Is Fracking A Natural Gas?

After decades of trial and error, in 2001 George Mitchell, Chairman and CEO of Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., cracked the code on what is today considered to be the new gold rush of the energy industry. By successfully commercializing hydraulic fracturing in the Barnett shale deposit, Mitchell ushered in a new opportunity for the United States to emerge as the largest natural gas producer in the world. Higher production of shale gas has reduced energy prices over the last five years and has increased U.S. energy self-sufficiency. Since it is viewed

Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing, a type of drilling used by oil companies to tap the valuable oil veins located miles below the earth’s surface. Fracking has been the subject of discussion for some time now, not necessarily for its effectiveness, but for its effect on the environment. Fracking has been known to release methane gas into the atmosphere; methane gas is a greenhouse gas and along with gasses like CO2 is one of the gasses that contributes to the warming of the planet. In Louis W. Allstadt’s article “Fracking Contributes to Global Warming” he states that, “methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas in the short term-less

Fracking does have economic gains, but, it also has environmental down sides. Fracking provides hundreds of jobs for Americans and increases revenue for the economy. In North Dakota the unemployment rate was down to 2.6 in 2013. That’s all good but at what cost to the environment that these new workers live in. when the fracking process is at the actual stage of creating cracks toxic chemicals including methane leach into nearby groundwater and soil. 50%-60% of the toxic fracking fluid is left in the ground; this poisonous fluid that is left is not biodegradable. Then the waste leftovers are “left in open air pits to evaporate, and release harmful VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) into the atmosphere, creating contaminated air, acid rain, and ground level ozone.” ( bib 5) (bib 4,

I do not support hydraulic fracking because of all the negative factors that contribute to the operation. After reading and doing research, I found that there were a lot of unknown answers in the process of fracking and it made me concerned. Although the process is said to lower the price of gas and collect more gas, fracking seems to have more cons than pros. The process does not seem like it was investigated and shows little to no research background observations. Similarly to coal, the process of fracking seems unsafe and does not seem like it will be a good idea in the long run. As a matter of fact, extracting natural gas could possibly have similar environmental impacts as coal does if the process continues. Also, the process of fracking does not have a lot of evidence that it will work nor has it been tested thoroughly. Fracking can cause contamination to groundwater, air pollution, release of hazardous chemicals, huge amounts of water intake, and many other consequences.

In every other category, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and overall particles it's cleaner. Another plus is oil and coal both release mercury but natural gas does not. Smog and overall air quality is an increasing issue especially in large cities such as columbus. Smog is apart of the ground level of the ozone. It's a chemical reaction of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, other harmful organic compounds, and heat from sunlight. However unlike coal Natural gas has a low carbon monoxide and unlike oil it has a low nitrogen oxide level, As a result of this it contributes little to smog and can be even used to combat smog in metropolitan areas. Acid is another pressing environmental issue. Acid rain is formed when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water vapor and other chemicals in the presence of sunlight to form various acidic compounds in the air. Natural gas emits virtually no sulfur dioxide so it has almost no threat of acid rain. However, fracking wells release methane gas. This is a problem because if the methane gas isn’t burned of is is 25 times stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Another pro and a con is cost. The process of hydraulic fracking is not cost efficient. This is part of the reason why natural gas is more expensive. However, the fracking industry creates jobs for ohio and the usa as a whole. So far 340,000

What is fracking? Fracking is a way of recovering natural gas deep from within the earth. It has been used for many years but recently has increased in use because most of the other sources of recovering natural gas have been exhausted.Fracking is an easy way of getting the natural gases but it does cause some problems in the process. The fluid used when fracking can contaminate the drinking water and many nearby residents can never really be prepared if something dangerous happens.

Fracking is a practice done by natural gas companies to obtain gas. The explanation of fracking in Hydraulic Fracturing: A Critical Physical Geography Review, is summarized as “Shale gas development combines two long-established but rapidly advancing technologies: hydraulic fracturing, in which millions of gallons of water treated with chemical additives and sand are injected into subsurface formations at high pressure to break up the rock so that trapped oil and gas can flow, and horizontal drilling, in which the well bore can be pivoted horizontally to follow the contours of oil and gas producing layers of rock. Together, these two technologies allow energy companies to exploit gas and oil formations that were previously uneconomical to tap, catalyzing both large upward revisions in oil and gas reserves estimates, and a dramatic shift in the geographical distribution of energy production in the US.” The controversial part of this process is where chemical additives and sand are injected into the ground, and because of this there are a very black white stance on the topic. Most of the rhetoric used is either pro or anti-fracking. The anti-fracking movement claims that this process is hurting the environment and contaminating water supplies around the United States. While the fracking movement sees it as a clean, new way to get natural gas from within the U.S. Like anything there is trade offs for doing it, on one side we needed natural gas to power the American people’s lifestyle and on the other we need to protect the environment because we do not yet know the effects of fracking. The narrative used on both sides are highly

In 1848, James Marshall discovered a single nugget of gold in the American River in California, setting off a massive migration west as hundreds sought to capitalize upon the Gold Rush. Today, a similar situation is playing out. In the late 2000s, new technology enabled workers to extract natural gas from previously inaccessible shale deposits through horizontal hydraulic fracturing. This “shale boom” has had companies racing to capitalize upon the potential of vast natural gas and promises of energy independence and cheap energy. Yet, as the miners during the Gold Rush found upon arriving to California, scientists today are finding that many of the initial claims are not as they seemed. Companies are recklessly continuing, prospecting for natural gas deposits. Hydraulic fracturing is a means of extracting natural gas from deep, previously inaccessible shale deposits. It involves injecting a fracking cocktail mixture of water, sand, and various other chemical fluids into the ground at very high pressures to literally fracture the ground, releasing natural gas that can then be collected. Natural gas is a finite fossil fuel, yet due to the recent fracking boom, many people in the United States have heralded it as the future of America’s energy, the way to energy security.

