Fracking: Economic Boom or Safety Bust

FRACKING Economic Boom or Safety Bust? Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing, which sounds like what it is: fracturing rock with water. Veins and dikes are examples of natural hydraulic fractures. Fracking aims to recreate these natural features to extract natural gas, petroleum, or water from the earth. STEP #2: This mixture is injected at high pressure into a wellbore - a tiny drilled hole. STEP #1: Water is mixed with sand and chemicals. STEP #3: This creates small fractures. Gas, petroleum, and water may move through these fractures and towards the wellbore – which STEP #4: Hydraulic pressure is removed. Small grains of sand or aluminum oxide hold these isn't so tiny anymore. THE PROCESS fractures open, at which point the natural resource is extracted. The National Petroleum Institute estimates that fracking will eventually account for 80% 70% of natural gas wells drilled in the next of natural gas production in the United States. 10 years will require fracking.2 Without fracking, 45% of America's natural gas production and 17% of its oil production would be lost within 5 years. Burning natural gas is greener and cleaner. It produces 50% 33% 1% as much carbon dioxide of the nitrogen oxides as much sulfur oxides as coal. Increased use of natural gas could lead to energy independence for the United States in the coming years, and provide energy for the fleets of electric cars that will soon be on America's roads. In that same period, petroleum Between 2007 and 2011, natural gas imports decreased by imports decreased by By 2020, 25% 15% the U.S. could be a net 6 exporter of natural gas 96% of all products manufactured in the U.S. have components made with natural gas.7 These manufacturers will add 1 million new U.S. jobs by 2025. The U.S. produces of the world's manufactured products. 21% It is believed that more affordable natural gas would lead to more affordable, and therefore more profitable and successful, U.S. manufacturing. A number of celebrities have made their opposition to fracking public, inclu ng... The truth is we don't know if this technology can be done safely. 8 * EPA analysis of the process has found fracking to be safe, with federal and state regulations making certain that in the vast majority of cases, fracking is performed safely. 9 Burning gas will not save us from climate change. MARK RUFFALO * Consistent and abundant energy sources like natural gas can be used to supplement intermittent but cleaner energy sources like wind and solar, and would be essential to any transition to a cleaner, greener energy policy. 10 It does take close to 10 years for human medical damage to start showing, but the animals show it within the first five years.11 * According to Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, President of the American Council on Science and Health, "No documented instances of adverse health effects have been linked to fracking." Former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson has echoed this sentiment. 12 I think there is absolutely no credibility [to the claim that fracking can be done safely]. * Fracking is a young industry, and so regulations and standards are not always up to par. Nevertheless, the key to safe fracking is casing - the cement sheath that surrounds a well. A well-made casing prevents leakage DEBRA WINGER and any damage to the environment. Fracking can be done safely, and has been done safely for years by 13 responsible companies. ...Hydraulic fracking, a process that blasts toxic chemicals into the ground to release natural gas.14 * Most of these chemicals are in fact quite benign, including table salt and lemon juice, though there are some chemicals that, in the quantities in which they are used, could potentially be harmful. This is why more plants to treat and recycle fracking waste water are being built in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the Marcellus Shale region. 15 It turns out that fracking for gas threatens drinking water supplies, contaminates the air and contributes to climate change." ROBERT REDFORD * While some wells have been contaminated by methane, this is due to using weak cement and processing casings. By improving the quality and standards of this cement and casing, an impermeable seal can be created. 16 erosene mercaproacidie acid ietnanoi ntroge ropyl alcohol par stalablend odium hydrode oniumhioride aldehyde petroleu pelyapolyglyc rate tetram gihyl an osphate elin GASLAND Can you light your water on fire? THE MOST WELL-KNOWN ANTI-FRACKING CAMPAIGN IS THE FILM GASLAND. Gasland was a 2010 documentary that depicted communities in the United States where fracking had apparently done severe damage to their health and community. The most famous scene is one wherein Mike Markham of Weld County, Colorado, sets his faucet of well water on fire using a lighter. It is implied that this is the result of fracking operations near his property. The Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission investigated STATE OF COLORADO his well in 2008, and found that it had been drilled through four OIL& GAS coal beds containing biogenic methane. His flammable tap water was not the result of fracking. 17 CONSERVATION COMMISSION THERE WERE, IN ALL, A LOT OF ERRORS, AND THE COGCC EVEN HAD TO RELEASE A REPORT TO CORRECT SEVERAL POINTS IN THE DOCUMENTARY, CALLED THE GASLAND CORRECTION DOCUMENT. SOURCES 1. http://www.npc.org/reports/NARD-ExecSummVol.pdf 2. http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas-overview/exploration-and-production/hydraulic-fracturing/hydraulic-fracturing-qa 3. http://www.api.org/policy/exploration/hydraulicfracturing/upload/ihs_gi_hydraulic_fracturing_exec_summary.pdf 4. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/top-10-myths-about-natural-gas-drilling-6386593#slide-3 5. http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2012/07/20/natural-gasenergy-independence-and-economic-rejuvenation/ 6. http://www.aei.org/article/economics/benefits-of-hydraulic-fracking/ 7. http://www.energyfromshale.org/fracking-benefits/local-economies 8. http://progressive.org/mark_ruffalo_interview.html 9. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/pdfs/cbmstudy_attach_uic_exec_summ.pdf 10. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/10013034/Climate-change-advisers-says-fracking-can-be-OK.html 11. http://www.cityandstateny.com/chill-baby-chill-an-interview-with-debra-winger/ 12. http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/29/fracking-doesnt-pose-health-risks/ 13. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id3can-fracking-be-done-without-impacting-water 14. http://www.hollywood.com/news/brief/43319835/robert-redford-records-anti-fracking-adverts 15. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/top-10-myths-about-natural-gas-drilling-6386593#slide-10 16. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/top-10-myths-about-natural-gas-drilling-6386593#slide-8 17. http://cogcc.state.co.us/library/GASLAND%20DOC.pdf COPYRIGHT 2013 AMIO2.COM | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED