Essay about The Problems with Fracking - 2005 Words

No Fracking Way Imagine a world where fresh and clear water was a luxury. Imagine water so contaminated with chemicals that every plant it comes into contact with dies. As the trees begin to die, oxygen levels drop. As the vegetation dies, wildlife begins to die out. The polluted water which flows through the ground into wells causes instant contamination. As the water flows out of the sink, one can strike a match and light the liquid on fire. Showering in these chemicals is out of the question. Fresh water has become a comfort, rather than a given. Could planet Earth survive this existence? If hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, were deemed legal, this question may be put to the test. Fracking is a process in which†¦show more content†¦While vertical wells do yield gas, they are mainly used as a base to connect several horizontal wells, which is where the money lies in the industry. After drilling, about â€Å"2 million to 10 million gallons of water [is used] to extract t he gas† (Marsa 3-4). However, high pressured water alone will not break away the shale rock, therefore sand is added to enable further fracturing. The controversial issue fueling the debate is the third substances added to the water which allow the natural gas to escape for collection. â€Å"A cocktail of friction-reducing lubricants [are used] to make the water slick enough to slide through the pipes swiftly† (Marsa 4). A geochemist by the name of Tracy Bank conducted a study at SUNY Buffalo which concluded that the lubricant contained an abundance of toxic metals, â€Å"including uranium, barium, chromium, zinc and arsenic† (Marsa 2). This is just a short list of the negative compounds used in fracking. It is likely that the public will never get the full story as to the composition of the lubricants, as major fracking companies refuse to release that information, â€Å"claiming that doing so would reveal trade secrets† (Rahman 1). So where do these cont aminants end up? After reaching the surface, the waste is emptied into tanks for storage. However, sometimes ponds are also used to hold the pollutants, therefore releasing the harmful toxins into runoffs. Once the gas hasShow MoreRelatedFracking : Too Many Fracking Problems1631 Words   |  7 PagesToo Many Fracking Problems â€Å"Fracking ensures that the age of oil-and it s princely hydrocarbon cousin, the natural gas molecule-will not end because we have run out of fossil fuels. But it may end because burning these wonderful fuels puts the planet farther down a path we don t want to head down†. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a petroleum mining method to reach remote gas under water that is located in the crust of the earth. Fracking uses a blend of water, sand, and chemicals. HydraulicRead MoreNatural Gas : A Sustainable And Environmentally Friendly Gases1247 Words   |  5 Pagesseventy percent fewer emissions than coal and twenty percent fewer emissions than oil . Natural gas would also be much cheaper than oil per gallon and is environmentally sustainable; however, fracking, the process of extracting the natural gas, may not be as environmentally stable as many would think. Fracking is the process of drilling and injecting fluid at high pressure in order to crack shale rocks to extr act natural gas. The water is mixed with sand and other toxic chemicals to help the processRead MoreThe Need to Stop Fracking616 Words   |  3 Pagesfracking is the process of getting natural gas from from shale rock deep into the ground. to get the natural gas we have to use a thing called horizontal drilling, horizontal drilling allows us to go deep into the ground and injected high pressure fracking fluids into the shale area and when they have the cracks in the ground for the oil to go through and they put sand to hold open the cracks and keep them open this is the process of fracking. Tell the recipient of your letter why you chose to shareRead MoreFracking : Fracking And Fracking1524 Words   |  7 Pages Hydraulic Fracturing Research Paper Hydraulic Fracturing (also commonly known as fracking) is a process used to extract natural gasses deep within the earth. This is done by drilling vertically into the ground until the desired depth; then drilling horizontally; and pumping millions of gallons of water, sand, and other chemicals into the drill at a high pressure to create fissures through which the gas can escape. Currently, hydraulic fracturing is extensively used in the United States in orderRead MoreIs Fracking Safer : Wastewater Injections Cause Human Made Earthquakes, But The Risk Can Be Reduced1142 Words   |  5 PagesAnnotated Bibliography Arizona State University. (2016, September 22). Research finds way to make fracking safer: Wastewater injections cause human-made earthquakes, but the risk can be reduced. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 24, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160922150659.htm The Arizona State University effectively relays the information from a research done to evaluate the use of fracking techniques in relation to the Texas earthquakes experienced in May of 2012. The research doneRead MoreThe Need, Risks And Impacts1396 Words   |  6 PagesFRACKING-â€Å"The Need, Risks and Impacts† Hydraulic Fracking, which is the extraction of natural gas which was earlier protected, has become a major problem today. It is an environmental as well as a health hazard. The large firms which are linked to fracking have tried to justify fracking by citing that the benefits of it outweigh the harm that it might potentially cause. But before buying that argument, it is important for us to understand if the idea of fracking is really good for a long term scenarioRead MoreFracking And Its Wastewater Disposal1489 Words   |  6 PagesDat Ninh T. Drosselmeyer Engl 1113 – 088 14 November 2016 1393 words Fracking and its wastewater disposal are threatening human’s life In recent years, there has been an increasing concern about whether or not should factories keep using Fracking as their main method to extract oil and gas from the underground. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing can be defined as the process of drilling down into the Earth and injecting high-pressurized water mixture into the ground, creating cracksRead MoreFracking Should Not Be Banned1526 Words   |  7 PagesFracking is a pressurized, chemically treated mixture of water and sand used to release and extract natural gas and petroleum from shale rock. The process involves a well drilled vertically to the desired depth, then turns ninety degrees and continues horizontally for thousands of feet into the shale believed to contain the trapped natural gas. A mix of water, sand, and various chemicals are pumped into the well at high pressure in order to create fissures in the shale through which the gas can escapeRead MoreRhetorical Situations And Their Constituents Essay1588 Words   |à ‚  7 Pageswill choose them over a different company. Rhetoric can be found all over the news and while doing research I came upon the article â€Å"Are We Fracking Away our Health?† To analyze the rhetoric of this article, we must look at the exigence, audiences, constraints, and any unforeseen ramifications of the article. Exigence defined by Grant-Davie is â€Å"some need or problem that can be addressed and solved through rhetorical discourse† (351). The exigence of an article can be answered by using three questions:Read MoreA Brief Look at Fracking1383 Words   |  6 Pagesnumber one source of America’s constant need for gas. Most of that production increase has come about to the growing need of hydraulic fracturing, also known as â€Å"fracking†, which is a process used to release oil or gas from underground formations that are otherwise too hard to mine with other tools. Over the past few years, advances in fracking technology have made huge reserves of natural gas in America economically recoverable. According to the Energy Information Administration, shale gas plays, or