Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process in which millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals are pumped under ground to break apart the rock and release oil and natural gas. Wells in the ground are drilled vertically hundreds to thousands of feet below the land surface and may include horizontal or directional sections extending thousands of feet. Fracking has created over 35,000 wells in the U.S. Most of us live our lives unknowingly about the processes that help us achieve simple tasks everyday that we usually never think twice about.
The benefits of the Hydraulic Fracturing process is that it provides energy to building local economies. It provides oil and gas to places where conventional technologies are ineffective. It increases our countries energy security, and also improves our ability to generate electricity to heat our homes. Hydraulic fracturing has helped local economies by generating royalty payments to property owners, providing tax
revenues to the government, and creating high paying jobs like construction, hospitality, equipment manufacturing, engineering and surveying, and environmental permitting, just to name a few.
There are some negative effects of fracturing including
-Scientists are worried that the chemicals used in fracturing may pose a threat either underground or when waste fluids are sometimes spilled on the surface of the earth.
-Stress on surfaces water and ground water supplies due to the withdrawals of large amounts of water used in the drilling process.
-Contamination of underground sources of drinking water and surface water due to spills or faulty well construction.
-Harmful impacts from discharges into surface waters or disposal into underground wells.
-Air pollution containing hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Natural gas plays a very important role in our nations clean energy future. This is why we use the drilling hydraulic fracturing process to enable greater access to gas in the deep layers of the earth. The positive side is that the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) ensures that the natural gas extraction does not come at expenses of public health and the environment. They are trying to do whatever possible to protect the air, water and land where Americans live.
references:
http://www.energyfromshale.org/hydraulic-fracturing
http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national