Development of infrastructure and market for natural gas, a product of hydraulic fracking, has blossomed in recent years. Interestingly though, hydraulic fracturing, a process that’s been around since the early 1900s, has recently become a topic of significant controversy, especially through the expansion of large reservoirs throughout the United States, including the Barnett Shale, the Marcellus, and the Bakken. However, the unsustainable nature of hydraulic fracking demands that US attention be focused on expanding renewable infrastructure and bolstering actual sustainable development; hydraulic fracking is an economic distraction fueled by big business, and the benefits are grossly temporary. Simply stated, investment and expansion of the natural gas industry in the United States is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. First, the paper will provide an outline of exactly why investment and development of hydraulic fracturing in the US is not sustainable. This will be accomplished by looking at the economics of natural gas fracturing, as well as the environmental effects and the public health impacts. Then further evaluation will provide insight on the practicality and necessity of national investment in renewable infrastructure to catalyze the nation into a global future.

As there started, the massive expansion of gas drilling, the potential troubling discoveries associated with its byproducts are increasingly alarming. For instance, the wastewater created by the process is radioactive. Claiming that the information is proprietary, drilling companies have still not come out fully transparent in disclosing what exactly are fracking fluids made of and still a lot of ambiguity in its compositions and their detrimental effects, remain. But the most vital of all controversies that remains is, fracking is simply distracting energy firms and governments from investing in renewable sources of energy, and encouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels. Thus, there remains a long list of heated controversies and discussions around fracking and its sustainability

The United States has become one of the largest producers of natural gas and most of the production is from shale plays. Solar, wind, biomass waste and geothermal and hydroelectric energy have long been recognized as renewable and sustainable energy resources; however, they only comprise 9% of our energy consumption; this is in comparison to the growing production of natural gas which accounts for 40% of industrial and 74% of residential energy consumption in 2012 (Chen et al. 1). With natural gas production on the rise, several studies have been made that raises questions about how safe hydraulic fracturing is to the land, water and air. Hydraulic fracturing (known as “fracking”) is viewed as

Fracking can extract a large amount of resources compared to other methods of exploitation that we used before. Since 2013, production of natural gases in the United States has been climbing rapidly, especially in shale gas. Shale gas has driven U.S production to a record level. In 2010, it is recorded that 1 million of barrels of oil per day are produced. But in 2013, the year with booming application of fracking, the generated barrels of oil per day were tripled, approximating 3 million daily. It could be deduced that more drilling rigs had been installed during the 3-year interval. However, the increase in the number of rigs was not enough in explaining the leap in production of resources. It was the new technique, fracking, that expanded the oil and gas industry in the US. In addition, fracking might be a temporary method to solve the problem of soaring demand for energy. Depletion of resources is posting a great concern for many countries, including the US. Massive U.S industry nowadays is having a huge demand of energy. By using the modern Fracking techniques, oil and gas producers are now able to exploit resources from hard-rock formations deeply under the ground, which they could not do previously. This solidify our hope that by using Fracking, the energy industry of the U.S is no longer suffer from the lack of

In the face of looming environmental concerns such as air pollution and waste disposal while searching for resources, fracking for natural gas has become a widely debated topic. Fracking for natural gas however, if done responsibly, can have potentially huge benefits that outweigh any cost. There are a few major reasons that natural gas fracking Companies that resort to fracking for natural gas are under immense pressure to disclose their methods, and in accordance to the law, they yield that information willingly. Companies also are required to frack in accordance to water boundaries, or in locations that cant harm water supplies essential to certain areas such as towns or habitats. Natural gas fracking also has 3 interlinked benefits: social improvement, positive economic improvement, and even an environmental benefit, relating to how natural gas is reusable and has reduced emissions. Alternative energy sources are needed in todays times where oil and coal aid in the damage of our atmosphere, and natural gas fracking can help with that wish.

In 2011, a report released by the International Energy Agency claims the world is entering the “Golden Age of Gas.” The report shows that, with the increasing projects of fracking, gas use will escalate 50 percent and replace coal to become the second largest fuel by the year of 2035 (IEA). Correspondingly, one study illustrates the increased practice of fracking has brought $ 74 billion economic gain per year since 2007 (Dews). Also, one oil company claims that more than 200,000 jobs were created by fracking related operations. These statements point out the operation of fracking can bring robust economic benefits to the society. However, these statements only focus on the bright side of fracking. They did not indicate how fracking will affect the environment. Since 2010, fracking has raised many concerns about environmental impacts, including water contaminations, earth tremors, and air pollutions. Also, anti-fracking activists highlight the lacking of operational information and data of fracking companies makes tremendous toxic substances flow into the earth. They believe government should enforce more transparencies and regulations on fracking companies. Despite of economic benefits, due to its immense environmental impacts, people should stop practicing fracking until scientific researchers ensure its safety.

Countries around the world seek energy independence as most have become reliant on fossil fuels to power their cities and means of transportation – thus their economies. We live in a world of uncertainty, and geopolitical affairs can influence the trends and prices of energy resources – of which include coal, oil, and natural gas. With countries heavily contingent on oil imports from unstable provinces of the Middle East, the gas companies of the United States began to utilize fracking to extract natural gas and oil in order to better control their own destiny, and to create a sense of energy freedom for and employ locals.