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.
Transporting fuel from foreign countries require a lot of money, the government should spend the money on better things like paying people to work of public projects. David Morris, PhD, Vice President of the institute for Local Self-Reliance states that the expenditures for our transportation fleets are about hundreds of billions of dollars. Since hydraulic fracturing companies pump up more than enough natural gas from the shale rocks underground, the shift in demand for foreign supplies declines. Using natural gas from fracking is a better and safer alternative than using coal because natural gas does not emit as much carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. The graphs presented on natfuel.com shows that the amount of carbon dioxide
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Therefore, fracking will not continue because of its bad reputation. Fracking companies should also list the chemicals used in fracking fluids so that the contamination in water can be reversed. Linda Dong from dangersoffracking.com clearly explains that the underground water that is contaminated is permanent damage. Without knowing the chemicals in fracking fluids, better alternatives to harmful chemicals cannot be found. However, the fracking fluid that is left underground damages the environment that we live in. While that may be the case fracking companies are recycling fracking fluid and using it in future
Fracking the Good and The Bad In the essay, “Hope It’s in Your Backyard,” by Neil deMause, he wrote about the positive and negative factors of fracking and its effect on the world. The ramifications of fracking could be devastating to the earth with regards to natural gas and oil. It is debated that fracking, in the United States, would stimulate economic growth, lower gas prices, create more jobs, and make our country independent for oil and natural gas. The effects of burning fossil fuels is negative to the earth’s climate and the cause of some pollution. Natural gas is cheaper, but its effect on our ecosystem may be devastating.
What is fracking? 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.
Fracking involves drilling a hole into the ground and injecting a combination of fluids and chemicals into the shale. The fracking fluid contains upwards of 600 different chemicals (David). The pressure of the fluid is what causes the shale to fracture, then releases natural gas. That fracking fluid is what is really dangerous, as this is what poses the biggest threat, since many of those chemicals are extremely dangerous and some are completely unknown by the public. After the fracking process is complete, the fracking water, known as flowback, which includes water, chemicals and additives, is either collected and transferred to holding-tanks or it is injected back into the ground for storage
SUMMARY Journalist, Nick Stockton, in the article, “Fracking’s Problems Go Deeper Than Water Pollution,” published in June 2015, addresses the topic of hydraulic fracturing and argues that fracking has more negative consequences than one might think. Stockton supports his claim first by appealing emotionally through a short summary of a recent event involving fracking and also by utilizing evidence to back up his statements. The author’s overall purpose is to highlight outcomes of fracking in order to make more people aware of issues that can arise from this common way of obtaining energy. Stockton utilizes a scientific, yet critical tone in order to create an unbiased article and appeal to his audience’s concern for the well being of the
FRACKING AND ITS CRITICISM Since the mid-80s, The First Nations and their leaders have raised numerous concerns about the failure of the government and industries in Canada to properly consult them before developing any of their lands. Fracking is a technique used in stimulating the fracturing of rocks through the use of pressurized liquid. The fluid used comprises of hot water, sand, and proppants that are thickened using appropriate agents. The fluid enters the deep-rock and makes it possible to have natural gas, petroleum and brine flow up. If the pressure is removed, the grains in the proppants are capable of keeping the fractures while open.
Fracking fluid not only contains chemicals that have been known to cause cancer, but it also contains a number of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs have been linked to sex changes in wildlife and contaminated water have also caused fish deaths. Over 100 are EDCs that have been linked to respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurological, and reproductive conditions. These evidences are confirmed that fracking can cause species to die and to become sick with just touching the water or the air. You need to know that fracking can have a potential effect on our lovely planet.
Fracking is not a new think it was invent seventy years ago in 1947(“ Thanks To Fracking, Earthquake Hazards In Parts Of Oklahoma Now Comparable To”).For most of those years it has been loosely regulated because people were further worried about what was happening with the coal industry. The fracking fluid starts in a tank then it moves through a pipe into a sand truck. Then the mixture is moved into the blending truck.
Hydraulic fracking has the capabilities to change the United States economy and improve the lives of many people. Fracking produces large amounts of natural gas that can be used as fuel, but because fracking is such a new process, researchers and environmentalists do not yet fully understand the negative effects it can have on our environment over time. Fracking has been linked to the contamination of groundwater and this contamination is a danger to people who live near fracking sites. The process of hydraulic fracking requires the use of hundreds of potentially dangerous chemicals which need to be regulated to keep our environment safe and clean. Hydraulic fracking should be allowed in the United States because it provides a useful resource,
A barrel of oil generated from fracking costs about 43 dollars(Egan). Fracking managed “to lift household income by $1,200. In addition, the boom added $75 billion to state and federal revenues and an additional $283 billion to the gross domestic product,” - (Jon Carter). Natural gasses is a cheap yet effective fuel source, so more houses can be powered with less expense. Because of the energy produced by fracking money is gained, and the money can better grow the economy.
As technology grows with society, scientist find alternatives to everyday things such as oil and gas. Hydraulic Fracturing being a top producer of oil and natural gases by drilling into the ground and pumping fluids, to release resources. Fracking is one of the main source of heat and fuel but how safe is it. Can we expect to truly continue to rely on oil and natural gases? I feel that fracking isn 't safe because not only do men die from being on oil drills but fracking leads to environmental hazards and shows society isn 't has far into the future as everyone thinks.
Fracking has changed daily Oklahoman’s lives, from their property to their income. Fracking History In 1907, when the first oil well was drilled, which was before statehood, the abundance of oil seemed to draw everyone to Oklahoma, to make a small fortune in oil. Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was once dubbed the oil capital of the world, has a small structure still dedicated to its oil days, the Golden Driller, pictured below.
According to Climatecentral.org, “fracking for natural gas used to produce electricity may make Texas more drought resistant as the state shifts from coal power generation to natural gas power generation” (Magill). This could be a major breakthrough for Texas because not only would we produce electricity and save our environment, but we would also save millions of gallons of water. The amount of water we could save by shifting from coal to natural gas plants “is up to 50 times the amount of water lost in fracking to extract the natural gas from underground shale formations. According to the article, “The study’s authors estimate that for every gallon of water used to frack for natural gas, Texas saved 33 gallons of water by using that gas for electricity generation rather than producing the same amount of power with coal” (Magill).
I am really neutral on the issue. I know there are benefits to fracking for natural gas. It is better for the climate than fossil fuels, and it is cheaper. What I do not know is the extent of the damages it can potentially cause. It is a relatively new practice, and enough time has not passed to cause justification or condemnation.
Researchers have “requested data from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Texas, all states heavily involved in the recent surge of oil and gas drilling, about complaints related to hydraulic fracking for oil and gas” for their research on fracking (Dechert). The research collected was shocking, over 2,000 complaints in Texas alone and several cases on well water contamination within the states mentioned in Decherd’s article. People need to be alerted about how real fracking is and the damages it is doing. These complaints and cases should be a wakeup call to the world and say that we should put it to a
Since the United States will be getting their own natural gases from fracking then that means the “United States will not have to buy and import natural gases from other countries, saving money in the process” (Rogowsky) therefore the “United States will become more independent and not rely on other countries” (Rogowsky). This is important because the people of the United States will also be able to save money because “the gas prices for cars will go down significantly as the gas supply goes up” (Rogowsky). Not only this, but the prices for medicine are sure to decline as well, “natural gases are an important chemical feedstock in some packaging medicine” (Rogowsky). With fracking, the medicine prices will take a dive also resulting in the American people saving money. With the increase of fracking there will be a higher supply of gas and medicine, which makes the prices decrease and people will save