1

JoeLucier
Conrad
ERWC
April222016
Fracking

Abarrenopenlandscape,fullofundrinkablewater,anduninhabitableground.Thisis
whatthehumanracesfutureonearthcouldlooklikeifwecontinueHydraulicfracturingor
fracking.Thisisaprocessinwhichpressurizedfluidsarepumpedintothegroundtotrap
naturalgas,itbecomespressurizedinthegroundandreleasesthegasfromtheshaleformations.
Hydraulicfracturingbeganinthe1940swithacompanycalledStandolindoil,whoeventually
licensedtheirtechnologytoHalliburtonOilWellCementingCompany.Therehavebeenmany
argumentsbetweenlandowners,EPA,andtheoilcompaniesdebatingwhetherornotfrackingis
safe.Theoilcompanieshavegottenawaywithmanythingsbuttherearemanyexamplesofhow
thefrackinghasruinedlivesandcauseddamagetolandandalsohumansthemselves.Ifnot
frackingfornaturalgaswhatotheroptionsarethereforsustainablefuel?Wecanharnesspower
fromwind,hydro,solar,andevennuclearpower.Allofthesehavesetbacksandmaketaketime
forthemtobecompletelyproblemfreebutinthelongrunIbelievethesearesaferalternatives.

InGaslandpart2adocumentaryaboutfrackingtheytalkaboutthetownofDimock,
PA.Thewholetown'swatersupplyhadbeencontaminatedandnotsafefordrinkingformany
years,thepeoplehadeventuallysuedCabotoilandgastointroduceapipelinethatwouldbring

themawatersupply.Cabotoilandgasarguedthatfrackinghadnothingtodowiththe
contaminationofthesepeopleswater,eventhoughbeforetheystarteddrillingthepeople'swater
supplywasperfectlyfine.Itbecamehardtosuethegascompanybecausethepeoplehadno
evidenceagainstthemduetothefactthattheywereexemptedfromtheSafedrinkingwateract
whichensurespublicdrinkingwaterissafetodrink.Becauseofthisthecompaniesaren't
requiredtotellthepublicwhichchemicalstheywereusingtofrackandgetnaturalgasfromthe
shale.ThepeopleweretoldbyCabotoilandgasthattherewouldonlybe1well,theyendedup
drilling30.Oncethewaterhadbeencontaminatedthepeoplewerestuckattheirhomebecause
theycouldn'tsellitonthemarketanymoreandsomewereforcedtowalkawayfromtheirhouse
andtakethehitfinancially.GovernorRendell(abigsupporterofnaturalgasdrilling)had
basicallyleasedPAtothemandletthemdrillasmuchastheywanted,oncethathappenedthere
werethousandsofreportedenvironmentalviolations.TheNewYorkTimeshaddonean
investigationonthisandfoundthatthewastewaterfromthefrackinghadbeeninadequately
treatedanddumpedbackintotheground.NowthattheNewYorktimeshadpublishedthis
findinggovernorRendellhadtostopthedrilling,theproblemwastherewasstillnoreplacement
waterforthepeopleofDimock.TheyrequestedCabotoilandgaspayforthenewpipelineto
supplythetownwithcleanwater,butCabotoilandgashaddoneacampaigntellingthepeople
ofPAthatitwouldcomefromtaxdollarsandthatmadetheoperationcometoahalt.Thisisjust
oneofmanyexamplesofwhatfrackinghasdonetonotjustonefamilybutawholetownand
howcorruptthecompaniesare.

Problemswithfrackingbeginrightwhenthedrillingbegins,researcherssaythat1in20
(5%)ofthewellscementfailimmediately.Thismaynotseemthatbadbutwhenyouputthatto
alargescaleofletssay5000wellsthatmeans250ofthemfailimmediatelyandgasfromthose
wellsarepoisoningtheaquifer.Statisticssaythatin30years50%ofthosewellsthatdidnotfail
atstartup,willfail.Thisprovesthatthereisleakingofthewellsdespitewhattheoilcompanies
claim.Moreproblemsthatarisefromfrackingbesidespoisoningofwatersuppliesarethehealth
problemsitcausesforthepeople,itdoesn'tjustcomefromdrinkingitbutbreathingtheair
aroundyou.BobandLisaParr(mentionedinthedocumentarygaslandpart2)hadtheirhouse
surroundedby21wells,sonomatterwherethewindwasblowingthemethanegasescomingoff
theheadpipeofthosewellswasaroundthem24/7.DoctorstoldLisaandherfamilythatthey
hadfoundmanyofthechemicalsusedinfrackingwereactuallyintheirinternalorgans,notonly
thatbutherkidsweregettingnosebleedsatalarmingratesforcingthemtofleetheirhome.More
problemsthatoccurwithfrackingaretheincreaseofearthquakesinplacesthatdidnotseethem
untilfrackinghadbegun.Arkansasforexamplehadhadnoproblemswithearthquakesbefore
butassoonasfrackingbeguntheyhadreportedcasesofupto1200earthquakesthatwere
relatedto

