Nicholas St. Fleur. Fracking Chemicals Detected in PA Drinking Water. May 4, 2015 Fleur’s article describes three households who have a poisoned water supply. The families of all three households mentioned in this article believe it is caused by the nearby fracking well. The Chesapeake Energy Co. the company refuses to take any responsibility for the contaminated water. A geoscientist named Dr. Brantly says that the geology of Pennsylvania fracking cuts through many layers like a knife, leaving a large pathway for any natural gases to seep into wells over a mile away. Fleur describes how scientist who studied the water samples from the households concluded that there is no hard evidence to subject the Chesapeake Energy Co. to the chemicals …show more content…
Gasland Part II. July 16, 2014 Fox’s documentary begins with Fox receiving a letter from an energy company wishing to use his land to drill for oil. Fox goes around the country documenting incidents of families who have been affected by toxic water and contamination of the air. He spoke to scientists, local government and congress about the issues that can be linked to fracking. Fox takes water samples from homes he visits and has them tested. He finds that they all have similar chemicals, the same chemicals used in fracking. In Fox’s documentary you hear the struggles of everyday people, who have had their land passed down to them for generations and they are forced to move or deal with the problems caused by greedy companies who care nothing at all for the environment. Approximately 50% of the people Fox interviewed had taken their cases to court against the companies. Almost none turn out with anything but a separate filtered water supply paid for by the company. Fox suggests that we plead for the government to outlaw fracking in America. This might be a dream for now but one day scientists could prove the government that fracking does cause global and environmental issues.
Word Count:
…show more content…
Potential Health and Environmental Effects of Hydrofracking in the Williston Basin, Montana.
In this article, Hoffman explains the process of hydraulic fracturing. He explains that contamination can happen because of the location of the wells and as well as the method used. Hoffman also goes into detail about all of the different impacts fracking has on the environment, such as air pollution, water pollution oil spills and many of the numerous health impacts on humans and animals. Hoffman suggests that we push the responsibility onto the company rather than the victim. The government should stop ‘getting into bed’ with big businesses (see bush administration scandal). He mentions how the government should enforce the oil and energy companies to prove that they do not harm the environment or the people, rather than the victim prove that the company is at fault. Hoffman's suggestions could rewrite the impacts fracking has on the environment. By forcing companies to prove they do no harm, they must invent different techniques in order to continue drilling.
Word Count: 158
Madelon L. Finkel. The Human and Environmental Impact of Fracking. January 1,
In the video “Fracking Hell: The Untold Story” by Link TV explains how natural gas has been a huge problem not only for the earth in general but for everyone and everything living in it. The video explains how North East of Pennsylvania is having difficulties to conserve a healthy environment and people. North East of Pennsylvania is the main sources to extract gas and send it throughout the United States for gasoline and so on. However, this action is wonderful for the cost of gas, but has a huge impact on the environment and the people living in Pennsylvania. A lot of people in this state are worried having health issues because everything is not usable is being thrown out to the rivers where they get their fresh water.
The documentary ‘Gasland” is a telling tale of the terrible consequences of natural gas mining in the US. The filmmaker, Josh Fox, travels around the country visiting different homes that are in very close proximity of natural gas drilling sites after receiving a $100,000 offer from a natural gas company to use his land as a drilling site . The film focuses on how the drilling sites not only leave ugly scars on the land, but also the horrendous health problems people get from drinking the contaminated groundwater.
The oil and gas industry has been met with increasing opposition over the years, with fracking and water pollution being some of the most controversial subjects alongside others like pollution, global warming, and claims of corruption. While some anti-frack claims seem like viable arguments, many are the product of misconceptions, an uninformed public. One of the greatest examples of this is Josh Fox’s 2010 documentary GasLand, whose most memorable scene showed a man in Fort Lupton, Colorado, lighting his faucet on fire, blaming it on hydraulic fracturing. After the film was released, among numerous errors it contained, it was found that the water well contained naturally occurring biogenic gas unrelated to oil and gas activity (Energy In Depth).
In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon emission from electricity production plants, reducing carbon footprints on the environment. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing uses millions of gallons of pressurized liquid, which contains toxic chemicals, and some of this water is left over undealt with. The air near fracking sites is often also polluted and unsafe for nearby community residents. Injecting millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals into the rock thousands of feet deep can cause earthquakes, causing a safety hazards for all nearby areas. Hydraulic Fracturing makes rare natural gases easily attainable, boosting the economy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the negative side effects such as contaminated water and air, make hydraulic fracturing a process that may not be worth the benefits.
While methane is not a rare contaminant in drinking water wells, the fracking process seems to allow more methane to seep into the wells. A study headed by Duke University’s Robert B. Jackson, a professor of Environmental Sciences, shows that in Pennsylvania, drinking water wells within one kilometer of fracking sites contain nearly six times more methane than in wells farther away (Banerjee). Methane, no matter where it is contained, is flammable, thereby posing a risk for explosion, which is not good for homes. Reports show that a fracking site in Dimock, Pennsylvania caused methane to leak into a water well, where it detonated, leading to even further contamination of other water wells and homes (Henheffer 30). The domino effect presented here raises fear in critics of fracking, who seek only to stop the process from happen-
Fracking can cause harm to people, animals, and nature. When they drill into the ground they are pumping chemicals to extract the gas and oil, and this contaminates the water sources around it. “An editorial on gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale in the Post-Star, a newspaper in Glens Falls, New York, contends, “New York state simply can’t take the risk. There are plenty of places to find fuel. It’s not so easy to find a new water supply for 17 million people.”” (Hydrofracking
In the documentary Gasland the main concerns of Josh Fox regarding hydraulic fracturing were the industry was highly unregulated and reckless which caused the contamination of ground and drinking water which was the cause of illness.. The most important concern Josh had was hydraulic fracturing was causing the contamination of peoples ground and drinking water. He claims hydraulic fracturing is causing gases such as methane and heavy metals such as mercury, use...
Although there have been no intensive studies on the drinking water that could be linked to fracturing practices, many people believe it could be harmful to anyone that consumes the water. The EPA and other strong environmentalists are pushing towards more strict regulations on fracking. Contrary to that belief Dr. Charles Goat stated, “drilling for natural gas in itself doesn't pose a threat to air and water quality, if it‘s done properly.” Research has also been done that fracking has little to no impact on the groundwater. Companies also use safeguards to reduce the threat of air contamination from fracking engines and compressors. Local communities and fracking companies work together to reduce noise, traffic, and other environmental factors of fracking. Water is often recycled to use in other fracturing procedures. Fracking companies are working to make fracking less hurtful to the environment and to the local community (Energy from Shal...
Conflicting reports make it difficult to discern just how detrimental the practice is to the environment and people. What is known is that fracking uses phenomenal amounts of water, which is becoming a scarce resource in many parts of the country. There is no doubt that the fluid used in the fracking process contains chemicals, and when released into water supplies, has negative effects on these sources. Injection of flowback materials into deep wells has been definitively linked to increased seismic activity.
Before one can see the devastating effects of fracking, one must first understand how fracking works. As previously stated, the main intent of hydro-fracking is to access and harvest natural gas that lies below the surface of the Earth. Having formed over 400 million years ago by the collision of tectonic plates (Marsa 3), the Marcellus Shale plays host to a gold mine of natural gas, which is currently at the center of the fracking debate in the Northeastern region of the United States. Unfortunately, access...
Fracking is dangerous to America’s water supply, water quality, and to other resources. Due to fracking America’s water supply and quality could be compromised. Fracking is also a large scale operation. Evidence of how fracking is a large scale operation would be the use of 400 tanker trucks to transport all the
Fracking is quickly becoming a debatable topic in our society today. The practice involves injecting fluid into the ground to fracture rock in order to release natural gas. It sounds like it would be a safe way to harness fuels in the earth’s surface, but it actually is a danger to our environment. Because of the dangers of fracking, what little fresh water remains on earth is being contaminated. It is also releasing toxins into the airs creating contaminated air and acid rain. Because of the many health and environmental dangers of fracking, it should be stopped immediately to help prevent more worldwide health issues down the road.
Methane concentration is seventeen times higher in drinking water near facturing sites than normal wells. There are cases where the methane levels are too high in drinking water that people can set their tap water on fire. Contaminated well water is then used for drinking waters nearby cities and towns. “There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas of gas drilling. Also cases of sensory, respiratory and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water.” It is said that only a small amount of the fracturing fluid is recovered. Leaving the left behind chemicals evaporate and expose harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, creating contaminated air and climate changes due to the acid rain and ground level ozone.
environmental damage mounting, the practice of fracking has only quietly expanded and profited. This concealed expansion into the nation’s backyard has only
Numerous reports have been given on the dangerous affects of hydraulic fracturing. One such affect that has been noticed is that drinking water wells near the fracturing sites have been contaminated. During the hydro-fracking process, injected fluids that help to break and keep open the rock bed where the natural gas is kept, have “been known to travel three thousand feet from the well (Goldman).” This fluid could have the potential to enter and contaminate any water well for homes around hydraulic fracturing sites. This incident is one of the major problems that people want to figure out and know about before they allow a fracturing site by them. It has been the most feared outcome of having a fracking site nearby, and it is highly appropriate. One site in Wyoming had this happen, “…in August, EPA reported that eleven of thirty-nine drinking-water wells near a Wyoming hydraulic fracturing operation were contaminated with chemicals used in the fracturing process (Hobson EPA).” In Pennsylvania, another such case occurred, “There have already been severe pollution cases in Pennsylvania, mo...