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The effects of hydraulic fracturing
Fracking and its effects on people
Topic of fracking in general
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United States’ energy concerns have been postponed due to recent discovery. Estimates from the Energy Information Administration speculate enough natural gas underneath the United States to supply itself for the next 110 years (Weinstein 882). Improvement of the practice called hydraulic fracturing or fracking in which natural gas is extracted from shale rock has been able to reach previously inaccessible natural gas, dramatically increasing its profitability and sparking a boom. While critics voice environmental concerns, proponents are its pushing benefits of which include affordable energy, economic growth, energy independence, and reduced carbon emissions. Cited by Mark Weinstein in his publication on hydraulic fracturing in the U.S. and the European Union, “‘in 2010 alone, development of shale resources supported 600,000 jobs’” (882). Furthermore, domestic gas production liberates reliance on costly foreign oil, reducing the nation’s energy costs. Natural gas also emits less C02 in comparison to the nation’s main source for electricity, coal. Surely, the benefits are significant and at a time when hydraulic fracturing can mitigate U.S. economic issues, the oil industry and its proponents are prone to downplaying costs associated with fracking. Opponents, however, are well aware of the cost. As the practice of hydraulic fracturing has grown, so has its environmental impact. Increased fracking activity has raised concerns primarily over its relationship with drinking water sources due to toxic chemicals used in the process. In relation to the pending Environmental Protection Agency study to determine hydraulic fracturing’s impact on drinking water sources, existing regulations surrounding fracking are unequipped to address incr...
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...Jacquelyn. “Natural Gas Development and Hydraulic Fracturing: A Policymaker’s Guide.” National Conference of State Legislatures. NCSL (2012): 0-20. Web. 8 April. 2014.
Robbins, Kalyani. “Awakening the Slumbering Giant: How Horizontal Drilling Technology Brought the Endangered Species Act to Bear on Hydraulic Fracturing.” Case Western Reserve Law Review. Summer 2013, Vol. 63 Issue 4, p1143-1166. 24p.Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 April. 2014.
Weinstein, Mark. “Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States and the European Union: Rethinking Regulation to Ensure the Protection of Water Resources.” Wisconsin International Law Journal. Winter2013, Vol.30 Issue 4, p881-911. 31p. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 April. 2014.
Wilber, Tom. Under The Surface. Ithica: Cornell University Press, 2012. Print.
Zuckerman, Gregory. The Frackers. New York: Penguin Group, 2013. Print.
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.
“Most important of all are the more than 130,000 caribou of the Porcupine herd. , these caribou are at the heart of environmentalists’ case against drilling” (McCarthy). The reason that these specific animals are the reason for not drilling is that the caribou migrate to the plains, where the drilling would take place, in order to give birth to their calves.... ... middle of paper ...
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.
Lee, Dwight R. ?To Drill or Not to Drill: Let the Environmentalists Decide.? The Independent Review. Fall 2001.
The United States has an immense amount of proven natural gas reserves that could become a major source for the nation's energy future (1). The mining of the natural gas resources have become feasible and cheaper due to the advancement of hydraulic fracturing technologies which have increased the amount the extraction and enabled “greater access to gas in shale formations” (2). Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking of shale formations has positive benefits that includes economic growth and the natural gas extracted is cleaner than coal and oil, however it has caused serious environmental problems and possibly could be the cause of recent seismic activity in areas where fracking operations exist (3).
Current research, in the field of public health, is looking at the adverse health effects of hydraulic fracturing on community members. This research is focused on looking for evidence-based research in processes, procedures, materials and cleanup from drilling and running a well. In recent years, several states such as Maryland and New York, have called for special advisory commissions to examine the potential adverse health implications for the community if the moratoriums are lifted and fracturing is allowed to start. A lot of the previous research conducted focused on the anecdotal perspective of the adverse health effects. This perspective does not offer scientific verification that the fracturing processes are causing them or evidence where the contaminations are coming from.
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).
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-
In the past couple of years the word fracking has been prevalent in the media whether its been mentioned in the news or in the movie Matt Damon stared in titled “Promised Land”. Many people know it as a method of extracting gas from the earth and don’t inquire further into what hydraulic fracturing actually is. Before the process is explained we should understand why it has become prevalent in the last decade. The reason Hydraulic fracturing has become so popular in the last couple of years is because of the passage of the energy policy act of 2005, which contained the Halliburton loophole. The Halliburton loophole stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing (New York Times 2009). Allowing Hydraulic Fracturing allowed companies to finally access the abundant sources of natural gas legally. This act made it possible to access the vast amounts of natural gas contained in the Marcellus Shale, which created a boom in hydraulic fracturing. What exactly is hydraulic fracturing? Hydraulic fracturing is a method of extracting oil and gas, that is not accessible by conventional drilling methods. The process, injects chemically treated water and sand at high pressures into shale rock to release the oil and gas (Pritchard 2013).
...t decades but recently the government has been more involved trying to regulate fracturing processes so that they are safe to the environment and to the people. Although fracking is not very well accepted, many believe that fracking is the only way to extract natural gas and oil efficiently. While others believe that it is harmful to the drinking supply of water and to the environment as all other extractions of natural resources are. Today states, the House of Representatives, and the Senate are all working to help minimize the effects that hydraulic fracturing has within communities and the environment by enforcing stronger laws and regulations within fracturing wells and fracturing companies. Hydraulic fracturing provides sufficient and clean energy that will help minimize the impact on other natural resources that are used for energy as well.
The author reasons with his thesis by focusing on three main points: lenient standard for becoming a citizen plaintiff, litigation can bring handsome rewards, and endangered species act being imposed and all costs. In section titled The Endangered Species Act’s Lenient Standard for Becoming a Citizen Plaintiff Middleton (2011) paraphrases the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by saying, “The Endangered Species Act’s otherwise minimal pleading requirements have resulted [in]… a ‘cycle of litigation’ that is ‘endless, and is very expensive, thus diverting resources ...
The environmental danger taken by offshore drilling is very straight forward, made clear by oil spills such as the recent BP oil spill and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 off the shore of Alaska. In the circumstances of the Exxon Valdez spill up to 250,000 sea birds died, over 2,800 sea otters and thousands of other animals], (figures from the BP oil spill are not yet concluded), having had a heavy strike on the regional wildlife and directing to a ban on all offshore drilling in America, until George Bush overturned it in 2008 to this repeal was a misjudgment because two years later there was the Deepwater Horizon spill. In this way, offshore drilling ruins ecosystems and fish supplies which creates a wasteland of a shoreline among southern USA.
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 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
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...