...Hydraulic fracturing -- otherwise known as fracking -- is a process which allows us to retrieve oil and natural gas from shale. The process consists of a mixture of water and sand -- with the addition of a few chemicals to help carry the sand, keep bacteria from forming, and for lubrication -- being pumped down the wellbore and into the deep underground reservoir formations. The wellbore is the hole drilled beforehand, implemented with steel casing vertically and horizontally, creating the well. Before the trucks are able to pump the mixture down the casing, a perforating gun -- with shaped explosive charges -- would be sent to the end of the casing -- where the target shale is at -- and set off; creating holes which connect the wellbore to the reservoir....
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...Fracking Fracking is a process used by drilling companies to release gas or recover oil found under the ground below the shale rock. The process involves drilling horizontally into the ground using a high pressure mixture of water, sand, and chemicals. The goal of the drilling is to release the gas or oil located in pockets under the ground. This process is known as fracking because the drilling process causes the rocks under the ground to fracture. Fracking is the current method used to release gas and oil from under the ground but the process creates many concerns due to its danger to human life and the environment. The use of fracking to release natural gas from the earth has created major concern. Currently the gas and oil industry are on a hunt for natural gas and oil...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...Fracking is a growing contentious, political issue in the United States, but what is fracking? Hydraulic fracturing, or more commonly know by it’s infamous nickname fracking, is a process used for finding oil and natural gases. While advocates of this technique find it to be beneficial to society; however, many critics believe there are many repercussions because of this issue. Fracking has numerous causes, and if it is not solved, the effects could be drastic. Fracking starts by a well being drilled, vertically and horizontally, into the ground around one to two miles or more in order to obtain natural gases and oil (Lallanilla). Then, the well is drilled and is covered in steel or cement. After being drilled and covered, a water mixture is...
Words: 1285 - Pages: 6
...What is hydraulic fracturing, or more commonly known as “fracking?” Like many new technologies or those that have improved throughout the years, there will always be those that question its effectiveness. This technology has continued to improve over the years. An account or description of what fracking does is a process in which water, chemicals, and sand are pumped in to a well injection in order to receive the Earth’s natural gasses. Hydraulic fracturing has its negative and its positive, as well as many different perspectives such as social, health, environmental and economic issues. Although arguable, the process of which hydraulic fracturing takes place is an effective one. As mentioned, chemicals which are unknown to the public, mixed...
Words: 1936 - Pages: 8
...CEOs and publicists of oil and gas corporations declare fracking as a minimal risk procedure; however, many inhabitants residing in fracking sites have voiced various detrimental by-products produced from the fracking process. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has elicited substantial concerns in health, water availability, water contamination, air pollution, land pollution, and in causing earthquakes. Still, with dated federal regulations, oil and gas companies have meticulously maneuvered fracking procedures by releasing insufficient data to the public; and, appealing to them, and the government, with the possible benefits of generating jobs, economic stimulus, and energy independence. Thus, oil and gas companies blur the harmful impact of fracking with economic incentives....
Words: 505 - Pages: 3
...What is Fracking you ask? Fracking is what companies such as BP and others use to retrieve oil and natural gas from very deep underground. These companies dig wells and they push millions of gallons of water and sand that is mixed in with dangerous chemicals. At such a high pressure, this water and the chemicals fracture the rock and allow the oil and natural gas to be accessed by the companies that need it (1). The danger and harm that fracking causes is crazy! The chemicals that seep into the ground and eventually into citizens in the areas wells. There have been multiple cases where people have been able to light their water from the faucet on fire. On a family farm in North Dakota the oil companies put it Flare Heads on their property, and at random times flames burst through the flare head and into the sky (2). Most workers who work at the wells are also at risk. Even when wearing the proper equipment they are still not protected from getting an almost inevitable case of lung disease (2). At a greater risk is the people who live by the fracking sites, even a low exposure to the harsh chemicals in the air and can cause a multitude of...
