Fracking

Maher Aljahdali

ENVS1170

Fracking

Fall 2020
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Hydraulic fracking is a growing business industry in the USA. That made the US increase oil

production from five million barrels to thirteen million, offering more than four million jobs.

Fracking started in the USA in 1860 in Pennsylvania and other states. The cost of fracking a well

is around 3 to 5 million. Now the US is the first oil producer globally. The most significant states

are Colorado and Wyoming, followed by Louisiana and Texas.

Hydraulic fracturing is a way to produce oil from the earth where they drill deep down to earth to

break rock formation to get the oil. The process is expensive, which mostly depends on the oil

price. If the oil price is high, that encourages the industry to do more as of now, and covid 19

dropped the oil price down, many investors stop investing.

Fracturing involves water, chemicals, and sand to break the rocks to release the gas inside them.

When the gas comes up, the chemicals and contaminated water come up as well. Fracking

concerns people about the use of water and chemicals. The operation takes millions of waters to

complete, and chemicals may contaminate groundwater and air pollution.

According to USGS, the use of water in operation is massive, where each process in a single well

may take up to 16 million gallons of water. This water cannot be fully back to normal with

recycling the chemical will still be in the water. As the water gets contaminated, the air will
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produce a tremendous amount of pollution to the environment. The greater risk of this pollution

is the workers who work in these industries and the people who live nearby.

The air may expose them to cancer and many diseases, including congenital disabilities. These

industries mostly operate in the countryside where these industries involve heavy equipment and

machine cars trucks. One study found that half of the animal moves away when the operation

occurs; half of the trees had died within two years. The industry has an exemption from multiple

laws, such as the safe drinking water act. They don't share any information about any chemical

they use due to the secret deal protection. EPA releases a report on water contamination, and a

federal regulator link the contamination of the aquifer water to the fracking industries

In Pennsylvania, a resident of Bradford County made a fire from his private well because the gas

has seeped into the well. People rely on their private well in the countryside (Denchak, 2019).

Another concern to the method is the explosions involve in the formation of rocks that may make

geologic faults increase earthquakes. Researchers at USGS have linked earthquakes in many

states to fracking. The impact may happen miles away from the operation. It might affect the

earth with more earthquakes even after many years after the process stops. According to

Ellsworth, between 1967 and 2000, the earthquake percentage in east Rocky Mountain was 21

percent after the peak in the fracking in 2012 earthquake in the same area has significantly

increased to 100 percent (Kuchment,2016).

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Politically fracking involves both party participation. None of them would be able to make rules

against or with fracking cause most land owned by these companies is private, and congress is

the concern. Anyway, in PA, fracking industries give Biden 0 dollars.

In Colorado, a fracking operation could take place just 500 feet away from your home.

According to Malin, it could be a daily vibration from the drilling, and the air's bad quality

exposes people to mental illness. People who live nearby are exposed to daily stressful life

quality and crowded streets full of trucks and noise that increase their stress (Malin,2020)

In the end, fracking is an expensive operation that needs the oil price to be high, and it exposes

the air and the environment, including water, to significant risk. Are all fracking safe enough?
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Sources

https://theconversation.com/fracking-takes-a-toll-on-mental-health-as-drilling-and-truck-traffic-

rattle-neighborhoods-146528

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drilling-for-earthquakes/

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37578189

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/20/pennsylvania-poll-biden-climate-373005

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/fracking/