Zakisha Horton
Environmental History
It take 1-8 million gallons of water to complete each fracturing job. Enough water that can be provided to states like California and Colorado in the west that are experiencing little to no rainfall. Although water fracturing is a way to reduce the use of greenhouse gases. Fracturing is an unsafe process that harms our drinking water and health.
In the United States, drilling and fracking are exempt from the landmark environmental laws, including the Safe Drinking Water Act, thanks to loopholes Congress and regulators. 40,000 gallons of chemical are used per fracturing, it takes four hundred trucks to bring water to each site. During each fracturing 600 chemicals are used in fracturing fluid including
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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. To conclude, hydraulic fracturing pollutes our air and drinking water and hurts communities. Communities with fracking have seen declines in property values,and losses in tourism and agriculture. It worsens climate change due to the chemicals released in the process, and is linked to earthquakes. “ facturing produces approximately 300,000 barrels of natural gases a day”. It is not safe, think about the communities that are already suffering from droughts? Water used on fracturing projects can be used to supply states in the west where there is no fresh water to …show more content…
California's population is increasing, according to the article on the Colorado River “California's population is growing six million to estimated 19 million people in the next 45 years” some counties will have to sacrifice a portion of their water supplies and others not. California for example will not sacrifice any of its water. In fact, it will continue to receive its full portion. As painful as it sound, it gets worst, if the Colorado river continues to fall, Arizona will lose half of its water supply while California won't lose a drop. California has an interest in keeping their full share of water while others will suffer. Regulators know there is a water shortage, but yet they still allow fracking to happen.“99 percent of the state’s fracking sites are in the valley, which is also home to the bulk of the state’s agriculture”. With regulations put in place it will never make fracking safe. They are taking away water from other states like Nevada and Arizona so they have enough water to supply farmers , fracturing sites and communities. Whereas if they gave up fracting altogether states like Arizona, Colorado and Nevada won't have to find alternative water ways for
Natural gas is very dangerous, especially when the health of people is the main problem. The side effects of natural gas, according to Tox Town the article points out “oxygen can be reduced, causing dizziness, fatigue, nausea, headache, and irregular breathing” and even “death”. Pennsylvania is suffering in a tremendous way people are not consuming water like they used to. In fact, the video from Fracking Hell: The Untold Story” have people explaining how their rivers and have yellow colors, and how strong the water smell. They cannot wash dishes,
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.
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.
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.
Fracking can cause harm to people, animals, and nature. When they drill into the ground they are pumping chemicals to extract the gas and oil, and this contaminates the water sources around it. “An editorial on gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale in the Post-Star, a newspaper in Glens Falls, New York, contends, “New York state simply can’t take the risk. There are plenty of places to find fuel. It’s not so easy to find a new water supply for 17 million people.”” (Hydrofracking
Conflicting reports make it difficult to discern just how detrimental the practice is to the environment and people. What is known is that fracking uses phenomenal amounts of water, which is becoming a scarce resource in many parts of the country. There is no doubt that the fluid used in the fracking process contains chemicals, and when released into water supplies has negative effects on these sources. Injection of flowback materials into deep wells has been definitively linked to increased seismic activity. Damage to roads due to the high traffic of trucks shipping equipment and product is astronomical. Worldwide, four countries have outright banned the practice and others are waiting for more research to be done before they continue to allow it. A few states know the devastating side effects that come with the practice, and have banned hydraulic fracturing. While there is no doubt that fracking can produce resources that are used by Americans, there is a lot of doubt as to whether it is safe or not. Hopefully, the country will follow those that have banned the practice, and adopt other safer forms of energy
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is hitting close to home here in North Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth has become a gold mine for the natural Shale Gas that is located deep below the ground in rocks. Fracking is the use of chemicals to break down rock deep under the ground to get a natural Shale gas. In the article ‘Shale gas and tight oil: Framing the opportunities and risk’ the authors Tommy Inglesby, Rob Jenks, Scott Nyquist, and Dickon Pinner points out that fracking is very beneficial with energy security and the natural-gas. But, fracking uses harsh chemicals that can contaminate ground water, dangerous greenhouse-gas emissions and low water availability.