Words: 491 - Pages: 2
...A new study of hundreds of thousands of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) operations has found that the process has only caused earth tremors that could be felt on the surface in three cases. Hydraulic fracturing is the method by which sedimentary rock is deliberately cracked to recover oil and gas, including shale gas. The research, led by Durham University and entitled “Induced Seismicity and the Hydraulic Fracturing of Low Permeability Sedimentary Rocks” found that almost all of the resultant seismic activity was on such a small scale that only geoscientists would be able to detect it. Furthermore, it was discovered that the size and number of felt earthquakes caused by fracking is low compared to other manmade triggers such as mining, geothermal activity or reservoir water storage. But...
Words: 489 - Pages: 2
...Environmental Ethics Essay The Problems with Fracking I. INTRODUCTION In the Real-Time Strategy Game Glest, players are required to gather resources in order to create their nations and win the game. These resources – stone, gold, and wood are very limited, and when a player consumes all of the resources in an area, he needs to relocate later in the game to survive. Glest represents the real world, as resources required for a high standard of living on Earth are limited. Oil, natural gas, minerals, metal ores, and fossil fuels are all non-renewable resources—like the resources in Glest—and are critical to society. These resources are used to power our cars, to manufacture goods, and to create electricity which is used for many other convenient...
Words: 1292 - Pages: 6
...Research Paper Shannon Tyler RES/351 Date Larry Oslund Research Paper As the American energy crisis grows, we continue to look for domestic solutions. The United States contains large reserves of unconventional natural gas resources in coal beds, shale, and tight sands. Recent technological advances have led to a rapid increase in the development of these resources. The new advances have led to an average annual growth rate of 48% in shale gas alone and is expected to grow until 2035. This new technology has also increased the number of wells from 18,485 to 25,145 between the periods of 2004 to 2007 alone. One of the plausible advances’ is natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracking. A process commonly known as fracking. With the increase in production that fracking brings, it also brings some health hazards and presents danger to the environment. Though this process brings some hazards both health wise and environmentally, it has its benefits. The benefits it brings is a process that extracts clean fossil fuels that gives off less carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide. So even this process harms the environment it inadvertently helps the environment along with its ability to create jobs, influence energy cost and fix a growing energy crisis. Like any new process, both the benefits and the drawbacks need to be addressed. The problem...
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...found with large sores, streaks and lesions. When the scientist are looking at the coral and such under water, they are finding that many of it is still covered in oil. Even large animals such as dolphins are found affected. This article proves my argument for the affects of the deep sea drilling. This article shows my point and can provide evidence to show my audience, the oil companies, just how much the wildlife and animals are being affected. Piette carefully writes this article in hopes of maybe trying to show the oil field companies just what they are doing. That is why this article is going to help me prove my point and hopefully win over some oil field companies. If anything, this article makes me certain of the direction of the paper and what side I am on. I plan to pin point exact evidence such as lesions on fish and lung problems in dolphins. I plan to bring out the hard evidence and proof of just what is happening to these animals. Dragna, Lee. Interview Allie Dragna. 15 12 2012. In the interview with Lee Dragna, he shared personal experience about the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. His 9-year-old son saw the devastation on TV and wanted his father to fix it because he simply could “fix anything”. Dragna got to looking into it and realized maybe he could just fix this. Dragna builds and salvages barges for a living and realized he could put something together that would pick up oil, the Big Gulp. The Big Gulp is about the size of a football field. It picked up...
