Since the technology became more in demand, our energy consumption has increased rapidly. Most of this energy consumption is given by fossil fuels, for instance, coal, or natural gas. However, some research shows a questionable method of drawing out natural gas: Hydraulic fracturing or fracking, “the injection of fluid at high pressure into an underground rock formation in order to pen fissures and allow trapped gas or crude oil to flow through a pipe to a wellhead at surface” (). The technique of fracking has been known since the 1940s (). In spite of that, only in the past few years has there been quite an increased demand in fracking especially in the United State of America. This is because alternative natural gas reservoir has been exhausted.
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Before fracking can start, it needs to clear up the space that the drill will place in. It requires cutting all the trees in the place. This makes the place to be muddy and prone to landslide. Therefore, people who live near the fracking area will suffer when the hurricane comes.
Air:
Fracking pollutes the air in the atmosphere. Fracking retrieves the natural gas by pulling out the water that they pumped in. As they retrieve the natural gas, some of it escapes into the atmosphere and pollutes the air. The chemical that escapes into our atmosphere is called ethane. Ethane is a highly toxic chemical that can cause asphyxiation and cancer to a person who inhale a great amount. Fracking is known to release less ethane, but “ethane concentrations stopped decreasing, and were unmistakably increasing by 2012 and 2013” (Timothy Vinciguerra). …show more content…
The process of fracking requires a great amount of fresh water. Depending on the size of the drilled well, the quantity of fresh water needed varies. It estimated that it can “range from approximately 7.5 million to 20 million litres roughly equivalent to the water contained in three to eight Olympic-size swimming pools” (fracking). Environmental groups explain that “such consumption may represent an unsustainable use of the region’s fresh water” (fracking). Furthermore, as the engineers drill a hole for fracking, it passes “through numerous rock layers that may include freshwater aquifers used for private wells or municipal water supply” (fracking). This process could contaminate fresh water in aquifers underground with toxic chemicals that are being used in fracking. There has been evidence of contaminated fresh water “primarily in the U.S. Northeast, where the practice has flourished” (Gas industry). Moreover, in U.S. documentary “Gasland” shows, “residents near gas wells lighting their drinking water on fire due to the chemicals pumped into the ground by fracking crews” (Gas Industry). This clearly shows that drinkable water has been contaminated with chemicals that being use in fracking. Therefore, fracking clearly shows a great impact in the fresh
Before fracking can start, it needs to clear up the space that the drill will place in. It requires cutting all the trees in the place. This makes the place to be muddy and prone to landslide. Therefore, people who live near the fracking area will suffer when the hurricane comes.
Air:
Fracking pollutes the air in the atmosphere. Fracking retrieves the natural gas by pulling out the water that they pumped in. As they retrieve the natural gas, some of it escapes into the atmosphere and pollutes the air. The chemical that escapes into our atmosphere is called ethane. Ethane is a highly toxic chemical that can cause asphyxiation and cancer to a person who inhale a great amount. Fracking is known to release less ethane, but “ethane concentrations stopped decreasing, and were unmistakably increasing by 2012 and 2013” (Timothy Vinciguerra). …show more content…
The process of fracking requires a great amount of fresh water. Depending on the size of the drilled well, the quantity of fresh water needed varies. It estimated that it can “range from approximately 7.5 million to 20 million litres roughly equivalent to the water contained in three to eight Olympic-size swimming pools” (fracking). Environmental groups explain that “such consumption may represent an unsustainable use of the region’s fresh water” (fracking). Furthermore, as the engineers drill a hole for fracking, it passes “through numerous rock layers that may include freshwater aquifers used for private wells or municipal water supply” (fracking). This process could contaminate fresh water in aquifers underground with toxic chemicals that are being used in fracking. There has been evidence of contaminated fresh water “primarily in the U.S. Northeast, where the practice has flourished” (Gas industry). Moreover, in U.S. documentary “Gasland” shows, “residents near gas wells lighting their drinking water on fire due to the chemicals pumped into the ground by fracking crews” (Gas Industry). This clearly shows that drinkable water has been contaminated with chemicals that being use in fracking. Therefore, fracking clearly shows a great impact in the fresh