What Are The Pros And Cons Of Fracking

In my opinion, the environmental and economic implications of fracking can be divided into pro’s and con’s. The pro’s are the economic aspects which are lower fuel prices, employment and domestic business growth. The negative aspects are all environmental and consist of high water consumption, the use and deterioration of the infrastructure, carbon footprint, voc’s (emission), water resources being contaminated and seismic events.
The economic benefits of lower fuel prices means American’s have more disposable income to travel, to buy more manufactured goods or to spend on entertainment, this is all a boost to local economies. The oil and gas companies are able to employ more workers and its estimated “by the year 2035 these companies will

A well can “use on average up to 6 million gallons of water plus chemicals and sand to keep the fissures open” each time a well is fracked. For states like California who are in a severe drought (that could be millions of gallons of water a year, depending on the number of wells in the state), that is water being wasted that could be used for agriculture or human consumption. If a well is located near a water supply like a river or underground well, the water can become contaminated like the spring on Jackie Shulkie’s property that began bubbling after nearby fracking started on her neighbor’s yard. In “How Fracking Affects You,” Josh Fox who produced the documentary “GasLand” showed a clip of a man who was able to light the water from his tap on fire, due to Benzene, a known carcinogen, in the water. Drinking water was exempted from the Clean Water Act by the Bush Administration in 2005. This means the energy companies do not have to apply for permits to inject chemicals into the wells they are fracking. Jackie Shulkie began suffering from headaches, nausea and skin rashes and she was diagnosed as having been exposed to hydrocarbons. As Jackie said, she lives out in the open in the country, and she never experienced any of these problems until fracking began on her neighbor’s

The state of Texas has “estimated $2B in damage to the roads, not including the cost of maintaining the interstate and state highways” (Hashem, pg 172). The infrastructure is also the emergency personnel who may be called to scene of an industrial accident. It is also neighborhoods, schools and shopping centers. The movie “How Fracking Affects You,” states residential areas are becoming industrial areas because huge shale oil fields have been located under the suburbs in places like South Lake, Texas. Since no long term studies have been done on effects of drilling in urban areas, the extent of damage to the infrastructure is