Natural gas within shale rock formations is the new energy resource that is on the rise due to the decline of oil reserves in recent years. Though, the benefits of this recent discovery can be economically advantageous for our country’s future. However, we have ignored water and air as a natural resource. These two resources are taken for granted by people all over the world, possibly due to the high abundance of both. Water and our atmosphere are two resources that are essential for life to thrive, and the production of natural gas through hydraulic fracking endangers these resources.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process which involves using heavily powered diesel machinery for drilling deep into the earth’s crust. The goal is to release natural gases found within shale rock formations by injecting these rocks with water to create fissures to release the natural gas trapped within the formations. These fissures are held open by several agents including water, hydrocarbon chemicals, and silica sand. While these fissures are held open, gas is allowed to escape into the wells created by the hydraulic fracturing drill. The wells are surrounded by an additional cement casing which creates a chamber designed to house the released gases and push them up to the well surface above ground. The waste water mix containing hydrocarbons and silica sand are also expelled through these casing chambers along with the natural gas. These gases are collected in the by the wells above ground to be processed and transported to be used for practical uses such as energy or heating. The waste water is also collected and stored in storm drain reservoirs where it is later brought to sewage treatment plants for disposal.
As simple as this process may...
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...e harmful to the environment by design but there is evidence to support its dangers otherwise. Though, the new energy source cleaner burning source of power than coal or crude oil, it may pose far greater harm to the environment through production rather than actual use. The natural resources that are essential to sustaining life should not be risked.
Works Cited
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Chyba, Andy, B.Sc. “A Review and Synopsis of the Scientific and Technical Evidence
Against Hydraulic Fracturing.” Frack-Free Wales. Web. n.d.
“Hydraulic Fracturing Poses Substantial Water Pollution Risks, Analysts Say.” Science
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Spellman, Frank R. Environmental Impacts of hydraulic Fracturing. Boca Raton: CRC.
Press, 2013. E-book.
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.
Gas in shale formations are“low in permeability,” making it very tedious to extract, but with the increase in technological knowledge in fracking and horizontally drilling into shale beds, the vast reserves of natural gas resource could be extracted (4). Fracking is a large industrial operation that boost the “productivity of a oil or gas well” (5). It is a process by which, under very high pressure, a mixture of water, chemicals, and sand, are pumped into shale formations that causes fractures in the rocks to open wider or create new fractures that would allow otherwise trapped oil and gas to flow into the wells (6).
The ethical issues regarding hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas in the Karoo are abundant and complex. Although it is not a new procedure with new technology, South Africa and especially the Karoo is not use to this term and what it entitles. There is no reason why the shale formations should not be developed to its full potential but the crisis is balancing the development and not effecting the residence living there in a negative manner. Communities was built where water was availability, industries contaminating that supply is simply unacceptable (Potter & Rashid, 2013).
Ever since the process of hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—made its entrance to the oil industry, issues and problems surrounding the process have become a common occurrence. Fracking is the controversial process of horizontal drilling (see fig. 1), where millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals are pumped deep into an oil well to extract natural gas from the earth’s crust (Ehrenberg 20). This practice has even been banned in some places (see fig. 1). The methane that comes out of the earth and the water used—called fracking fluid—has the potential to cause problems with local ground water supplies. Whether or not fracking is the cause of these problems, concern should be observed during the fracking process to reduce the chances of water contamination among residential areas.
Have you ever been to Hell? No one is quite sure how far underground you have to go to get there or what you have to do to be sent there, but no one truly wants to go. Fracking might be putting people closer to Hell than the government thinks. What is fracking? “…hydraulic fracturing… as a means of extracting natural gas and oil from shale formations located deep underground (Davis and Fisk 1). Fracking has caused many ethical issues due to the many problems it has caused for the people who live around the fracking sites. “…, it has become increasingly controversial because of rising public concerns about drilling-related impacts on environmental quality, local government infrastructure, and public health” (Davis and Frisk 1). The fracking
“Hydraulic fracturing involves the use of water pressure to create fractures in rock that allow the oil and natural gas it contains to escape and flow out of a well (Energy From Shale).” Fracking has served to extract natural gas and oil where other methods would not be as successful but many environmentalists argue that fracking is affecting the environment and our drinking supply of water. Although fracking is still a controversial topic, it provides Americans jobs, increases the economy of the region, and the natural gas and oil are cleaner and more affordable source of energy. The EPA recognizes that natural gas and oil are an essential part to help our planet survive but do not want fracking to come at an expense to the public health of the citizens or to the environment.
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 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.
Hydraulic fracturing, which is the process of natural gas extraction, has been in debate for the past few years. It was first introduced back in the late 1900s, as a beneficial way to obtain clean fuel, and it also benefitted the economy by providing employment for many. However, recent studies have shown that hydraulic fracturing is causin...
Fracking has become a highly controversial and publicized topic due to rising concerns and growing analysis into the mutual benefits of hydraulic fracturing to retrieve natural gas and oil reserves. With concerns of water pollution, mismanagement of toxic waste and irreversible
Burning and mining coal for fuel is harmful to the environment but because how cheap and easy it is to find many people are unwilling to give it up as a fuel source. One of the problems with coal is that they are limited and are non-renewable so once it has been used we won’t be able to use it again.
Furthermore, in 2000, the Harvard School of Public Health looked at the human health effects from two fossil-fuel-fired power plants in Massachusetts. It estimates that the air pollution from the plants causes:159 premature deaths, 1,710 emergency room visits, 43,300 asthma attacks each year (Levy). Without a doubt, burning fossil fuels increases CO2 levels in the atmosphere and causes an increase in atmospheric and ocean temperatures, they also present an endangerment to living organisms. Strangely enough, wind is a form of solar energy.
The three fossil fuels- coal, crude oil, and gas slowly formed over millions of years. These days, we use fossil fuels to power everything- homes, buildings, cars, computers, lights, etc. However, fossil fuels deposits will run out soon, which is a huge problem. Extracting, transporting, and burning fossil fuels are dangerous. There are also many negative biological and environmental impacts that result from the use of fossil fuels, such as ocean acidification, groundwater contamination, land subsidence, oil spills, and global warming. Therefore, we should be trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and explore alternative energy sources such as wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy instead. Our world depends on fossil fuels, but they can also hurt us. Fossil fuels are both a blessing and a curse.
Fuels like coal, and oil that once were a fine innovation in creating energy are now rapidly deleting and one day will be gone forever; energy that won’t last is often referred to as non-renewable energy. Besides being set up to fail and become inefficient in the future, fossil fuel energy is not clean to use and poses several environmental complications. Coal, for instance is “the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Coal combustion not only produces sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and snow, it generates millions of tons of particulates that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.” As with all usage of fossil fuels, it creates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to greenhouse gas. Not only are fossil fuels dirty, they also pose as a security risk and unforgiving on the American wallet. (Saini)