The Advantages and Disadvantages of Fracking
This essay is related to the process of Fracking and its implications on the Karoo. It will provide a background on exactly what Fracking is and how the process is carried out and also how and to what extent the process will affect the Karoo. Knowledge gained from the environmental economics course will be used and various factors and arguments will be weighed and taken into consideration with the goal aimed at reaching an evidence based decision as to whether Fracking should or should not be allowed in the Karoo.
With the level of industrialisation the world faces today there is an ever increasing demand for oil, coal and other sources of energy to fuel a vast array of industrialist operations. It is evident however according to studies and forecasts that the world supply of energy sources such as oil, coal and other fossil fuels are diminishing at an ever increasing level. As these energy sources diminish the price level for these sources of energy increase making it more expensive to sustain certain levels of industrialisation. Through the realisation of the above problem there is a constant search for alternative energy sources (Bill McKibben, 2012)
The graph below shows the worlds demand for energy and what is currently being supplied by fossil fuels (in petawatt hours):
(BBC, 2012)
As the graph illustrates the current energy being supplied by fossil fuels cannot meet the global demand requirements. As a result, greater deposits of fossil fuels need to be found or alternative energy sources need to be discovered so that the world does not fall into an energy crisis (BBC, 2012).
Studies have shown that petroleum and certain natural gases are found beneath the earth’s surface in certain “reservoir rock formations” or “shale formations” (shales are defined as a certain type of sedimentary rocks) (geology.com, 2010). The gasses trapped beneath the earth can be classified into two categories namely shale gas and conventional gas. The reservoirs of
With the level of industrialisation the world faces today there is an ever increasing demand for oil, coal and other sources of energy to fuel a vast array of industrialist operations. It is evident however according to studies and forecasts that the world supply of energy sources such as oil, coal and other fossil fuels are diminishing at an ever increasing level. As these energy sources diminish the price level for these sources of energy increase making it more expensive to sustain certain levels of industrialisation. Through the realisation of the above problem there is a constant search for alternative energy sources (Bill McKibben, 2012)
The graph below shows the worlds demand for energy and what is currently being supplied by fossil fuels (in petawatt hours):
(BBC, 2012)
As the graph illustrates the current energy being supplied by fossil fuels cannot meet the global demand requirements. As a result, greater deposits of fossil fuels need to be found or alternative energy sources need to be discovered so that the world does not fall into an energy crisis (BBC, 2012).
Studies have shown that petroleum and certain natural gases are found beneath the earth’s surface in certain “reservoir rock formations” or “shale formations” (shales are defined as a certain type of sedimentary rocks) (geology.com, 2010). The gasses trapped beneath the earth can be classified into two categories namely shale gas and conventional gas. The reservoirs of