The Federal Government Should Regulate Fracking

3264 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: causes and effects of fracking

An individual’s environment plays a pivotal role in their overall health. The environment can affect a range of physical and mental processes, and is considered a defining factor of well-being. As a result, specific geographic areas are instrumental in shaping an individual’s health profile. This is clearly seen in the disparity between those living in areas exposed to toxic substances, versus individuals living in clean environments. Individuals in unpolluted environments experience the advantage of a body system free from the barrage of chemical assault. Unfortunately, people who live near toxic wastes or byproducts of industry, have a body that is in constant defense of attack. This natural defense mechanism can prove draining to the human body and endocrine disruption can result. A current example that highlights this topic involves the use of hydraulic fracking in several areas of the U.S. Previous epidemiologic research have indicated problems with endocrine disruption of exposed individuals living in geographic proximity to fracking. This is a serious health concern for these people, and it can ultimately put them at a health disadvantage due to their environment. A working knowledge of hydraulic fracking is imperative towards understanding the mechanism behind endocrine disruption in the exposed populations. Hydraulic fracking or hydrofracking is a highly controversial and charged topic. It has a lengthy list of supporters, as well as vehement opponents. Fracking has provided economic opportunity and security for many individuals, and at the same time cost in terms of environmental impact. Although the flurry around this topic seems fairly new, the actual process is quite dated. Fracking has been around ... ... middle of paper ... ...Sattler, B. (2013). Fracking, the environment, and health.American Journal of Nursing, 113(6), 45-51. doi:1097/01.NAJ.0000431272.83277.f4 Osborn, S. G., Vengosh, A., Warner, N. R., & Jackson, R. B. (2011). Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 108(20), 8172-8176. doi:10.1073/pnas.1109270108 Palliser, J. (2012). Fracking Fury. Science Scope, 35(7), 20-24. Peduzzi, P., & Harding, R. (2013). Gas fracking: Can we safely squeeze the rocks?Environmental Development, 6, 86-99. doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2012.12.001 Snyder, S. A., Westerhoff, P., Yoon, Y., & Sedlak, D. L. (2003). Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine disruptors in water: Implications for the water industry.Environmental Engineering Science, 20(5), 449-469. doi:10.1089/109287503768335931

Show More
Related

  • Does Hydraulic Fracturing Cause Seismic Activity?

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Fracking

    1351 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Health Effects on Humans of Fracking

    1836 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kovats, Sari et al. “The Health Implications of Fracking.” Lancet 383.9919 (2014): 757– 8. Web.

    Read More

  • Fracking : The Dangers Of Fracking

    1333 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of How Fracking Is Bad For Our Bodies

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his article “How Fracking Is Bad for Our Bodies,” Jason Silverstein who is a lecturer and writer in residence in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School states the problem of hydraulic fracking in cities in the US. Silverstein article, which was published in, The Atlantic, on October 8, 2013, shows the problems caused by hydraulic fracking. Although Silverstein provides a wide array of disadvantages of fracking, he does not mention any advantages brought by fracking.

    Read More

  • Fracking rough draft

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fracking is a fairly new drilling technique that uses a form of horizontal drilling through the earth to retrieve oil at certain depths. Once it breaks the surface of the ground, a “well” is drilled vertically down until the desired depth is reached. Once there it proceeds to make a 90 degree turn and will begin to drill horizontally for several thousands of feet where they believe the natural gas is. From there a mixture of water, sand, and various chemicals are pumped into the well at exceedingly high pressures. According to clean water action, “This is done to create fissures in the rock in which the gas can escape through” (“All about fracking” 1). Once the gas escapes through the fissures, it is pulled back up to the surface. There they proceed to process the oil, refine it and then ship it to the market. However the process is not over. The “wastewater” returns to the surface and is held in large steel tanks until a long-term waste solution can be reached.

    Read More

  • The Problems with Fracking

    2006 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Why Is Fracking Bad

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Argument Against Fracking

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) is “the process of injecting water and trace chemicals at high rates and pressures to create subsurface fractures along the length of a horizontal or vertical wellbore and then ‘propping the fracture open with sand or other materials” (Shemeta 6). This process allows for oil and natural gas to flow up through the Earth, allowing access to resources that would not be accessible otherwise. This topic has become debated extensively among environmental activists and the oil and natural gas corporations. One of the states most afflicted by this problem is Oklahoma because of its abundance of natural gas and oil. Oklahoma is one of the leading oil and natural gas exporters in

    Read More

  • Pros Of Fracking

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the United States today, one of the most controversial topics facing the country is the practice of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. It is considered by many to be both an environmental issue and topic of intense political debate. However, despite the strong feelings that many people have on the subject, a small percentage of them actually understand the techniques that fracking utilizes. And it is easy to fear or avoid something that little is known about. To formulate an adequate opinion on the process of fracking, a person has to have a grasp of the science that goes into it and a bit of its history. Fracking is a process that increases the effective porosity, or permeability, of a rock’s subsurface. Porosity is a measure of the volume

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Fracking

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Fracking Argument Essay

    467 Words  | 1 Pages

    Have you ever wondered about how today’s society is affecting the Earth? Well, today’s society is tremendously affecting it; due to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Fracking is very dangerous to the human body and the Earth. Not only that, but it also is not favored by the law.

    Read More

  • Fracking: Harmful To The Environment

    443 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are many problems with “The entire process of fracking – from drilling a well to transporting waste – endangers our water and the health of our communities” (“Fracking”). The process of fracking contaminates drinkable water and many other resources along with it. When rivers or lakes are contaminated it can lead to the extermination of wildlife in that certain area because they no longer are able to breathe due to the amount of chemicals and waste in their habitat. After an accident with a decent amount of exploding trucks, “Twenty-five families living nearby had to evacuate their homes, one person was injured, and toxic chemicals leaked into a nearby stream” (“Act On Fracking”). Companies involved with fracking should either move away from important resources when drilling or completely stop the operation as a whole.

    Read More

  • Water Fracking History

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hydraulic Fracturing Research Paper

    1764 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about The Federal Government Should Regulate Fracking

Open Document