The Benefits Of Fracking

Improved Essays
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a technique used to obtain natural resources. Fracking is popular technique in the oil industry because of the rate at which it obtains these resources. Fracking is benefiting the United States in several ways. Despite the benefits, fracking has not received full support from the population. Environmental activists have hindered the use of fracking. Hydraulic fracturing should be more widely used. Originally, fracking was the process of placing gunpowder down a vertical shaft and the generated explosion would create cracks in the shale. The natural gas inside the shale would be released and collected above. Fracking began in the late 1800s and the use of gunpowder remained for decades. Gunpowder was abandoned …show more content…
(2)Safety is an important issue to the public, and news of risks are easily accepted. Unfortunately, the majority of people do not questions if those risks are true. Instead, they accept the news and convey it to others. Due to fear, the risks of fracking are often misunderstood. Those misunderstandings can become fact to the public. For example, hydraulic fracturing was believed to cause water contamination. (3) A couple hundred water wells near fracking rigs in Pennsylvania contained undrinkable water. The news of undrinkable water in Pennsylvania caused a panic in which people correlated undrinkable water with fracking. Unluckily, only part of the story reached the public. (4) “In one study of 200 private water wells in the fracking regions of Pennsylvania, water quality was the same before and soon after drilling in all wells except one. The only surprise from that study was that many of the wells failed drinking water regulations before drilling started” (Brantley 3). (5) The condition of those wells did not change with the introduction of fracking. Several wells contained contaminated water before fracking rigs were constructed. (6) People will learn of an incident which harmed people, and not delve if there was actually correlation between fracking and water contamination. The apparent risk of hydraulic fracturing are based on false …show more content…
(2)Coal has been the main energy source for America, but has several weaknesses. For example, coal has a high emission of greenhouse gases. These gases contributes to global warming and regional air quality. Coal burning is not environmentally safe. (3)Fracking has brought natural gases as a source of energy, and natural gases are not as destructive as coal. Natural gas is a viable alternative to coal. (4)“…natural gas produces only somewhere between 44 and 50 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions compared with burning of coal” (Wihbey 4). (5)The gas emissions from natural gases is half of the emission of coal. Natural gases are drastically safer than coal. The reduction of emissions, such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, makes them safer for the environment and people. The amount of water used in fracking per the amount of energy created pales in comparison to the amount used in coal and oil removal. Increase fracking will produce more natural gases to be used as an alternative for

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    There have also been studies that suggest that chemicals used during fracking, such as methanol, formaldehyde, sodium hydroxide etc., are carcinogens 2. When fracking occurs in a specific site, the chance for contamination is low but as the number of sites increase, the chance for contamination increases 4. It is suggested that advanced testing should be used to trace chemicals used in water during fracking to groundwater and determine if there is a correlation 4. It is projected that many shale productions around the country will have an increase in water usage and it is very important to determine if this will be harmful to public health…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Fracking Is Bad

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    While there has been disagreement over fracking, fracking is very vital to the United States. The need for natural gas in the United States is increasing, so the country needs to produce more of it own energy. If the country produces more of its own energy, America does not have to send soldiers to defend oil fields. (Beyond oil) Fracking also provides huge job opportunities and funds the United States.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It has been long acknowledged that the Untied States is in need of finding a natural energy source in order to become a more sustainable country and to also become less dependent on the Middle East. Attaining natural gas and oil from shale is a game changer when it comes to energy production. However, this revolutionary approach has created environmental skepticism around how environmentally friendly and sustainable this practice actually is and the types of problems that could be associated with fracking as a practice. Hydraulic Fracking has become extremely controversial because of very serious potential environmental risks. Enormous amounts of water are used during the fracking process, which become polluted creating a high probability…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stop Fracking Problems

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fracking causes chemicals to get into the underground water areas that both plants and humans use to stay alive. Our basic necessity, water, is becoming infected by side effects of fracking that is incurable. Fracking is not a good idea when it kills our most important need for human life by making it into the thing that kills us. Cleanup of drinking water…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fracking Issues

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The controversies surrounding fracking involve the environmental impacts of the drilling itself and the extraction fluid. The fluid consists of various acids, detergents, and poisons that are unregulated by the federal government (NYTimes). This fluid must travel back up the well to the surface. This makes contaminating the area surround it in the event of a broken pipe or seal.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “FRACK OFF!” reads a flimsy yard sign as cars zoom along Peninsula road. The sign highlights a debate across Northern Michigan, the Midwest, the United States, and the rest of the world. Our world relies heavily on fossil fuels to power our everyday actions. Driving, cooking, heating homes. Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Why Fracking Is Bad

