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The Good, Bad and Ugly of Fracking

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The Good, Bad and Ugly of Fracking
The Good, Bad and Ugly of Fracking There is a gold rush going on right now. Man is breaking the earth, looking for natural gas. It’s a mad scene, with hucksters on every side of the issue. There is a lot going on underground and that process is called Fracking. The word alone can stir up controversy. The process of extracting natural gas through hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” might summon in someone’s imagination an environment and damaged communities. Natural gas hides from sight it is invisible. Perhaps envisioned a prettier picture—one that involves clean-burning fuel, job growth and affordable energy. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that fracking “is the process of injecting large volumes of water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to break up shale formation allowing more efficient recovery of oil and gas” (Walter). This practice has grown rapidly over the course of the last decade thanks to improved technologies, but it also has fostered debates concerning its environmental, health and safety impact along the way. The process of hydraulic fracturing – shooting water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure into underground wells to release natural gas – is a divisive issue. Some say it dumps chemicals into ground water supplies; others argue it causes earthquakes, and still others think it can revolutionize America’s energy industry. Environmentalists argue that fracking contaminates ground and surface water – a charge the gas companies deny. Here’s the problem: the fracking process begins with a well drilled deep underground. Horizontal passages are then drilled outward from the bottom of the well. Water, sand and chemicals are pumped at high pressure through the water is insignificant, and it has never been proven that those chemicals rise ground water supplies. On the other hand, environmentalists say the downward drilling process, if done poorly, releases chemicals into both ground and


Cited: "Fracking And Drinking Water Safety: Developing Natural Gas Through Hydraulic Fracturing." Congressional Digest 91.3 (2012): 65. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. Howarth, Robert W.Ingraffea, AnthonyEngelder, Terry. "Natural Gas: Should Fracking Stop?." Nature 477.7364 (2011): 271. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. Humes, Edward. "Factured Lives." sierra 97.4 (2012): 52. Masterfile premier. Web. 18 apr. 2013. McGraw, Seamus. "Is Fracking Safe? The Top 10 controversial claims About Natural Gas Drilling." Popular Mechanics. N.p., June 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. Walter, Laura. "What The Frack?." EHS Today 6.1 (2013): 31. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. Zuckerman, Mortimer B. "Natural Gas Can Remake Our Energy Future." U.S. News Digital Weekly 25 Nov. 2011: 22. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
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