Hydraulic Fracturing: An Overview

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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).
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...

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...atches from the Real Gasland - Full Movie [HD]." YouTube. YouTube, 12 June 2012. Web. 06 May 2014.

Hanson, Gary."Truthland: Dispatches from the Real Gasland - Full Movie [HD]." YouTube. YouTube, 12 June 2012. Web. 06 May 2014.

IPAA. "The Facts | TruthLand Movie." TruthLand Movie The Facts Comments. IPAA, 2012. Web. 06 May 2014.

Mooney, Chris. "The Truth about Fracking." Scientific American 305.5 (2011): 80-85. Print.

Osborn, S. G., A. Vengosh, N. R. Warner, and R. B. Jackson. "Methane Contamination of Drinking Water Accompanying Gas-well Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108.20 (2011): 8172-176. Print.

Pritchard, Joshua. "Fracking Overview." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2013): Research Starters. Web. 5 May 2014.

"The Halliburton Loophole." New York Times 3 Nov. 2009: A28(L). Biography in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.

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