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Fracking is starting to become a problem in our country. Fracking is water mixed with chemicals pumped into big rocks at high pressure to get oil out of the ground. Fracking isn't all good fracking can cause earthquakes in the earth because of the holes it makes.it all started in the 1990s whn they figued out they could get oil out of fractured rocks with a easy metad of getting it. Fracking can produce oil for a cheaper price and create jobs but the damages it does to the earth is worse than having cheaper oil. Fracking causes the earth to have earthquakes which the earth is not used to man made earthquakes.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Problems With Fracking

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Problems that Require these Polices There are many problems that has led to our current policies on fracking, which include the growth of the United States and its dependency on foreign oil has caused transformations in our technological innovations within the oil and gas industries. There are other areas which are more concerning, for instance, the regulations regarding fracking is that they are over thirty years old. Regulations vary from state to state, and the government has simply put failed to take a leadership role in the matter and has left some very unresolved concerns for public safety. These concerns are over the environmental impact caused by fracking. Environmentalist fear that humans and the wildlife are endanger caused by fracking contaminating surrounding water supplies (Davenport, 2015).…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In any area of the globe, fracking causes damage and destruction of the environment. The natural gas option that was previously seen as more climate friendly, is actually seriously harming it. Fracking has been proven to be linked to leaks of methane 23 times more potent in greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Fracking Research Paper

    • 1687 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Environmental Protection Agency defines frackings as “A well stimulation process used to maximize the extraction of underground resources; including oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, and even water”(Environmental Protection Agency). This process, employed to release natural gas involves drilling deep into the ground and shooting a high pressure water solution into rock formations in order to release the gas inside. Although the history of fracking can be traced back to the 1940’s, it wasn’t until 2003 that was incorporated commercially on a massive scale not only in the United States, but also across the world. This turning point in scale caused immediate backlash from environmentalists across the country. The controversy being: while fracking has completely revolutionised the energy industry, the environmental risks it poses cannot be overlooked.…

    • 1687 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fracking Cons

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Can We Know Fracking and Drilling are Safe? Fracking is injecting liquid, filled with chemicals and water, into the earth to reach oil or gas to then extract it. Fracking is controversial due to the fact that the earth, humans, and water supply is harmed in the process. Research has shown that fracking is not necessarily a safe process, but there are safer ways to complete the process.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fracking is causing the natural order of the water cycle to be out of whack. There is less water on the earth, which causes there to be less water in the air. If there is no water in the air, then there can be no rain clouds. This problem can affect the whole country or possibly the world. This is a serious problem seriously needs to be dealt with.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Benefits Of Fracking

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Artifact Caption: Profile Of Health Effects From Fracking Chemicals Artifact Citation: Graph of oil Chemicals Health Effects from; Center for Western Priorities. “Fracking and Water Quality.” Center for Western Priorities, 26 July 2013, westernpriorities.org/2012/09/11/fracking-and-water-quality/, April 9, 2018. Curator’s Note #1: In the hydraulic fracturing process, a fluid is pumped into a well, which contains water, sand, and chemicals.…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Fracking has an adverse impact on the environment and the ecology. It contaminates groundwater, releases air pollution, and creates earthquakes and sinkholes. Therefore, many people including plants and animals will get sick and die from drinking dirty water mix with natural gas and breathing toxic air. Earthquakes occur when fracking companies inject wastewater and salt water into the subsurface while sinkholes occur if fracking caused water to moved out of a particular part of the ground. Maryland should ban fracking despite that it will create higher jobs and bring millions of dollars in western Maryland.…

    • 161 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Fracking

    • 2628 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The machines and vehicles we use in the fracking process can contaminate the water supply by simply having a leaking valve or a missing gasket. These malfunctions can leak oil or cause a spill in the storage facilities near the wells and fracking sites. Additionally, spills and leaks can contaminate the water and soil as the chemicals are being transported with a faulty truck or other equipment. In order to paint a picture, try to imagine your car with an oil leak. As you drive from home to work, the oil will spill and leave a trail on the roads you took.…

    • 2628 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Improved Essays