What the Frack? New innovations in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, more commonly known as “fracking”, have lead to a spike in the use of this cost-saving and efficient technique for acquiring natural gas. But with this new widespread use has come a wave of backlash from many environmental and conservation groups about the potential dangers and drawbacks of fracking. It is estimated that fracking could help provide enough natural gas to power the United States for 110 years. Activist and other conservationists, however, are advocating for the abolishment of fracking due to its serious environmental and health risks. These pros and cons make it difficult to tell whether fracking is a good or bad technology. There is no denying that fracking is a useful innovation. It can provide massive amounts of natural gas, and it can create thousands of jobs in the United States. With the …show more content…
The most common and widely publicized of these problems is the extreme contamination of the local water supply. Fracking involves pumping many dangerous chemicals into the ground to break up bedrock, and many believe that this poisons the water supply. There are online videos of people in areas where fracking is a major industry that are able to set their tap water on fire, because of all the potent chemicals. Many supporters of fracking would say that there is no proof that fracking or the chemicals that are used in fracking cause harm to the water supply, but many companies are not even required to list what chemicals they are using. So it is difficult for health services to actually gauge the danger in these chemicals. Scientists have shown that fracking can cause river and lake beds to dry up, which could potentially destroy entire ecosystems. Other criticisms of fracking include the links to increased seismic activity and the pollution and industrialization of many pristine, rural