largely unknown. According to a number of studies and publications GAO reviewed, fracking may pose risks to air quality. This ‘wishy washy’ finding was because the studies that were reviewed were not taking into account the long-term, cumulative effects of this extractive process (“Oil and Gas” 2012). The increase in air pollutants, the reports found, were more likely a result of engine exhaust, emissions from diesel-powered pumps, gas that was vented or flared for operational reasons, and unintentional emissions from faulty equipment or storage areas for waste (“Oil and Gas” 2012). Not surprisingly, a number of studies and publications GAO reviewed also indicated that fracking only might put our water quality at risk. Fracking can cause the contamination of surface water and groundwater as a result of erosion, spills and releases of chemicals, or the underground migration of chemicals (“Oil and Gas” 2012). So we have oversight agencies that release reports siting cases that are understudied, yet in the meantime permits are still being

Fracking is the process where pressurized water is injected into shale beds, or layers of sedimentary rock, which opens the rock to release oil and natural gas. Fracking is dangerous for many reasons, but one of the strongest affects it has is on our drinking water. Anywhere from 2 to 8 million gallons of water are used to frack only one well. Shockingly, just 10 percent of the water used returns to the surface. However, water isn’t the only thing being put in the ground- a “toxic stew” of chemicals and sand are also added. Over 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used every time we frack. The chemicals in the fracking mixture can make its way to our groundwater, harming the

Particularly, there is a concern about produced water (i.e., water that reaches the surface after fracking) because it contains various dangerous chemicals (e.g., radium) and it can mix with the ground water and surface water (US EPA, 2016). Furthermore, the air of fracking areas contains compounds that are carcinogens, and that cause respiratory and neurological problems (Carpenter, 2015). Fracking also affects certain people more; for example in Southern Texas, areas with high numbers of colored people and high levels of poverty were more likely to have disposal wells from fracking (Johnston, Werder, & Sebastian, 2016). Additionally, the laws are not on the people’s side; many laws have been passed in order to protect the oil and gas industry (Twomey et al., 2016). Ideally, the best solution would be to stop fracking all together in order to prevent any more detrimental events from happening. However, a more approachable solution would involve moving towards renewable energy. Renewal energy is a better alternative, because it will not damage the environment to such a great extent as fossil fuels (Cohen, 2015). Also, renewable energy is long-term energy solution in comparison to natural gas (Mathews & Tan, 2014). Eventually, natural gas will be depleted if it is utilized as a main energy source (Cohen,

Fracking is the process of drilling into the earth and injecting water, sand, and chemicals into the rock at intense pressure in order to release natural gas back into a well (“What is Fracking…” 1). In 2005, when the Environmental Protection Agency excluded fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act, this really was the turning point for drillers (Stockton 2). While the resources of oil and gas and now more easily accessible due to recent fracking, this process has become an environmental issue that has negative effects (“What is Fracking…” 6). Water waste, increased release of methane, air pollution, and earthquakes are all examples of this (Loki 1-5).

I do not support hydraulic fracking because of all the negative factors that contribute to the operation. After reading and doing research, I found that there were a lot of unknown answers in the process of fracking and it made me concerned. Although the process is said to lower the price of gas and collect more gas, fracking seems to have more cons than pros. The process does not seem like it was investigated and shows little to no research background observations. Similarly to coal, the process of fracking seems unsafe and does not seem like it will be a good idea in the long run. As a matter of fact, extracting natural gas could possibly have similar environmental impacts as coal does if the process continues. Also, the process of fracking does not have a lot of evidence that it will work nor has it been tested thoroughly. Fracking can cause contamination to groundwater, air pollution, release of hazardous chemicals, huge amounts of water intake, and many other consequences.

“Fracking ensures that the age of oil-and it 's princely hydrocarbon cousin, the natural gas molecule-will not end because we have run out of fossil fuels. But it may end because burning these wonderful fuels puts the planet farther down a path we don 't want to head down”. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a petroleum mining method to reach remote gas under water that is located in the crust of the earth. Fracking uses a blend of water, sand, and chemicals. Hydraulic Fracturing, “has contributed to a resurgence of oil production in the USA and a dramatic increase in natural gas production” (Hassett). It is speculated to grow and eventually become fifty percent of the natural gas used in our lives today. It is understood that transferring to the use of these natural gasses would be better for the dwindling supply of oil but people are looking over the repercussions of a more common and more frequent fracking. Much of the effects are unknown due to the short past of major fracking in the United States. From the minor, in comparison to the future plans, fracking in places such as Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Texas, Kansas Mississippi, and many others have dozens of incidents. Incidents that range from poisoned drinking water, industrial disasters, explosions, polluted air, and mysterious animal deaths. Fracking is something that if grown can cause disasters of monumental scales. The temporary benefits do not outweigh the costs that people and the

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

The disparities between scientists, gas companies, and the government have created quite a bit of tension and angst across the country. In some communities people are trying to ban fracking while on the other side of the same town, people are celebrating the economic boom. Personally, I find it difficult to look away from the science that proves fracking has already had a devastating impact on some of our water sources. Not only does the fracking process use millions of gallons of fresh water, but also it ultimately contaminates and pollutes that very same water. This is an irresponsible use of water when some scientists estimate that by 2025, more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability (“Water”). While water is in short supply here in California, and in other parts of the country, and while many of us are working hard on conservation, it is sickening to think the natural gas companies are being allowed to drill without

When it comes to fracking there's a lot of controversy. Is fracking okay? Is fracking safe for the environment? Many people have many different opinions when it comes to this topic.In my opinion fracking is a very dangerous topic to discuss. It can not only harm the environment and cause global warming, but it may also cause issues to one’s health. For instance, fracking can cause issues to anyone's personal health. On source A it states “The fracking cocktail includes acids, detergents and poisons that are not regulated by federal laws but can be problematic if they seep into drinking water.” By pursuing the act of fracking it can cause serious health damages causing acids and poisons to slip into drinking water which may cause various amounts