Fracking Endangers People's Health And The Environment

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, from oil and gas operations has damaged Pennsylvania’s water supplies 209 times between 2008 and 2014. Some in Bradford County, PA are drinking methane-filled water that can be lit on fire with one flick on a lighter. Why is fracking allowed if it endangers people’s health and the environment? One major reason is the positive impacts fracking has on the economy. Counties in Pennsylvania that have natural gas wells have performed better economically than those that don’t have wells. Between 2007 and 2011, the per-capita income in counties with more than 200 wells has increased by 19%. On the other hand, the counties with 20-200 wells have had a per-capita income increase of 14%, and counties with less than 20 wells have had a per-capita increase of
In counties with more than 200 wells, the number of jobs increased by 7%. In counties with no wells, the opposite happened: the number of jobs decreased by 3%. Pennsylvania has a bright future; by 2020, according to a study by Natural Resources Economics, more than 211,000 more fracking jobs will be supported by the Marcellus Shale. Fracking supports consumers as much as it supports the workers. Since almost 40% of shale oil production comes from the Marcellus Shale that is beneath Pennsylvania, the state is very responsible for energy consumers’ delight all over the country. Due to increased fracking, consumers’ gas bills have decreased $13 billion, giving consumers a greater disposable income and better financial security. While it is easy for anti-frackers to say that fracking should be banned, there is no doubt that fracking has numerous benefits. It is known that fracking threatens the environment and people’s well-being, but a popular discussion in shale-concentrated states like Pennsylvania is whether the cons offset the