Katie Giron
Fracking or Hydraulic Fracturing is
drilling into the Earth two miles below the surface to collect methane gas.
Some implications of fracking are air pollution, water pollution, and the
potential for seismic activity. Fracking is the act of injecting a water
solution into a layer of shale rock methane pocket at a high pressure to
substitute water with methane, pushing methane to the surface into a
containment tank.
The machines
used to drill and the increase in traffic take an immense toll on the air quality
as the machines release carbon emissions. Carbon emissions trap heat inside the
earth's atmosphere, which in turn, affects all ecosystems. The use of methane
gas is used to provide as a source of energy like providing like gas to
motorized vehicles. A major outcome of fracking is Toxic Fluid, a
sand-water-chemical solution is produced to allow easier access into the
methane pocket. Toxic Fluid is a major concern for many environmental
organizations, as the energy industry disposes of this waste water in the
neighboring ecosystem because it is cheaper than properly disposing the
chemicals. Oil and drilling companies have found loopholes and are legally
allowed to withhold information about the chemicals used in their water
solutions, but there was a congressional investigation that found twenty-nine
chemicals linked to cancer .
Fracking
requires a lot of water and it is estimated from anywhere from 1.5-16 million
gallons of water. Because companies are trying to be as cost effective as
possible , companies get their water locally. This can cause an overbearing
problem and the water won’t be equally dispersed. What should they do with the
recycled water?
Along with water
pollution, another drawback of fracking is earthquakes. Earthquakes are
caused because of the high pressure water used to extract oil and gas in the
methane pockets in the shale layer of the earth. Fluid from condensate tanks
that is injected into old rock formations causes a build-up in pressure and
increases the likelihood of a fracking induced earthquakes.
Drilling for gas is
still new and experimental method, there hasn't been a lot of studies on them,
however with this in mind it has a potential to grow into a bigger industry.
With this more popularized idea of drilling for gas, it should be known that
the consequences are air/water pollution, man induced quakes and more. Is there
a better way to extract gas out of the ground?
23 comments:
Interesting topic. I always knew that fracking existed and was somewhat harmful to the environment but I didn't know the extent to where it affected both air and water quality. I think that we should decrease the amount of fracking we do and try to use other more renewable resources. Although we should decrease the amount of fracking, it provides the economy lots of money and people lots of jobs, so it is hard to balance social, economic, and environmental conditions that deal with fracking.
We learned about fracking in class, but we never learned all of its impacts on the environment and what those impacts specifically are. I also did not realize that fracking is still experimental and all those chemicals being used can have harmful effects beyond what we know about now. With such a demand for products, such as automobiles, that require methane, it would be difficult to stop fracking or even reduce it. However, there doesn’t seem to be another way to gather the needed materials that are in demand at such a high rate without damaging the environment just as much or even more than fracking does.
I remember touching on fracking in class when we were in the mining unit, but we did not go into depth as much as you did here. In my blog post, I talked about the harmful affects of mining and you also wrote about that too. People and companies have to make sure that they are following environmental guidelines when mining because it can cause a major effect on the organisms and habitats around them. If we decrease the amount of fracking going on, then the atmosphere would be much cleaner and safer for people.
Fracking is an issue that is not well known in the world. The act of mining has fallen off the spectrum of debate because it has become so common in the world, but there are many issues that can arise from it, with fracking being one of them. This blog does a good job in detailing the harmful effects fracking has on not only the physical environment, but the overall life around it.
I have never heard of fracking and its disadvantages to the environment before I took APES. Therefore, it was really interesting to see all the harmful effects that fracking causes on our environment. However fracking will be hard to get rid of completely because many people earn their living off of these companies. The solution for now would be to balance our monetary gain and environmental degradation until we figure out another solution.
This blog post is interesting because I remember a few years ago when fracking was a big controversy here in Flower Mound. This post does a really good job of outlining the harmful effects of fracking and how it can disrupt the environment. Overall, I think it’s important to make sure we balance fracking with environment conservation and not go overboard out of economic interest.
I just recently last year found out what fracking was. Not a lot of people know of fracking, but I’m glad its being talked about. I never thought mining would have such a negative impact on the environment, but we just need to find a balance.
I just recently last year found out what fracking was. Not a lot of people know of fracking, but I’m glad its being talked about. I never thought mining would have such a negative impact on the environment, but we just need to find a balance.
