The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

The Fracking Dilemma

Hydraulic fracturing, like any form of disruptive innovation, has been divisive. It is viewed as both a potential source of energy independence for the US and a geological threat. Cost-benefit analysis must be conducted on breakthroughs like fracking. The argument that natural gas captured by fracking outweighs the risks required to obtain the natural gas is made by the energy and transportation industries. These industries willfully ignore or downplay the instability it causes to the geological system and immense resources used. Jobs and natural gas output of fracking operations are substantial, causing the dilemma of pursuing short-term economic gains despite potential long-term environmental damages. The promise

Economic gains associated with fracking are outweighed by the human and environmental damages caused.

The extraction and utilization of fossil fuels comes with environmental concerns, and fracking is no exception. The fracking process involves drilling deep wells and injecting a mix of water, chemicals, and sand at a high pressure to release natural gas. Fracking can pollute freshwater and is linked to earthquakes in surrounding areas. Microearthquakes are “routinely produced as part of the hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) process used to stimulate the production of oil” (Ellsworth 142). Larger earthquakes can be linked to “wastewater disposal by deep injection wells,” and have been as large as a magnitude 5.6 which “destroyed 14 homes and injured two people” (Ellsworth 142). Human-induced earthquakes of this size, potentially caused by fracking,

This concept is called the spatial inequality of production. To the average city or suburban dwelling consumer, cheap natural gas means saving potentially hundreds on space heating and electricity each year. City and suburban dwellers save money and can feel “green” knowing natural gas “emits fewer pollutants (e.g., carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter) than other fossil-fuel energy sources per unit of heat produced” (Muehlenbachs 2). Fracking bans, such as the one in New York, can be politically popular. When New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide ban on fracking, it “was immediately hailed by environmental and liberal groups — seemed likely to help repair his ties to his party’s left wing” (Kaplan). Despite losing out on the jobs fracking would bring, avoiding the environmental damage was popular with constituents. Residents want cheap energy and jobs, but don’t want to deal with the environmental consequences in their back yard. Urban communities don’t share in the environmental costs of fracking, but get the product. Inequality of natural resources is common among all fossil fuels, but is nearly mitigated by using renewable sources. Regulations should include an externality charge on fracking operations to help level the playing