For most people, the recent drop in oil prices encourages excessive driving and the purchasing of extravagant vehicles while consequently allowing them to not think twice about how or why this is happening. A new method of excavating for natural gas and oil, called fracking, has recently become popular and has taken over the world of drilling technology. In fact, “hydraulic fracking begins with a bore hole drilled some 6,000 feet below the ground, cutting through many geological layers and aquifer” (Bambrick). Following that cutting process, gallons and gallons of water that are “mixed with sand and chemicals are then blasted into the bedrock, the pressure creating cracks that release trapped natural gas from the shale” (Bambrick). Joining …show more content…
This is showcased in President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union speech, in which he stated that “we have a supply of natural gas that can last American nearly 100 years” (Inman). These high hopes reflect the attitudes of large oil companies and the general public that “are betting big on cheap plentiful gas” (Inman). These predications and positive attitudes stem from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which foresees a constant production at least until 2040 (Inman). Unfortunately, a plethora of factors were not accounted for, and now, researches who are looking into much greater detail realize that these high numbers are coming from something called “sweet spots.” These sweet spots are areas below the ground that contain nearly most, if not all of the oil that can be found underground. In one well that was fracked in 2011, productivity began to decrease 32% in one year due to the exhaustion of its sweet spots (Killie). In the past, oil provided only a mere 25% of the United States’ energy supply. Therefore the shale boom caused a pleasant shock when it erupted in the 2010’s. Fracking allowed for the United States to gain back its title of “the world’s top natural gas producer” (Inman). As this influx of natural gas and oil came pouring in, the EIA increased their future expectations for this