Summary: The Effects Of Fracking

Paragraph 1: Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a method designed to extract oil and gas from shale rock. According to Susan L. Brantley and Anna Meyendorff from the article, The Facts on Fracking, “The word fracking comes from the fracturing that occurs when the high-pressure water is injected into the rock. The process of fracking is accomplished by drilling into the earth where a mixture of high-pressure water is drilled into the rock causing the gas to be released.” The high-pressure water can have a mixture of materials such as water, sand, and different chemicals. The pressure of the water being injected is so high that it allows gas to burst out of the head of the well. The process can be achieved through two different ways, one being more common than another. One of the processes can be done vertically but the more common method is done horizontally. According to the New York Times, when the drilling is carried by horizontally, “New pathways can be used in the rock layer. Due to new pathways being created, more gas can be released,” (Marshall, 2015). Drillers can create mini-explosions in the wells to boost flow. How do mini-explosions not increase the probabilities of earthquakes? The horizontal drilling can allow millions of gallons of high-pressure water into the fractures of shale. Chemicals can be added to the high-pressure water for the purpose of dissolving minerals as well as inserting sand to open fractures made by the drillers and kill the

Paragraph 1: Hydraulic fracking is a hot topic across the state of Texas. There are debates whether fracking is the actual cause of the sudden earthquakes in Texas. Fracking is an intense process where natural gas is extracted deep from within the earth. Drillers from oil and gas companies use a horizontal drilling technique that is initiated as a vertical casing and then makes a 90 degree turn. This allows the well to follow the natural fractures of shale rock. A fracking fluid mixed of water, sand, and chemicals is injected with high-pressure down the well. The fluid produces several small cracks in the shale, creating a pathway for the gas to enter and flow out of the well casing. Each well can

Fracking is a relatively new way of retrieving oil and natural gases from shale rock and other natural resources that reside in the earth’s core, using air and water together. Thus far it has been proven to be a quicker alternative to oil well drilling compared to conventional drilling methods. Oil and gas companies are still learning about the side effects of this elaborate process day by day. Despite a few side effects that have been discovered within the process, fracking has been very efficient and beneficial. As stated in, “Pros and Cons of Fracking: 5 Key Issues”, “Fracking saves lives, and it saves them right now and not at some indiscernible date well into the future”. (http://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2015/05/pros-and-cons-of-fracking-5-key-issues/)

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, a potentially dangerous practice, is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside. Fracking involves pumping pressurized water, sand, and chemicals underground to open fissures and improve the flow of oil and gas to the surface. The process is used to improve productivity in gas reserves over the U.S., but it causes radioactive wastewater, radon exposure, smog, chemical contamination of drinking water, air pollution, and seismic activity in areas including a potential for danger from it in District 8: Navarro, Freestone, and the Hill Country that are designated as a “Priority Groundwater Management Area” and also semi-protected from fracking in Texas.

Oklahoma, the center of what your local meteorologist might call Tornado Alley experiences on average forty-seven twisters per year; however, surprising or not, tornados are no longer the leading climate related disturbance throughout the state. In fact, since 2008 it has become eighty percent more likely to experience an earthquake rather than a tornado in the sooner state. Hydraulic oil fracturing is the cause of all these relatively new reoccurring earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is pumping millions of gallons of wastewater deep into the earth’s crust in order to release and extract oil or gas. Oil corporations throughout Oklahoma and Texas use this method of extricating oil. Fifty years ago people believed that by the year

and horizontally requiring more land needed for this process. There is a risk that with shooting these chemicals, water and sand at high pressures to fracture these hard rocks could cause a geological disturbance either from the shifting of rocks or oil and natural gases being released. This can cause a shift in the land above and create dangerous sinkholes potentially injuring or killing a person. As well as sinkholes fracking also can cause more earthquake proneness. In one case an earthquake in Oklahoma caused by drilling was responsible for the destruction of 14 homes and also a much higher frequency of earth quakes in this region (9 Good Reasons to Ban Fracking Immediately). Fracking is only increasing destruction of property and roads and increase the chances for injury to