Imagine a world where fresh and clear water was a luxury. Imagine water so contaminated with chemicals that every plant it comes into contact with dies. As the trees begin to die, oxygen levels drop. As the vegetation dies, wildlife begins to die out. The polluted water which flows through the ground into wells causes instant contamination. As the water flows out of the sink, one can strike a match and light the liquid on fire. Showering in these chemicals is out of the question. Fresh water has become a comfort, rather than a given. Could planet Earth survive this existence? If hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, were deemed legal, this question may be put to the test. Fracking is a process in which chemicals, sand and water are used in “high volumes… to fracture gas-bearing layers of rock” (Dolesh 2). As the rock breaks, natural gas is released and then collected to be used as energy. The United States is currently sitting on a gold mine of natural gas which could stimulate our ever declining economy. The question is what price are we willing to pay for a temporary fix? Fracking is a dangerous process that should be deemed illegal due to its harmful short and long-term environmental effects.
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.
Only 1% of the worlds water is able for human use; some of this is being used for hydraulic fracturing. The process also affects include contamination of risks to air quality, the potential migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, the potential mishandling of waste, and the resulting effects on health such as an increased rate of cancer. The extracting fluid used in the process is toxic that pose risks to the ecosystem. It has been predicted that exposure to chemicals in hydraulic fracturing fluid will increase as gas wells using this technology proliferate. Many particulates and chemicals can be released into the atmosphere during the process of hydraulic fracturing can have serious health implications such as sulfuric-oxide, nitrous oxides, volatile organic compounds, benzene, toluene, diesel fuel, and hydrogen sulfide. Hydraulic fracturing may have caused earthquakes in North Texas from splitting too much rock. The workers of the well are also at risk; on June 3, 2010, a well explosion in Pennsylvania sent more than 35,000 gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluids into the air and onto the surrounding landscape in a forested area. There are other developing technologies with better techniques of getting energy. Hydraulic fracturing has too many faults that make the process not worth
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...
The use of hydraulic fracturing has caused many environmental problems in the waters of the United States. Improved drilling and extraction technology used to access low permeability natural gas requires millions of gallons of water and a lot of chemicals that may be toxic to marine life.Many people in both the field of science and the community of everyday concerned citizens about the quickly depleting supply of natural resources in the United States caused by hydraulic fracturing. These natural gases will soon no longer be readily available for use in America. Hydraulic fracturing bases are most commonly found near roads and stagnant waters such as lakes and ponds. These roads can cause water to drain into these open lakes and ponds, which
Hydraulic fracturing, or it’s more common name fracking, has been a very debatable topic for decades. Fracking is when chemicals, water and sand are pumped into the ground to break apart rock so that natural gas can be released. Not only is fracking obviously bad for the environment, but it also has many impacts on the people that surround the area. Fracking has short term benefits, but long term consequences and impacts to the entire ecosystem. Fracking that is done today can affect our future generations for many years and generations to come. Although hydraulic fracking may reduce our dependency of oil on other countries and stabilize our economy, fracking has way too many environmental and health impacts; therefore proving that fracking is problematic and should not be an energy resource that countries depend on.
Fracking is a pressurized, chemically treated mixture of water and sand to release and extract natural gas and petroleum from shale rock. There are many articles, studies being done, and organizations fighting for what they think is right. Environmentalist want the technique of fracking banned because it plays a part in global warming, affects our water, and causes human health problems. If fracking cannot be banned because of its necessity then it should be made safe and eco-friendly. The process involves a well being drilled vertically to the desired depth, then turns ninety degrees and continues horizontally for thousands of feet into the shale believed to contain the trapped natural gas. A mix of water, sand, and various chemicals is pumped into the well at high pressure in order to create fissures in the shale through which the gas can escape. Natural gas escapes through the fissures and is drawn back up the well to the surface, where it is processed, refined, and shipped to market. Flowback returns to the surface after the