When it comes to obtaining fossil fuels such as oil and gas from deep underground levels; there are a few methods that are being used. One of the most controversial extraction process is the Hydraulic Fracturing, also known as Fracking.This process consists of drilling and injecting fluids (water and other minor additives) into the ground at high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release the natural gas inside [1]. Personally, I believe that this method is not as harmful as some people portraits its, as long as companies follow the correct process and keep all of the equipment necessary under a rigorous inspection and maintenance. But, I will be presenting the Pros and Cons that I gathered from different sources so you can decide whether or not this method is good or bad for the environment:
Lets begin with the Pros
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Jacob Wheeler from The Center for Michigan [2] wrote that “ there are enough fossil fuels ‘locked’ in bedrock shale formations under North American soil to make the United States energy independent” and “less dependent economically and politically on unstable countries such as Venezuela and the Middle East”
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On the same article Wheeler also mentions that “using natural gas to heat our homes and power our cars releases far fewer carbon emissions than coal” [2]
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Even though one of the main arguments against fracking is water pollution; “a significant portion of the water used is recovered and reused for subsequent fracking operations” [3]
Thank to hydraulic fracturing , it is no longer necessary to drill multiple wells in order to obtain natural gasses. Fracking allows to get access to multiply reservoirs of gasses through horizontal drilling. By doing this , only one portion of the natural environment will get affected instead of a larger portion that will get affected if multiple wells get placed. A clear example of this difference can be seen in the picture below:
Reducing-Surface-Footprint-With-Horizontal-Drilling.jpg
Now, we can go ahead and discuss the Cons
1) As you already know the main element that is involved during each fracking process is water; therefore we are going to cover some concerning points that involve water .
- The first point related to where is the water coming from? Wheeler, mentions on his article that “as many as 35 million gallons of freshwater are removed from nearby aquifers per frack in the process”[2] If this continues to happen and the “energy company Encana’s push for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to allow multiple drilling wells from the same site, could exponentially deplete the local water supply” [2]
- “In the case fracking, the basic mixture of water and sand has a number of minor additives: a biocide (to prevent microbial growth) at about 0.01% and about 0.1% each of a surfactant, a polymeric lubricant and a stabiliser”[3]It is believes that; in some situations that “methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from the system and contaminate ground water”[1] .“There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas of gas drilling as well as cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water.”[1]
2. Another aspect has been brought up against fracking is that this process causes earthquakes. However,it has been proven that even though fracking does result in very small earth tremors; they are not strong enough to be considered an earthquake.[3]
As you can see the main concern towards this process is water contamination; but if this process is regularly monitored and all the equipment is properly used then water contamination will no longer be an issue and we will have more pro’s than con’s regarding this drilling and extraction method.
Sources
[1] http://www.dangersoffracking.com
[2] http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/05/fracking_a_divisive_practices.html
[3] http://scientific-alliance.org/scientific-alliance-newsletter/pros-and-cons-fracking
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