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Advocay
What is Fracking Wrong with this Picture? Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is a controversial topic that is garnering a lot of negative attention in the media recently. There have been protests both for and against this new, unsustainable and unpredictable method of producing fuel for energy. The pro-fracking proponents argue that the future of America’s energy supply is in jeopardy and fracking will be an economic boon for labor and state coffers. Opponents of fracking contend that the environmental and health risks are far too great and permanent. The pro- fracking side says that all that can be done is being done. The anti-fracking side doesn’t trust Big Fracking. Big Fracking is not only the drilling companies and well owners but also the support industries that supply fracking chemicals, storage of waste water, as well as waste water treatment companies. Both sides agree that there has not been enough research done to support either side. Hydraulic fracturing is an extremely controversial method for extracting minerals and gases from shale formations. Governments should ban fracking and seek alternative sources of fuel and power because short term economic gains do not outweigh the heavy environmental damage potential and risk to humans for the sake of an immediate non-sustainable energy boost. Big Fracking’s opposition believes the real conversation that must be had is: do the economic benefits of fracking outweigh the health risks and long term environmental impacts? The answer is no. There is short term economic and energy related gains, but these are considered to be unsustainable. By abusing the environment for a short period of time through fracking, an expensive and destructive technology, companies are able to extract gas and oil from a depleted wellhead increasing profit for Big Fracking. When the fracturing fluid is injected into the shale formation, the fluid has to surface before the gas and oil can be extracted. For one well, this can be


Cited: "Fracking Will Deny Future Generations." Dominion Post. 12 March 2012. B4. NewspaperSource Plus. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. Goodell, Jeff. "The Fracking Bubble." Rolling Stone 1152 (2012):48. Master FILE Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. “How Does Hydraulic Fracturing Work?” Energyanswered.org. Project of Energy Tomorrow. American Petroleum Institute. 2012. Web. 26 March 2012. Mooney, Chris. "The Truth About Fracking." Scientific American 305.5 (2011): 80-85. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. Nelson, Joyce. "A "Big Fracking Problem": Natural Gas Industry 's "Fracking" Risks Causing Earthquakes." CCPA Monitor 17.8 (2011): 20-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Schmidt, Charles W. “Blind Rush?: Shale Gas Boom Proceeds amid Human Health Questions”. Environmental Health Perspectives. 119. 8 (2011). A348-A353. JSTOR. Web. 28 March 2012. Williamson, Kevin D. "The Truth About Fracking. (Cover Story)." National Review. 64.3 (2012): 26. Master FILE Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
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