Fracking

Dear editor of the local paper, As the mayor of the town, I find fracking to be a beneficial factor to us. Even though fracking isn’t a completely safe way to obtain natural gas, I believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Because our town is small, it is important to come up with ways to make our community expand and develop. By fracking, we’ll be able to create more jobs and increase the employment rates. Research had shown that in Watford City in Western North Dakota the employment rates had increased and also grew exponentially. In Watford City, Mayor Brent Stanford has stated that he is for fracking. According to National geographic, Power Fuels, a Watford City company that focuses on transporting oil and other fluids had increased from having only 50 staffs to having 1,200 staffs in four different towns. Not only that, roads were being repaired and improved, new businesses are opened, elementary schools expanded and hospitals being built. In 2007, in North Dakota 15,500 workers were employed by private companies. In 2012, over 21,000 workers were employed and it’s expected to rise. I believe a small town like ours will grow and expand where unemployment rates will decrease and home values will increase. Local tax returns will help schools and other social programs upgrade. Fracking also helps economically to save up money. According to Texstar Oil, Pennsylvania went from $176 million to over $426 million in the past 5 years from 2006-2011. North Dakota received over $1 billion in oil tax returns with a budget of $4.1 billion in 2011-2012. By us allowing fracking, we’ll be able to save up a lot of money from drilling up our natural gases instead of buying foreign oil. President Barack Obama is also for fracking. According to Forbes, President Obama had said that nearly everyone’s energy bill had lowered because of it and the amount of renewable energy generated from sources like wind and solar had increased. Most importantly United States’ import of petroleum, a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons in rock strata had lessened because the percentage in gasoline consumption had dropped 12%. Also thanks to fracking, there are a lot more natural gas now to replace coal which lessened the dangerous carbon pollution and the coal in power plants which are the biggest greenhouse gas emitters. In the NY Times, Mayor Bloomberg had said stated that as long as fracking for natural gas is done responsibly it can be good for our environment, economy and wallet. I agree with that because fracking is a tactic that can easily benefit a small town like ours if it’s done with care. In the long run I think fracking is worth it, there will be more jobs for people, more money saved, and a better environment.