Pros And Cons Of Fracking
William Fralin
Library research paper Fracking-pros and cons
Fracking has become a hotly debated issue across the United States.
Fracking industry leaders highlight the benefits of Fracking. Health officials are concerned with the lack of long term use of chemicals in Fracking. Environmental groups protest the lack of regulations and the effects Fracking will have on the environment. Fracking, or Hydraulic fracturing is the process of breaking up shale underneath the earth’s surface to extract natural gas supplies.
A series of holes are drilled and chemicals are pumped in to fracture the pockets of gas within the shale, releasing the gas to the surface. The U.S Energy Information Administration projects that …show more content…
hydraulic fracturing
Of shale formations will become a dominant source of domestic natural gas supply over the next several decades. The widespread availability of shale gas can drive down natural gas prices and reduce and possibly replace the use of coal for fuel.(Allen, 2014)” Hydraulic Fracturing makes it possible to produce oil and natural gas in places where conventional technologies are ineffective. Fracking has unlocked new supplies of oil and clean-burning natural gas from dense deposits of shale supplies that increase our country’s energy security and improve our ability to generate electricity, heat homes and power vehicles for generations to come.”(Kargbo, Wilhelm, & Campbell, 2010) Health officials claim, ”environmental exposures include outdoor air pollutants (ie, volatile organic compounds, tropospheric ozone, and diesel particulate matter) and pollutants (ie, benzene, hydrocarbons, endocrine-
Disrupting chemicals, and heavy metals) in both ground and surface water.(Kovats, 2014) Known occupational health hazards include, airborne silica exposure at the well pad. “ Toxicological data for the chemicals injected into wells (so-called frac fluid) indicate that many of them have known adverse effects on health, with no toxicological data available for some.”(Kargbo et al., 2010) Environmentalists claim, “even though it burns cleaner than coal and oil, natural gas still releases a large amount of carbon dioxide, which is believed to
Be a major contributor to global warming.(Pearce, Holmberg, Hellsten, & Nerlich, 2014) Congress exempted hydro-fracking, and its roughly thirty affiliated and
Component processes from key portions of federal environmental laws, leaving
Regulation largely to the States.(Kassotis, Tillitt, Davis, Hormann, & Nagel, 2014)
Because of this no one knows exactly what chemicals are being used which causes great concern among environmentalists. Recent interest in developing energy alternatives to oil, and advancements
In natural gas extraction technologies, have led to controversy over the proper way to regulate a drilling and production process called hydrofracking.
The potential harms from hydrofracking are serious, and some would be irreversible.
At the same time, the economic benefits to be derived from hydrofracking are substantial. Thus, public debate has focused on the value, safety, and wisdom of allowing hydrofracking, and has divided many communities along economic lines.(Kassotis et al., 2014)
References
Allen, D. T. (2014). Atmospheric emissions and air quality impacts from natural gas production and use. Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 5(1)
Kargbo, D. M., Wilhelm, R. G., & Campbell, D. J. (2010). Natural gas plays in the marcellus shale: Challenges and potential opportunities. Environmental Science & Technology, 44(15), 5679-5684. doi:10.1021/es903811p [doi]
Kassotis, C. D., Tillitt, D. E., Davis, J. W., Hormann, A. M., & Nagel, S. C. (2014). Estrogen and androgen receptor activities of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and surface and ground water in a drilling-dense region. Endocrinology, 155(3), 897-907. doi:10.1210/en.2013-1697
[doi]
Kovats, S. (2014). The health implications of fracking. Lancet (London, England), 383(9919), 757-758.
Pearce, W., Holmberg, K., Hellsten, I., & Nerlich, B. (2014). Climate change on twitter: Topics, communities and conversations about the 2013 IPCC working group 1 report. PloS One, 9(4), e94785. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094785 [doi]
Library research paper Fracking-pros and cons
Fracking has become a hotly debated issue across the United States.
Fracking industry leaders highlight the benefits of Fracking. Health officials are concerned with the lack of long term use of chemicals in Fracking. Environmental groups protest the lack of regulations and the effects Fracking will have on the environment. Fracking, or Hydraulic fracturing is the process of breaking up shale underneath the earth’s surface to extract natural gas supplies.
A series of holes are drilled and chemicals are pumped in to fracture the pockets of gas within the shale, releasing the gas to the surface. The U.S Energy Information Administration projects that …show more content…
hydraulic fracturing
Of shale formations will become a dominant source of domestic natural gas supply over the next several decades. The widespread availability of shale gas can drive down natural gas prices and reduce and possibly replace the use of coal for fuel.(Allen, 2014)” Hydraulic Fracturing makes it possible to produce oil and natural gas in places where conventional technologies are ineffective. Fracking has unlocked new supplies of oil and clean-burning natural gas from dense deposits of shale supplies that increase our country’s energy security and improve our ability to generate electricity, heat homes and power vehicles for generations to come.”(Kargbo, Wilhelm, & Campbell, 2010) Health officials claim, ”environmental exposures include outdoor air pollutants (ie, volatile organic compounds, tropospheric ozone, and diesel particulate matter) and pollutants (ie, benzene, hydrocarbons, endocrine-
Disrupting chemicals, and heavy metals) in both ground and surface water.(Kovats, 2014) Known occupational health hazards include, airborne silica exposure at the well pad. “ Toxicological data for the chemicals injected into wells (so-called frac fluid) indicate that many of them have known adverse effects on health, with no toxicological data available for some.”(Kargbo et al., 2010) Environmentalists claim, “even though it burns cleaner than coal and oil, natural gas still releases a large amount of carbon dioxide, which is believed to
Be a major contributor to global warming.(Pearce, Holmberg, Hellsten, & Nerlich, 2014) Congress exempted hydro-fracking, and its roughly thirty affiliated and
Component processes from key portions of federal environmental laws, leaving
Regulation largely to the States.(Kassotis, Tillitt, Davis, Hormann, & Nagel, 2014)
Because of this no one knows exactly what chemicals are being used which causes great concern among environmentalists. Recent interest in developing energy alternatives to oil, and advancements
In natural gas extraction technologies, have led to controversy over the proper way to regulate a drilling and production process called hydrofracking.
The potential harms from hydrofracking are serious, and some would be irreversible.
At the same time, the economic benefits to be derived from hydrofracking are substantial. Thus, public debate has focused on the value, safety, and wisdom of allowing hydrofracking, and has divided many communities along economic lines.(Kassotis et al., 2014)
References
Allen, D. T. (2014). Atmospheric emissions and air quality impacts from natural gas production and use. Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 5(1)
Kargbo, D. M., Wilhelm, R. G., & Campbell, D. J. (2010). Natural gas plays in the marcellus shale: Challenges and potential opportunities. Environmental Science & Technology, 44(15), 5679-5684. doi:10.1021/es903811p [doi]
Kassotis, C. D., Tillitt, D. E., Davis, J. W., Hormann, A. M., & Nagel, S. C. (2014). Estrogen and androgen receptor activities of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and surface and ground water in a drilling-dense region. Endocrinology, 155(3), 897-907. doi:10.1210/en.2013-1697
[doi]
Kovats, S. (2014). The health implications of fracking. Lancet (London, England), 383(9919), 757-758.
Pearce, W., Holmberg, K., Hellsten, I., & Nerlich, B. (2014). Climate change on twitter: Topics, communities and conversations about the 2013 IPCC working group 1 report. PloS One, 9(4), e94785. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094785 [doi]