While delving into the advantages and disadvantages of domestic natural oil and gas production I realized that hydraulic fracturing has proven itself to be a valuable asset to the United States economy. In “Fracking: Fix It or Forget It?” by Daniel E. Klein, Daniel shares with his readers that “in the last decade, shale development technologies have become technically and commercially feasible. Pairing horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing, “fracking” has revolutionized the oil and gas outlook as few other industries’ ever have done before. Increased domestic production of both oil and gas has led to enhanced energy security, reduced fuel imports, and improved balanced of payments for the United States.
Natural gas is said to be the fuel of the recent future but at this point in time it as a resource that is quickly dwindling. A process called hydraulic fracturing or fracking is being used to access hidden reserves of gas in shale deposits under the ground. The process of fracking isn't new, but is being used more frequently and in more areas as easy-to-access deposits run out. This is where the dispute comes in; is the economic gains of fracking worth the environmental harm it causes? Fracking is too dangerous to risk when finding ways to access natural gas because it can affect water sources, has long lasting effects on the environment, and ruins areas surrounding the well site.
Scientific Report Chathuri Amarasinghe 11.01.16 Can fracking cause earthquakes? The truth behind fracking Fracking has been around since the 19th Century, however, the demand to extract oil and gas is becoming more commercial. Oil and gas is being exploration has been innovated in every possible space, quite literally; by the process of fracking.
One of the most heated debates in the political and environmental areas is the debate over hydraulic fracturing, or more its more colloquial term “fracking”. Fracking is the process by which normally inaccessible hydrocarbon deposits are made available. First a well is drilled down vertically, once the pipe has reached the shale it begins to bore horizontally for thousands more feet. Then, a combination of water, sand, and various chemicals are pushed out of the pipe at up to 9000 pounds per square inch. This frees the natural gas (a hydrocarbon) to then be pumped to the surface.
Fracking, it's a term you've probably heard before, referencing a highly controversial method of natural gas extraction that causes immense pollution and should be stopped as soon as the means are available. What is fracking? " Many sandstones, limestones and shales far below ground contain natural gas, which was formed as dead organisms in the rock decomposed. This gas is released, and can be captured at the surface for our use, when the rocks in which it is trapped are drilled" (Meyendorf 1). Basically, rocks deep underground (specifically shale, sandstone and limestone) contain gas that can be burned for energy.
Humans value electricity, we need it for everything from banking to cleaning even doing our homework. Until very recently we relied primarily on coal fired power plants (some places use nuclear and hydroelectric plants), more recently we have moved to cleaner fuel sources like methane. Methane burns cleaner and has little to no hazardous off gassing, the problem lies with how methane is mined. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.
“Fracking” is a slang term that refers to hydraulic fracturing. Fracking refers to the procedure of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them further open, releasing oil and natural gas. The larger cracks allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formation and into the well, from which it can be extracted. Fracking has many pros, being that assessing the energy in the rocks less dependent on unstable countries such as Venezuela. Using the natural gas to heat our homes and power our houses burn fewer carbon emissions than coal.
Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in Maryland has been banned but was it ever given a chance? Fracking is a common form of drilling for oil and gas, but this form is not practiced in Maryland due to it being banned by state law. Fracking is conducted by shooting water, sand, and chemicals under extremely high pressure, down an oil well to crack apart the rock and release trapped oil and gas. The downfall to this method is that the water has to go somewhere, and it could it end up in drinking water causing the water to become polluted and potently “poisoned”. Governor Hogan signed Maryland’s fracking ban into law on April 4, 2017.
What the Frack? Cancer, earthquakes, infertility, pollution, and droughts. These are all products of a sad reality for those living near hydraulic fracturing cites. Hydraulic fracturing, or more commonly referred to as fracking, is the process of injecting waste-water, or water filled with hazardous chemicals and sand, down into oil rigs to obtain oil and natural gas.
The oil and gas industry are one of the most prominent industries in the world with many countries participating in drilling operations. Saudi Arabia, UAE, China, and the USA are some of the biggest names in oil and gas production nowadays. A process of extracting natural gases called Fracking has been the subject of debate in recent years with many people concerned with the risks associated with Fracking. Shale gas is the primary gas extracted from fracking operation and experts predict it will make up about 30 percent of the world’s natural gas production by 2040 (LSE, 2022), which has made many countries and business interested in the gas due to the high profit margins. Others are more concerned with the negative impacts that fracking might
During the last one hundred sixty five years, the United States has depended in fossil fuels in order to support the growing economy from a developing nation into a World Superpower and most recently the nation has been able to transition from an importer nation to an exporter nation of fossil fuels. These changes are based in the discovered of massive reserves natural shale gas deposits in conjunction with the development of new technology capable of extracting these fossil fuels with the shale deposits. This technology is called horizontal drilling when combined with Hydraulic Fracturing commonly known as fracking which has been around since 1947, has resulted in the highest increase of fossil fuels since the birth of the nation. This process
Secondly, one of the biggest concerns with fracking is air pollution. Although many who are pro fracking say that it does help the environment since fracking actually provide a variety of different alternatives for the use of fossil fuels, which in return reduces carbon emissions. Backing up these claims Bjørn Lomborg, a fracking supporter and director if the environmental assessment institue says “Carbon-dioxide emissions in the United States have dropped to their lowest level in 20 years,” (2). Though this may be true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that fracking is safer for the environment. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth Systems Research Laboratory in Denver are claiming that natural gases such
Fracking within the state of New York has been cause for controversy in recent years. This fracking controversy has greatly polarized members of the communities affected with some show great support of it, and others downright despising it to the point of banning it in their communities. While fracking is quite a complex issue with many economic benefits, it’s still quite clear that the only rational stance on the issue is one of opposition. Any person who shares concerns on the future of this planet should maintain of firm opposition to fracking due to the negligence of the fracking companies harming the environment. In response to fracking supporter and Range Resources spokesman Matt Pitzarlla’s blatant dishonesty on the issue in his paraphrased
Everybody uses natural gas and oil, whether it is to power your house or make your car run there is gas being used somewhere. Unless there is a way for America to extract their own oil or natural gas their prices will always be high. Guess what, there is a way for America to extract natural gas and it is called Fracking! Hydraulic Fracturing or Fracking is the way of extracting natural gas and oil from the ground, but at a price. It could harm the Earth by using up a lot of the water source that we have left on the planet, and it is trapping all of the heat on the planet by a thing called the greenhouse effect.
While the President Election is going on, there are many issues that are being asked to the candidates on how they plan to fix these issues. One of these issues that we are currently dealing with, is the environment, and Bernie Sanders is the candidate to actually plan to make a difference so that in the near future, we will no longer have to deal with these problems. Bernie Sanders strongly believes that the reason the environment is the way it is, is because of human activity. He stated, “If we do not act boldly the situation will only become much worse in years to come in terms of drought, floods, extreme storms and acidification of the oceans.” He plans on reducing the United States carbon emissions by forty percent over 1990 levels