Words: 1076 - Pages: 5
...The demand of increasing energy resources has tormented the United States in the past few decades. The availability of these resources has become questionable for the future not knowing what can be done for the sustainability of the United States. The United States would like to develop a method to obtain renewable and environment-friendly energy sources for the future. In this paper, I will be elaborating on the process of increasing oil and gas production with the method of “fracking”. What is fracking? This is a question I asked myself when doing this research paper. The solution of hydraulic fracturing also knowing as “fracking” is a quite interesting method that was discovered many years ago but has it’s pro and cons. Fracking is defined...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...1) Once the opening quote is established, what are the strategies the author uses to introduce her topic? She finds common ground with her potential audience members and thereby piques their interest. She attempts to establish her credibility by quoting a reputable article in a research publication. She explains the definition of her topic in layman’s terms so as to not seem removed, and distanced from the audience. She addresses the counterargument against fracking by her critics, but maintains her position with economic and interpersonal emotional appeals. 2) How is the introduction of this paper different or similar to the introduction you wrote for the two papers you have completed thus far? She intrigues the audience with her first sentence – the colloquialism, whether intentional or not, evokes a sense of state pride, for those who consider themselves to be Texans. She draws in the audience by expressing her sympathy for their situation – by “identify[ing]”...
Words: 1039 - Pages: 5
...Outline for Research Paper Topic: Fracking & Water Contamination in USA pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to inside. Hydraulic Fracturing or otherwise known as Fracking is a technique of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to extract natural gas. United States has numerous shale gas bases. Each gas well requires an average of 400 tanker trucks to carry water and supplies to and from the site. The water brought in is mixed with sand and chemicals to create fracking fluid. Approximately 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used per fracturing. In order to frack it needs up to 600 chemicals including carcinogens and toxins such as lead, uranium, mercury, ethylene glycol, radium, hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde. The fracking fluid is then pressure injected into the ground through a drilled pipeline, which goes about contaminating the wells, and threatens potential earthquake. The mixture reaches the end of the well where the high pressure causes the nearby shale rock to crack, creating fissures where natural gas flows into the well. During this process, methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from the system and contaminate nearby groundwater. Methane concentrations are 17 times higher in drinking water wells near fracturing sites than in normal wells. Contaminated well water is used for drinking water for nearby cities and towns. There have been over 1000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas...
Words: 384 - Pages: 2
...Fracking Before I began writing this paper I was neutral on the subject of natural gas fracking, I had never heard of it and had no idea how destructive this process of extraction was. The further I got on this report, the more furious I became that this was happening on US soil, and not only that but people in the highest levels of government were not only sanctioning it, but using their power in public office to advance the agenda of companies that they were either running before they cae into office, or companies that friends were running, or were just giving them kickbacks, which would be the only reason that anyone would let this go on. After doing just a small amount of research you realize rather quickly how detrimental this process is, not only to the environment, but to the helpless animals who had had wells built in their migration patterns. Not to mention the helpless children whos parents had no idea what the were getting themselves and their families into when they signed what appeared to be a harmless contract allowing a drilling company to put up a small rig on their property. Who didn’t realize that in a short amount of time they would be able to light the water coming out of their faucet on fire, that their animals would loose their hair, have problems eating and die. The fact that any human being would allow this to be done to other human beings all in the name of money is beyond me, but I’ll get into that later. What is hydraulic fracturing anyway? The...
Words: 2245 - Pages: 9
...Running head: FRACKING AND THE EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT Fracking and the Effects on the Environment and Public Health G. White Professor Wells English 215 Research and Writing August 2, 2013 Fracking and the Effects on the Environment and Public Health People are now recognizing some serious concerns to the public health and the drinking water becoming contaminated, because the fracturing of shale in our communities and what can be done to stop it all. The hydraulic fracturing of shale needs to be, banned until further investigations are completed to determine how safe it is to people and the environment surrounding the drilling site. It all started with a few cases of illness, which everyone assumed was a virus that was going around. Over the past couple of years, these illnesses have become a very serious problem, not only to people but to animals and livestock too. This is a big concern and it is obvious that it is not a genetic disease as first thought. Far too many families, who are living near these drilling sites and have contracted the same illnesses in many different areas across the United States,. Is this a coincidence or facts of serious problems taking place in the United States from fracking? It is very important that everyone should be aware and to take notice how close to where they live and if any hydraulic fracturing is taking place because there is much more to this story than many people realize. The hydraulic fracturing of...
Words: 2164 - Pages: 9
