Fracturing of America Even though Hydraulic Fracturing is changing our dependence on fossil fuels‚ it could very well be changing our most precious resource‚ our water supplies. The average fracturing site uses an estimated 70 to 140 billion gallons of water to fracture 35‚000 wells in the United States annually. This is approximately the yearly water consumption of 40 to 80 cities each with a population of 50‚000. This water is infused with chemicals that seep back into our groundwater and contaminate
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-- Hydraluic Fracturing Hydraulic fracturing‚ which is also known as fracking‚ is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to relase the natural gas inside. Many believe that fracking should be banned due to the cancerous chemicals that are injected into the shale rocks‚ which contaminates the water that we drink and runs into our homes. In the U.S.‚ there are more than 500‚000 active natural gas wells. Each of these wells
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Hydraulic Fracturing Part A: A Background on Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic Fracturing‚ otherwise know as fracking‚ is a relatively new development in natural gas extraction industry. Even though natural gas extraction has been around for decades‚ the process of mining for natural gas in dense shale was not economically feasible until now. As defined by what-is-fracking.com‚ “Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling for natural gas and oil underneath the ground‚” (1). In order
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Introduction: Hydraulic fracturing is the process in which a mixture of chemicals and water are used in combination to stimulate wells and expose minerals that previously would have been much too expensive to access using tradition methods. With the process comes some detrimental environmental consequences‚ like water contamination‚ due to the chemicals used in the liquid mixture. According to an Earthworks article‚ only 0.5 to 2.0% of the “frack fluid” volume content is made up of chemicals‚ which
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Course Project Week 2 ReyDel Veenstra Hydraulic Fracturing What is Hydraulic Fracturing: Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is a well stimulation process used to maximize the extraction of underground resources including oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing involves the pressurized injection of a mixture of water‚ chemicals‚ and sand in underground formations to allow natural gas and oil to flow more freely from rock pores to the surface. (Watershed Council p.1) A modification of this
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Shaniqua McIntosh April 15‚ 2013 Environmental Science Hydraulic Fracturing: The Problem Hydraulic Fracturing or fracking was first introduced in 1940s and has then been a key provider of natural gas and oil worldwide. Despite its expansion and customary use‚ fracking still poses many health and environmental concerns. During fracking‚ pressurized liquids are injected into drilled wells‚ which cause the surrounding rock to crack open allowing gas and oil flow through the fissures
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Hydraulic fracturing is one of the most common methods of extracting natural gas from the earth. Many companies‚ such as Exxon Mobil‚ claim that it is safe and that there are no negative impacts because of hydraulic fracturing. However‚ many scientists and environmentalists think otherwise. There is scientific proof that hydraulic fracturing contaminates drinking water‚ produces wastewater that contains toxins and radiation‚ and‚ in rare cases‚ causes earthquakes. It is clear that Hydraulic fracturing
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that water can be considered fresh enough for human consumption. With only three percent of the Earth’s water able to be consumed‚ it is imperative that the cleanliness of the water be sustained by all humans. Water pollution was such a growing issue in the US that the government established the Clean Water Act in 1948‚ and then revised in 1977. The Clean Water Act made it illegal for anyone to “discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters‚ unless a permit was obtained” (Environmental
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RISK OF EARTHQUAKES FROM HYDRAULIC FRACTURING IN THE UK – KEY STAKEHOLDERS PERCERPTION 1.0 Background On the 1st April 2011‚ a magnitude 2.3M earthquake was recorded near the town of Blackpool‚ UK and this was followed on the 27th May 2011 by a second seismic occurrence of measuring 1.5 on Richter scale. These two events occurred close to Preese Hall drilling site‚ where Caudrilla Resources was extracting gas from a shale deposit using a new method called Hydraulic Fracturing‚ often referred to as
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Hydraulic Fracturing Over the past few decades‚ the United States has become heavily reliant on using nonrenewable resources. The excessive uses of these resources‚ such as coal‚ are extremely harmful to the environment and can be considered responsible for global climate change and the destruction of a once healthy atmosphere. Some companies have claimed to find a “clean” source of energy called natural gas‚ found deep within the Earth’s crust. Commercials created by these companies state that
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