I learned a lot more about fracking after reading this blog. I knew about the negative pollution effects of fracking but didn’t realize the dispersion of water is affected. I also didn’t realize the fracking can lead to earthquakes. I really like how you were very descriptive for every process or situation you mentioned. For a environmentally-friendly alternative to fracking, I found that we could use a heat pump systeming. Although it’s just an idea we can research more alternatives if we are willing to conserve the environment.
Fracking is so environmentally harmful, and unfortunately it seems that people know this yet continue to do it. As a country, and hopefully even a world, I believe we should strive for the use of clean energy resources. For example, Texas may be abundant in oil, but it is also abundant in wind and sunlight. It’s almost as if the sun is begging us to use it for energy. Bringing awareness to the dangers of fracking more consistently could definitely help people change their minds.
This topic was very interesting! Fracking has a lot of negative impacts on the environment. It should be controlled and limited by the government. I didn’t know it had a huge impact on water. Fracking needs to be reduced in order for the environment to be safe.
This is very interesting! I think it’s important to understand the impact of fracking on the environment to make informed decisions. One reason why fracking is such a big problem is the demand for gas. By shifting to renewable energy, we can reduce the need for gas and therefore limit fracking.
I had always heard about how bad fracking was but I never quite understood why and what it was doing. This was a very interesting read and I learned a lot from it. If we shifted to a new kind of energy we could probably take away a lot of the negative effects of fracking.
Hydraulic fracturing hits close to home in the state of Texas because of it implications on moral and environmental standards. The reason why this issue hits so close to home for many Texas is because this type of oil harvest is happening in our own backyards, and causing earthquakes in regions where they have rarely been seen. Fracking is not only an environmental issue, but also a moral one, and something that needs to be explored further. Thank you for a thought provoking article.
It’s such a shame that the immensely negative impacts of fracking are very rarely talked about given the greatness of their extent. In my personal opinion, the problem doesn’t lie in how we extract natural gas, but our usage. Yes, fracking is horrible for the environment and everyone knows it too; even the companies paying for the fracking. Unfortunately, for them, the benefit (money) out weighs the cost (environmental damage). However, if the demand for natural gas is drastically decreased, it is only natural that the amount of fracking taking place would decrease as well. Of course, the problem with this is trying to actually lower consumption and demand for natural gas. Great post :)
Interesting that a practice with so many negative impacts still hasn’t been replaced with an alternative. Sadly, that is how the government functions. Even though there are many people who are trying to find new energy sources, they might not even implement them if it is too costly. Maybe if we brought more attention to this problem the media will call us out as a nation and that might lead to something. But it’s not like nothing is happening either, of course there are new electric cars but I feel this may not be enough as only developed nations and people who are fortunate have access to this car.
I like how Rachael tied in relevant information with the subject of fracking. Talking about how it ties into Flower Mound (or whatever your local area is) is a great way of actually keeping other people interested in serious topics. It's really sad how no one cares about major issues, especially with the environment, unless it applies to or affects them personally.
The issue of fracking affects us personally because a lot of fracking occurs in Texas. Issues, such as the toxic fluid you mentioned, are a very real problem that can become our reality. In addition for having negative environmental repercussions, fracking also uses an abundance of resources, making it unsustainable.
I love Madies comment because Rachael did bring good information. She brings in good facts that are relevant to Flower Mound. It is sad to see how people aren’t taking this problem seriously.
It is insane how much fracking can cause damage to this world. The main problem would be that so many people do not know of fracking and what it can destroy. If we managed to not use so much gas then possibly this damage can be decrease. This was a great post with lots of information!
Wow, this blog is very interesting because I didn’t really know what fracking was. I didn’t really know how dangerous it could be. I had know idea that fracking had required a lot of water, and that it could cause earthquakes. I think instead por fracking we should use clean renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy to help not pollute the environment. It is also more sustainable that fracking. This shows how we need to find an efficient alternative to fracking to put an end to destroying the environment.
I had no idea what fracking even was before this article, so thanks for teaching me something new. On that note, it seems that fracking is one of those things we should pay extra close attention too in regards to fixing our environment because not only does it disturb the quality of air and water but it is also means of extracting fossil fuels that are being used at a rate faster than they can be replenished at. The way I see it, fracking is a lose lose situation for the world but it will take greater efforts for companies to acknowledge its danger.
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