What is fracking?: 

Fracking is a nick-name for hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing “is the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth” (what-is-fracking.com). This is basically being able to obtain natural gases from shale plays that were not reachable before. Shale plays are places where companies actively search for natural gases and oils to use. People are able to reach these gases and oils by drilling underground into the rock layer and pumping in water, mixed with sand and chemicals. The water is blasted into the deep rock at a high pressure, and by putting in the water mixture, the rock layer forms cracks that release the gases into wells. The gases released into wells give companies more gas/oil to use. Hydraulic fracturing has taken place in the United States in Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, among a few others. Internationally, fracking has taken place in Northern England.

Pros:

One major benefit is that fracking creates new passages to allow more gases and oils to flood out of the wells, many of which were unobtainable before. Other than faster flood of gases and oils, there are not many more pros to fracking.

Cons:

One con which I found interesting is that communities where the fracking is taking place are experiencing an increase in criminal activity, decreasing property values, and loss of tourism. Another major con is the use of potentially dangerous chemicals. Although companies are not saying which specific chemicals they are using, traces of carcinogens and endocrine disruptors have been found. These two chemicals are extremely harmful, for the fact that they can lead to cancer in many cases.

Environmental Impact:

Many people that are pro-environment are angry about the use of fracking and want to ban it, for it has such a negative impact on the environment. It is impacting the environment around where the drilling takes place because people that live nearby are becoming extremely sick from drinking contaminated water, caused by the fracking. Another impact it has is that it is contributing to the climate change due to the leakage of methane, which is a greenhouse gas. Environmentalists are also angry because fracking requires large quantities of water, which is the water that becomes contaminated and makes people sick. The process of fracking has lead researchers to believe that it is causing small tremors/earthquakes. One example of an earthquake caused by fracking is in Blackpool in 2011, where two earthquakes were recorded.

References: 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401

http://www.what-is-fracking.com/what-is-hydraulic-fracturing/

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/fracking/

http://earthjustice.org/features/campaigns/fracking-across-the-united-states