Category: Uncategorized

 

What is Fracking?

Fracking is a new technique that is used to recover gas and oil from shale rock. It is done by drilling deep down and then using a high-pressure water, sand and chemical mixture to break the shale rock and release the gas inside.

What are the advantages?

The main advantage of Fracking is that it allows firms to reach oil and gas that was not reachable before. Fracking has greatly reduced the cost of oil and because of that the gas prices all across America have dropped dramatically which is great for the American people.

What are the disadvantages?

Fracking is dangerous forof a number of reasons. First, fracking releases damaging chemicals which is concerning because these chemicals can find their way into the large groundwater supply. Second, fracking uses an unbelievable amount of water, and transporting this water is very expensive. Third, fracking has been associated with causing small earthquakes. These reason have all contributed to the great amount of concern with Fracking. As a result, environmental agencies have been doing everything in their power to slow down the growth of the industry and will continue to do so for as long as they can.

Sources:

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

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

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/fracking-firms-face-hard-times

http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/class2/hydraulicfracturing/wells_hydrowhat.cfm

https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/fossil-power/fracking-a-look-back

 

The US energy grid is a network that delivers energy to homes across America. It generates $400 billion of electricity a year, consists of 3,200 utilites and uses 450,000 miles of high –voltage transmission lines to carry electricity from power stations to homes. Currently there are 4 existing lines 245-499 kV, 500-699 kV, 700-799 kV and 1000 kV (DC) and the grid is divided into three major sections which are Eastern, Western and Texas (ERCOT).

Today, hackers are a major challenges faced by the energy grid. In 2014, there were 79 separate attacks alone. Although the hackers rarely damage or disrupt the machines, the fact that their malware has been found in software is worrying because it gives hackers the ability to enter in destructive code that could be damaging in the future.

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-08-22/homegrown-green-energy-is-making-power-utilities-irrelevant

http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/power_grid.cfm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_grid

 

 

 

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