Fracking: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, is a method of drilling for oil and natural gas. It is the main reason that the United States is currently having an energy revolution instead of being scarce of it. Even though fracking is doing so many good things for the country, there are also many dangers that go with it. Communities are beginning to link fracking to contamination of their water supply, and to the loss of fresh water from the ground. It is also connected to air pollution that is more severe than carbon dioxide emission. Fracking can cause many side effects to workers and to nearby residents as well. In this blog, you will learn that there are many ups and downs to hydraulic fracturing.

As I said before, fracking is used for getting oil and natural gas out of the ground. It does this by drilling a mile or more underground and then turning horizontal. Then it drills a little further, for a couple thousand feet. After that, a mixture is pumped down this new well at a very high pressure in order to create micro-fractures in the shale formations. This mixture consists of mostly water, with a little sand to hold open the micro-fractures. It also contains additives to protect pipe corrosion and boost the efficiency of the well. The small fractures in the shale, deep underground, leak large amounts of oil and natural gas that are then pumped out and harvested from there.

Fracking Diagram
“HydroFrac” by Mikenorton – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HydroFrac.png#/media/File:HydroFrac.png

Fracking may be a cheap, efficient way to produce oil and natural gas, but it also comes with many disadvantages too. It generated 280 billion gallons of wastewater in 2012, and since 2005 it has used 250 billion gallons of fresh water. This means that it is producing more waste than the amount of water it uses. Water treatment plants aren’t able to deal with fracking wastewater from fracking very easily, which can cause many conflicts. Fracking has also been linked to nausea, headaches, and other symptoms in nearby residents as a result of fracking pollution in their drinking water. It has degraded 360,000 acres of land since 2005 too, which includes things like contaminating residential wells, ruining roads, and even causing earthquakes at disposal sites. All in all, fracking is badly hurting our environment, and these numbers will only keep getting worse if nothing is going to be done soon.

Fracking is not just linked to water pollution. It is connected to air pollution, and lots of it. Instead of releasing carbon dioxide, fracking releases methane. Almost 4 percent of the methane produced in wells is escaping into the atmosphere. Even worse, methane traps 25% more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Many factors are involved in the releasing of methane into the atmosphere, which are mostly included in drilling procedures. These methane-releasing procedures consist of construction of the well site, operation of the well site, transportation of materials and equipment, and disposal of waste. Many workers are required for completing these procedures, and this is dangerous because exposure to methane and other pollutants is known to cause several side effects. These side effects include short-term illnesses, cancer, organ damage, nerve disorders, birth defects, and even death. Overall, fracking can release harmful gases that damage the Earth and the people that live on it.

I think hydraulic fracturing is definitely a great way to produce oil and natural gas. It involves drilling deep underground, turning horizontal, and then pumping chemicals into the well to release the oil from the ground. Without it, the United States wouldn’t have nearly as much cheap, efficient energy as we do today. But along with these advantages, there are also several disadvantages. These disadvantages include pollution, and lots of it. For water pollution, it contaminates water supplies and produces more wastewater than treatment plants can handle. For air pollution it releases lots of methane during its procedures, and methane is much more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Both air and water pollution can cause harmful side effects to the people near fracking sites, and these side effects are very often fatal. Overall, fracking is a great thing, but also not a very great thing.

  • Do you think fracking’s benefits outweigh its disadvantages, or vice versa?
  • If fracking was eliminated from the United States economy, what affects could it have?
  • What other energy source options are available, if fracking were to be eliminated?

1 thought on “Fracking: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  1. I found it shocking how the U.S goes through 280 million gallons of wastewater each year. However, it only uses 250 million gallons of fresh water. I think that the fracking benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The advantages include a better economy in terms of money. However, some of the disadvantages includes making a big mess with pollution and the dig sight when they are finished. If fracking is eliminated from the U.S I think that it would affect the economy dramatically. The U.S makes a lot of money off of fracking, and it gets a lot of resources from it as well. Without it, the U.S economy would fall. I think that wind and solar energy are available, but they are not reliable, as wind and the sun are not always there. We would need to find a really reliable source of energy in order to give up fracking. Here is a link for more fracking information. It shows how fracking is done, and where the trucks go, to and from the drilling sites.
    http://www.dangersoffracking.com/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *