In the United States alone, there are over 800,00 gas and oil wells. In 2000, shale beds provided just one percent of America’s natural gas supply. Today that figure is almost 25%(usnews.com 1). Most of the production increase is due to the growing popularity of hydraulic fracturing which is also known as Fracking. This process is used to release oil or gas from underground that are too difficult to mine. This is not a new way of drilling, it has actually been in this country since 1947. What is new about it is drilling horizontially. The process of fracking is pumping high pressured fluid which creates fractures that extend from wells into oil and gas formations. This fluid includes water, sand, and a mixture of chemicals. This allows recovery of the gas or oil as it flows up the well to the surface. It is said that the shale gas fields of Marcellus which are in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia, and the Barnett fields in Texas are believed to contain enough natural gas to power the entire United States for one hundred or more years(usnews.com 2). …show more content…
It has been found that a variable amount of fracking fluid remains in the ground after a well has run dry. Likewise, fracking is known to produce airborne pollutants like methane, benzene, and sulfur oxide(usnews.com 3). Fracking has also increased seismic activity within ten miles of some wells. Scientist believe the high pressured force of the liquid used to break up the rock is altering the pressure of the faults which is causing movement. One such quake in Oklahoma began approximately 656 feet from a fracking site(nationalgeographic.com 15) There is another belief that it is actually not the drilling itself, but rather the disposal wells causing the fault activity. These wells are the final resting place for used drilling fluid. They are located thousands of