Fracking Research Paper

Fracking is a mining approach in which a well in drilled thousands of feet deep into the Earth for the express purpose of gathering oil and gas from fuel reserves deep within its crust. Essentially, drill teams pierce through the planets sediment layers, water table and shale rock formations before placing a casing of cement as a sort of access valve to the raw fuel. This casing also acts as a channel for colossal amounts of water, sand and 50,000 gallons of fracking fluid used to extract the fuel from its location in the Earth. Fracking fluid, an unregulated chemical cocktail consisting of Naphthenic Acidethoxylate or Poly (Oxy-`1,2-Ethanediyl), Alpha-(4-Nonylphenyl)- Omega-Hydroxy-, Branched and other undisclosed chemicals, is maybe the most controversial element of the fracking process. When these fluids are dispensed into a well, a plethora of chemical reactions occur allowing oil and gas to be separated from shale in the earth and collected in its raw forms, before being transported to facilities for refining. In many instances, explosives such as TNT are set off before these solutions are poured as a means of rupturing and clearing bedrock.

Hydrofracking is a procedure of profound mining where a lot of water, sand, consolidated chemicals are pumped under high weight into penetrated gas well to frame little breaks in the stone by utilizing water drive to open a long small existing cracks. The water is evacuated, sand stays behind propping open the recently made cracks and enabling gas to stream all the more unreservedly into the well. Distinctive state governments are attempting their best to accomplish eco-accommodating hydro fracking. The significant issues raised about hydro fracking incorporates

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of drilling deep underground to collect hydrocarbons. Although you don’t even have to drill straight down. It can go out horizontally, like the spokes on a bicycle wheel. There can be up to fifteen of these “bicycle spokes” each time. This allows even more hydrocarbons to be collected. Even though fracking is a good way to collect oil and natural gas, there are many components that are harmful to the environment. One of these is the harm that fracking is doing to the water. When the mixture of water, sand, and added chemicals is injected into the steel pipe, only 15%-50% of it is recovered and brought back to the surface. The rest of the water stays underground and is

Going through the Shapiro Library on SNHU Wedsite, I found a few great articlesabout the drilling going on in North Carolina called Fracking. The first article that I foundis titled, “ Fracking Fight Advances in North Carolina” by Sarah Ferris. The secondresource I found that had a lot of great information and facts is titled, “ North Carolinawants in on Fracking Game” by Reid Wilson. I found these two articles very interestingbecause they both are telling the pros and cons of fracking and what the government’splan is with the drilling.The article written by Sarah Ferris, titled “Fracking Fight advances in NorthCarolina” stated the concern of what drilling in North Carolina will do to the surroundingenvironment. Ferris stated,” The backlash

During the mid 2000s hydraulic fracking was starting to grow because ‘It was a good way to meet energy needs.”(source 5). Hydraulic fracking has been said to release chemicals and pollute drinking water.

Fracking is a technique designed to get gas and oil out of shale rock in the earth. Natural gas has been used for light and heat for more than 100 years, natural gas is considered one of the cleanest fossil fuel but since it is a fossil fuel it is also a finite resource. Natural gas industry developed a new drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing also known as fracking . fracking is a means of extracting natural gases from shale. Tons of chemicals some toxic are mixed with large amounts of water and sand and pumped up to 8,000 feet under ground. The pressure fractures the shale and allows the gas to freely move.

The benefits of hydraulic fracking are: carbon dioxide emission has gone down and natural gas could replace coal as the main source of energy. This could help the environment by lowering the greenhouse gases that impact climate change. Another benefit is the fact that these companies are using natural gas from the United States and do not have to rely on foreign countries for energy sources, which provides jobs for people in Texas. The fracking industry has brought many jobs to the state of Texas, which is good for the people as well as the economy. Although the benefits may sound good, there are many consequences that are seen as worse than any benefit. Hydraulic fracking can cause many toxic

the positive greatly. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is the process of drilling into

