Conventional wisdom tells there are two sides to every story. Sometimes, one side represents the science, facts, and figures. Sometimes, the other side represents emotions and plays on unfounded facts. As natural gas is extracted thru hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” some people see this effort as a direct attack on mother earth; meanwhile, others see this as a blessing that has been bestowed upon us at a critical point in America’s development. Let’s first examine the group that lets fear conjecture run emotion and baseless facts guide their opinions and efforts to accepting natural gas in Pennsylvania.
The 2010 documentary Gas Land, seems to have captured the imagination of these Americans that think any new methods or efforts to tap in to our natural resources is a fraudulent assault on our environment and the earth’s natural beauty. Later, we will examine why this represents a set of a compilation of very imaginative fiction. The emotional tide is coming to shore with a cargo of incidental experiences that cannot be consolidated into a coherent position about fracking.
One of Gas Land’s flagship examples of what fracking does to the environment is the clip of the Smith family’s sink. This clip shows a family’s kitchen sink water faucet dispensing some liquid that would commonly be believed to be water. The lady stands at the sink with a regular box of matches and a match in her hand. Then, she turns on the faucet to let the water run, while striking the match along the box. She proceeded by extends her arm to put the burning match near the tap streaming, and shows the running water suddenly ignite. The voice on instantly blames the fracking business. The unfounded claim, that it is frac that caused this odd...
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...ernative fuel. It is not just cleaner, but natural gas is inherently safe. It is stored in tanks that are more than ten-fold stronger than automotive gas and diesel tanks. Natural gas is lighter than air. It dissipates and leaves the scene of an accident. Natural gas’s inherent ignition range is extremely narrow, which means it is less likely to accidently ignite.
So, while the Anti-Fracking Movement make baseless claims about minor details, America has truly been blessed with massive resources. America has been blessed with new, modern, and safe ways to fuel our future.
Works Cited
Walsh, B. (2011). The Gas Dilemma. (Cover story). Time, 177(14), 40-48.
Handley, M. (2012). An Energy Lifeline. U.S. News Digital Weekly, 4(51), 7.
Humes, E. (2012). Fractured Lives. Sierra, 97(4), 52.
Josh Fox versus the shale-gas industry. (2011). Petroleum Economist, 78(2), 17.
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).
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).
Marcellus Shale drilling causes a problem because it involves the use of hundreds of deadly chemicals. Over three hundred chemicals are used in the Marcellus Shale drilling process (Environmental). According to Howells, author of the article “Don’t Frack with Our Water!,” these chemicals are especially dangerous because the companies that use them will not tell the public what specific chemicals are being used. However, through studies of the chemicals, some of them can be identified. Some of the chemicals in the fracking fluid and wastewater have been identified as carcinogens. Many of the other chemicals have been found to be harmful to humans (Environmental). According to Griswold, author of the article “The Fracturing of Pennsylvania,” wastewater is a combination of different chemicals that come from the process of fracking. Not only does this wastewater contain chemicals that were originally used in the drilling, but it also contains harmful substances that come from the earth like salts and other compounds (Griswold).
"Natural Gas and Its Uses." Welcome To The API Website. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. .
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 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...
Gasoline is thought to be a helpful substance to all countries worldwide. However, the negative effects are far greater than the positive. A diversity of clean fuels is vital for the political, environmental, and economic health of America. Although gasoline is a product depended on by the United States of America and many other countries, the negative effects are unbearable, dangerous, and unnecessary due to the opportunity to use alternative fuels.
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...
Janise Miescke 5/6/2017 Assignment 3 When Money Speaks Louder than Obligation Texas has always been one to hold the belief ‘everything is bigger in Texas’.
The people who are being asked permission to transform their land into drilling sites for natural gas have more reason to be concerned than most because it will affect them more directly than people who do not live in that specific area (although it does affect people who do not live in the vicinity as well). Although fracking may seem to concern to only a small group of people, it should also concern anyone who cares about doing what is safe for our country's citizens. The truth is, fracking is extremely dangerous, not only because of the negative effects on the environment, but also because it could make people ill.
environmental damage mounting, the practice of fracking has only quietly expanded and profited. This concealed expansion into the nation’s backyard has only
Around the world, countries are dependent on oil and more often than not, foreign oil. The U.S. is at a time where they believe buying foreign oil supports terrorism and hurts our economy. Shale formations deep underground that spread all over the U.S. have been found to contain natural gas. This includes the Marcellus Shale formation and the Utica Shale formation, which can be found all throughout New York State and down the East Coast (Hydro-Fracking pg.1). To get at this abundance of gas underground, hydraulic fracturing was invented, but this new method of gas extraction safe for the environment and for the people around it?