Fracking has become a highly controversial and publicized topic in recent years due to rising concerns into the potential benefits and consequences of using hydraulic fracturing to retrieve natural gas and oil reserves. With concerns over water pollution, mismanagement of toxic waste and irreversible environmental damage mounting, the practice of fracking has

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method in which a high pressured water, sand, and chemical mix is injected into a well in order to fracture rock leading to the releases of gas or oil to the surface, see Figure 1 for illustration. Fracking was invented in the 1940s but has only become economical in the past few decades due to advancements in technology. The top fracking regions in the

According to an article in The New York Times, hydraulic fracturing is best described as the technique used to drill down into the earth using a high pressure water mixture to fracture the rocks and extract the natural gas and oil. Approximately one million wells have been fracked since the 1940’s, most of these are vertical wells that drill into porous sandstone or limestone. New technology has allowed for horizontal drilling to capture gas from shale rock. Water, sand and other chemicals are injected into the rock at a high pressure to create the fractures that release the gas. The chemicals added to the water dissolve minerals, kill bacteria that may plug up the well and

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”

Hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, is the process of removing oil and natural gas from in between layers of shale and other low-permeability rocks. This is done by drilling both a well and a horizontal tunnel. Sand and chemicals are shot through the tunnel with incredible pressure, which cracks the shale allowing the oil and natural gas to travel up the well (Jackson, 2014). Fracking has caused a breadth of controversy due to the economic benefits and the geological consequences.

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).

The global crisis surrounding energy needs grows in severity as time goes by and in order to solve it, scientists have created the innovative solution known as hydraulic fracturing (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” is a process that injects water, chemicals, sand, and other materials into layers of shale. The injected mixture cracks the layers of shale, releasing trapped natural gasses that can be collected (Source 1). Fracking occurs deep under the surface of the earth, miles below the groundwater that is accessed from drinking-water wells. In the mid-2000s, “fuel prices were rising rapidly” (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing was a cheap solution that not only brought the world out of a state of emergency but made oil prices drop. The new method of gas collection grew the oil and gas industry, benefiting people all around the world. Fracking is a cheap, effective solution to global needs, but is under attack from skeptics who worry about environmental hazards. The claims against fracking not only have no real evidence but also risk destroying the jobs in the oil and gas industry as well as support for energy needs. Hydraulic fracturing is not only a cheap but a safe method that supports global needs surrounding both energy and jobs.

Oil and natural gas prices have dropped significantly. Gasoline is under three dollars again, and natural gas prices are falling too. Brookings.edu estimates that, “(Natural) Gas bills have dropped $13 billion per year from 2007 to 2013 as a result of increased fracking, which adds up to $200 per year for gas-consuming households.” Fracking appears to be benefiting most Americans, however, the few who live in close proximity to drill sites are singing a different tune. They have concerns about the long term effects on both the people and the environment. One such area of concern is that of the fracking fluid and what it is composed of. There’s believed to be over 600 chemicals in this fluid, and the exact makeup is a highly guarded secret, and only the companies themselves know the exact recipe. These chemicals serve several purposes like reducing friction, preventing corrosion, and reducing mineral buildup inside the pipes. A couple of the questionable ingredients include but, are not limited to, uranium, lead, mercury, radium, and formaldehyde. When below ground, if a well is inadequately cased or cemented, it can result in the migration of these aforementioned carcinogenic and radioactive chemicals into aquifers. It is now confirmed that these wastewater wells are causing earthquakes. It is suspected that the fracking fluid is lubricating fault lines. Up to now the majority of these quakes are around magnitude three, which

Although it may seem that the process of hydraulic fracturing causes earthquakes because it drills into the bedrock underground for access to natural oil and gases, it’s actually the byproduct of hydraulic fracturing, the injection of fracking fluid or wastewater, which factors into higher-magnitude earthquakes in the United States. Most earthquakes that occur due to the process of hydraulic fracturing are micro, meaning they have a magnitude of 3 or less, while earthquakes of higher magnitudes near fracturing sites are mostly caused by the high intensity pressure of fracking fluid in waste-water injection wells. According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), anywhere from “1.5 million gallons in North Dakota, to 5.7 million gallons in