The actual technique involves “pumping a slurry of water, sand and chemicals underground to fracture shale formations and release hydrocarbons” ("Fracking", 2013, p. 276). Modern procedures use a high degree of manipulation in order to extract the natural gas. The natural gas from fracking is dispersed in rock, and can only be retrieved by using specialized removal techniques (Palliser, 2012). These specialized techniques have many unintended consequences. For instance, the current method of fracking may cause the issue of flowback. Flowback occurs when the internal pressure of the rock formation causes the injected watery, chemical mixture to return to the surface with other naturally occurring substances (Palliser, 2012). This flowback is often injected back underground or can be processed by wastewater treatment plants, where it is later discharged as surface water (Palliser, 2012). Indisputably, the disposal and generation of flowback is one of the main concerns regarding hydraulic fracking. The wastewater developed from fracking procedures is often inappropriately handled and is sometimes sprayed onto rural roads and forests (Finkel & Hays, 2013). As a result, the surface water may come in contact with living organisms and can cause a plethora of issues. For fracking opponents, their driving force is the ill effects of fracking on the environment and overall health. Similarly, the possibility of drinking or coming in contact with chemically laden byproducts

Human health and environmental integrity are both at risk from fracking. However, it allows America to be self-sufficient in an energy driven world. In the end, the debate comes down to whether or not the risks outweigh the benefits. In his interview, Josh Fox brings up firsthand accounts of what fracking does to humans, animals, and the environment. Fox tells the story of Debbie May, a land owner who allowed oil companies to frack on her land. May owns serval cats and a horse, all of whom started losing hair and weight since the fracking started (Fox). This is on top of the fact that in several homeowners in various areas found that their water would light on fire after fracking started (Fox). Lastly, in Colorado, benzene is found in

Fracking is a technique used to collect gas and oil from shale rock, however, groundwater and rivers are contaminated in the process. Fracking being one of the leading techniques, several companies use this method such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP to obtain oil as well as gas, “Hydraulic fracturing is used for oil and/or gas production in all 33 U.S. States where oil and natural gas production takes place. According to industry estimates, hydraulic fracturing has been applied to more than 1 million wells nationwide” (“Hydraulic Fracturing Overview: Growth of the Process and Safe Drinking Water Concerns”). That being said, such companies have thousands of locations around the United States, which contaminates water all around the country. Fracking refers to the process of injecting the ground with a high-pressure mixture of water directed to shale rock to break it, causing the gas to flow out of the well, often times done in a horizontal manner.

Throughout the whole drilling process, many chemicals, and wastes release to the air. Among these chemicals, the process emits a huge amount of methane which is a very big contributor to global warming. The possibility of water contamination in fracking areas is also very immense because of the high tendency of wastes to seep back in to water supply. Rachel Richardson, a co-author of the paper from Environment America, told ThinkProgress, “For the past decade, fracking has been a nightmare for our drinking water, our open spaces, and our climate”. Researches have also revealed, as a result of the application of huge pressure in to the rocks, fracking triggers earthquake. As per MSNBC report “new study links Oklahoma earthquakes to fracking”

The most obvious economic benefit of fracking is that it allows the U.S. to collect natural gas and oil from our own land, meaning that we do not have to import as much from other countries (Jackson, 2014). Reducing the amount of natural gas and oil

With the age of constant industrial and technological growth has come the necessity for not only cost effective and efficient methods for industry, but also the need for obtaining fuel for the machines that make the modern world possible. Oil has become as precious a commodity as gold, if not more so; its attainments constantly driving the world's largest businesses and governments across the world into action. Naturally, a "quick-fix" solution to this problem is constantly sought after by oil companies wishing to provide oil on a massive scale. One of these drilling methods is known as induced hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking).

While vertical wells do yield gas, they are mainly used as a base to connect several horizontal wells, which is where the money lies in the industry. After drilling, about “2 million to 10 million gallons of water [is used] to extract the gas” (Marsa 3-4). However, high pressured water alone will not break away the shale rock, therefore sand is added to enable further fracturing. The controversial issue fueling the debate is the third substances added to the water which allow the natural gas to escape for collection. “A cocktail of friction-reducing lubricants [are used] to make the water slick enough to slide through the pipes swiftly” (Marsa 4). A geochemist by the name of Tracy Bank conducted a study at SUNY Buffalo which concluded that the lubricant contained an abundance of toxic metals, “including uranium, barium, chromium, zinc and arsenic” (Marsa 2). This is just a short list of the negative compounds used in fracking. It is likely that the public will never get the full story as to the composition of the lubricants, as major fracking companies refuse to release that information, “claiming that doing so would reveal trade secrets” (Rahman 1). So where do these contaminants end up? After reaching the surface, the waste is emptied into tanks for storage. However, sometimes ponds are also used to hold the pollutants, therefore releasing the harmful toxins into runoffs. Once the gas has