Fracking is the process of drilling into the ground and releasing a high-pressure water mixture into rocks in order to fracture them and release the natural gases inside. The water mixture consists of water, sand and chemicals. Fracking is beneficial because it lowers the prices of oil and gas, reduces America’s dependency on foreign oil, and reduces CO2 contribution.
As being a child in the oilfield community for all of my life so far, the constant exposure has given unexplainable knowledge that I never actually strived for. I’ve known the process of practically it all, and I’m here to tell you, fracking and water disposal do not cause earthquakes in the extreme that is being spoken of all over the country. Fracking is the process of drilling into the earth with a high pressure water mixture of different chemicals and brine to be directed towards shale rock to eventually release the natural gas inside and below the rock, once the gas is released it flows out of the head of the well and into barrels to be processed and sold. Now there are many wells all over the USA, but only a few actually are a Class V
In the second article "Fracking Threatens Everyone" it is stated "Fracking remains a dangerous practice that poses a threat even if it is done correctly and is carefully monitored" so it seems that the author wants people to stop Fracking because it generates dangers. It is stated "sources of drinking water can be ruined and all different types of pollution can happen in a second" which poses a great threat to many places. For example, the pollution can enter streams and rivers and kill whatever is in it, and harm even more wildlife. It says "This makes fracking a gamble for communities and individuals who may be tempted by the large amounts of money being offered to those who allow their land to be used for fracking" and the author
What do you do when you run out of gas in your car? Will you stop using your car? or Will you go to the gas station and refill your tank? Natural gas that has been pumped up from fracking nearly fuels 40% of the U.S. energy consumption. Without fracking, the price of gas would have a drastic raise from $3.25 to $11 per gallon, so consumers would have to pay about $130 or more to refill their gas tank. Fracking has a bad reputation of polluting the environment that we live in. The government should allow hydraulic fracking to continue only if fracking companies agree to the following.
Fracking has actually been taking place since the 1940’s, but not until it was combined with horizontal drilling was it extremely useful (“Hydraulics” 71-75). In the past fifteen years the fracking business has skyrocketed. By 2015 thirty-five thousand wells are using fracking methods in order to extract the natural gases each year. Ninety percent of all gas production in the United States would be impossible without fracking (“Hydraulics” 71-75). More than ninety percent of natural gas wells in the U.S. rely on fracking (Howarth, Ingraffea, and Engelder). The hydraulic pressure that sends the chemicals into the wells are supposed to make sure that the chemicals stay far underground, but the fluids are still being found very near the surface (Lustgarten and
In addition, there are more downsides to fracking than just water pollution, and that is the pollution of our environment. The condition of our environment is horrendous when fracking is conducted. To add on to that statement, fracking has caused natural gas leakage into the air, marred landscapes, and many more hazards to our environment. Fracking has already caused pollution to the air, and fracking companies have to remove trees, then that takes away more air from our environment. Trees are vital to Earth’s supply of oxygen, and these companies are just taking the air straight out of the lungs of the people. Also, when the fracking companies clear the land so they can do their business, they are taking away natural habitats for the wild
Fracking will bring in tons of money for all of the United States. For the citizens, “fracking will give them jobs so they can make money and support their families” (Rogowsky). Furthermore, with the addition of fracking “the United States can get about 1.8 trillion barrels of shale (“sedimentary rocks that have rich sources of petroleum and natural gas” (Rogowsky)) a year compared to Saudi
Hydraulic fracturing is a process used in nine out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States, where millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart the rock and release the gas (what is). This new and booming form of extracting natural gasses from shale rock is sweeping the nation in controversy. Fracking has many issues, those for it claim it has large economic benefits while remaining environmentally safe. Those against claim it does in fact effect our environment, The debate over fracking and its recent boom indicate a need for better understanding of the effects of Hydraulic Fracking.
First, people are becoming afraid of fracking. This has occurred because fracking was done in the area, but soon after everyone within the area became ill after drinking the water. Another negative about fracking is the companies are reluctant to tell what the exact chemicals are used. I found this suspicious because individuals deserve to know what is happened under and/or around their land. The final negative about fracking is the amount of methane found in water that was around an area where fracking was taking place. The amount of methane was 85%, which is very alarming but can be due to the structures of the wells. When I heard this during the video, I wondered if other places without fracking were tested.
Fracking is so controversial because it requires enormous amounts of water to extract and is a disaster for the environment. It takes on average 400 hundred tanker trucks to carry water and other supplies to and from the fracking site. It takes 1-8 million gallons of water to complete ONE fracking job. Ninety eight to ninety nine percent of the fracking fluid is water and sand used to keep the cracks open. The rest is made up of chemicals
Fracking poses potential danger to all of the workers. For example fracking can cause small earthquakes that can be harmful. The earthquakes have not been a safety concern yet but if they get any bigger they can become a big concern. During fracking it takes several days, during those days it requires continuous monitoring to ensure the safety of the workers. Also to ensure the safety of the works they all must wear safety equipment like a helmet while drilling. Wells are tested by a controlled flaring process, and plugged while equipment is set in to place. During the flaring process it could put the workers in danger if something were to go wrong. Fracking can be very dangerous to the workers, and they must follow every safety procedure while
After the process of fracking was “perfected” all gas companies hoping to stay competitive and make a profit were forced to move away from flaring. Unfortunately, trading an extreme profit margin for an increase in environmental awareness is nearly unheard of in the corporate world. To stop pulling the lever, when its repercussions will never be seen by the gas company, would show a complete lack of any of business sense. It also shows a complete lack of compassion. The benefits of fracking are short-term and the consequences long term. The shortsightedness of the gas corporations blinds them to the benefits of flaring. It is unacceptable that fracking operations continue to destroy this earth and its inhabitants. Greed must not get in the way of insuring the environment is preserved for the generations to come. The answer to this problem is simple; fracking must stop and flaring must take its
Since the industrial revolution,oil energy consumption has risen considerably.The majority of this energy consumption is supplied by fossil fuel like coal and natural gas.For some time,there has been a lot of talk about the controversial method of extracting natural gas i.e Fracking or Hydraulic fracturing.In simple words,Fracking describes recovery of natural gas from the deep layers inside the earth.In this method porous rock is fractured with the use of water,sand and chemicals in order to release the enclosed natural gas.This technique has been known since the 1940’s.But only in the last 10 years there has been quite a fracking boom especially in the USA.This is because more conventional natural gas sources in America and Europe have been
No one perspective can come up with the right answer, nor is there one concrete true or false, yes or no, good or bad. Each benefit associated with fracking comes with a negative counterpart, the balances between the two requiring establishment.
In an environmental perspective, “[a] 2014 New York state health department report…finding serious concerns in areas including respiratory health, drinking water, seismic activity, soil contamination, and impact of new roads and infrastructure on local communities” (James McBride, Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking), cfr.org). Drinking water is at risk of being affected because, as previously mentioned, the opened fractures within the shale bedrock potentially allow wastewater and other chemicals to travel into groundwater. The eruption of increasing seismic activities after a fracking event, as stated by the aforementioned article by McBride, “…is a concern because both the fracking process and the practice of injecting wastewater into deep wells