Fracking and The Technologies of Humility and Hubris
Over the past several years there has been an outcry from U.S. environmentalists regarding a process for extracting extremely large caches of oil and natural gas that, prior to this process, were unattainable. This process in called Hydraulic Fracturing, or Fracking for short and has strong support on both sides of the issue as to whether it is a safe practice or could cause irreversible damage to the environment.
It is the intention of this paper to provide a brief overview and differentiation between Jasanoff’s Technologies of Humility and Technologies of Hubris. Then, an examine of the issues involved with Fracking that will discuss whether the pros and cons have been framed properly, the various individuals and environments that are vulnerable to the technology, the distribution channels that have been used to spread understanding as to the effects (positive or negative) of the process, and finally what we as a society are learning about Fracking and how it …show more content…
Ball (2012) while reporting on concerns from residents of Pennsylvania, touched on the same issues residents across the country are having; air quality issues due to excess heavy equipment use, damage to roadways due to increased hauling, and underground aquifer contamination as a result of the chemicals used in the process. These and many more are reasons communities are rising up against Fracking. The question then arises, if gas and oil companies had taken the time to address these issues openly and honestly rather than just pushing forward no matter public concern, would there be less of a fight to stop the process and more support for the positives Fracking provides such as; more local jobs, increased tax revenue, and the end of country wide dependence of foreign oil
Over the past several years there has been an outcry from U.S. environmentalists regarding a process for extracting extremely large caches of oil and natural gas that, prior to this process, were unattainable. This process in called Hydraulic Fracturing, or Fracking for short and has strong support on both sides of the issue as to whether it is a safe practice or could cause irreversible damage to the environment.
It is the intention of this paper to provide a brief overview and differentiation between Jasanoff’s Technologies of Humility and Technologies of Hubris. Then, an examine of the issues involved with Fracking that will discuss whether the pros and cons have been framed properly, the various individuals and environments that are vulnerable to the technology, the distribution channels that have been used to spread understanding as to the effects (positive or negative) of the process, and finally what we as a society are learning about Fracking and how it …show more content…
Ball (2012) while reporting on concerns from residents of Pennsylvania, touched on the same issues residents across the country are having; air quality issues due to excess heavy equipment use, damage to roadways due to increased hauling, and underground aquifer contamination as a result of the chemicals used in the process. These and many more are reasons communities are rising up against Fracking. The question then arises, if gas and oil companies had taken the time to address these issues openly and honestly rather than just pushing forward no matter public concern, would there be less of a fight to stop the process and more support for the positives Fracking provides such as; more local jobs, increased tax revenue, and the end of country wide dependence of foreign oil