hydraulic

fracturing.Due

tothisfracking

wasbannedin

thatstateandonce

theystopped

thenumberof

earthquakes

droppedby

twothirds.This

meansithada

directcorrelation

tofracking.

Problemsofearthquakesjustdon'tstopinArkansas,theyareevendrillingonprobablythemost
famousfaultlineintheworldandaplaceknownaroundtheworld.ThesanAndreasfaultlinein
california,theMontereyshalewhichoilcompaniesareseekingtogetnaturalgasfromrunsright
beneaththisdeadlyfaultline.Tomethisseemsriskydrillinghereknowingwhatitcoulddoto
thestate.Researcherssuggestthatwhenthebigonecomesitcouldcausetrillionsofdollarsin
damagetothewestcoast,maybefrackingcoulddecreasethetimebeforethatonehappens.

Thiscomestothepointofwellifnotnaturalgasorfossilfuelsthenwhat?IntheUN
conferenceof2015,alltheworldleaderscametogetherandrealizedthatweneedtofinda
sustainablesourceofenergybeforewedestroywhatisleftonthisplanet.Theproblemwith
fossilfuelsisthatithasahighCO2emissionsrate,thatiswhywedecidedtogotoatransitional
fuelsuchasnaturalgas,theproblemwiththatisthatitemitsalotofmethanegaswhichisstilla
greenhousegasanddamagesouratmosphere.Nottomentiontheseresourcesarenotanendless
supply.Thisbringsmetothepointofcleanrenewableenergysuchaswind,hydro,andeven
nuclear.Windmakesup5%oftheenergyweusetoday,butifweweretoharnesswindfromthe
mostwindproneplacesintheworldwecouldpowertheearth5timesover.Countiessuchas
Denmarkarealreadypoweringtheirwholecountryfromwhich40%isdonewithwind,theysay
theycouldpoweritallbywindbuttheydonotknowhowtostoreitproperly.Hydroelectric

makesupabout6.5%oftheworld'senergy,itissafeandreliable.Solarpowerisanothergreat
alternative,researchersfromthedocumentaryVicesaythatnowsolarischeaperthanthe
utilitiesyoupayfornow.Criticswillchallengethatsomedaysthesunwontshineandthewind
won'tblowbutifwecombinealloftheserenewablesourcestheycanbalanceoneanotherout
andwecanslowlygetawayfrombeingdependentonfossilfuels.Protectingwhatthereisleftof
thisearthshouldbeourmainpriority,ibelievebyusbuyingsolarpanelsandinvestingour
moneyandtaxdollarsintorenewableenergyitcansavethisearthforfuturegenerationsto
come.

AlthoughwehavealargesupplyofnaturalgasintheUnitedstatesthatcanlastus100
years,ithasrepercussionswithitaswellitpoisonsaquifersandthefrackingchemicalsgetinto
thewells,alsothemethanegasthatcomeofftheheadofthewellgostraightintotheatmosphere.
Ifweputmoremoneyintoresearchforrenewableenergyandhowtoharnessitandstoreitmore
efficientlywecangetourselvesofffossilfuelsforgood,unfortunatelythegascompaniesare
goingtomakesuretheygeteverylastdimeoutofthegroundbeforethathappens.Itisuptoour
governmenttorealizewhatthesecompaniesaredoingandthekindofinfluencetheyhaveon
nomineesandstateofficialsinpersuadingthemtoletthemdrillfornaturalgas.Therecanbe
problemswithsomeoftherenewableenergysourcesaswellbutifwecombinethemalltogether
andusethemaccordinglywewillhavenomoreneedtodestroyouratmosphereandcauseglobal
catastrophes.Whatoilcompaniesdon'tunderstandbecausetheirgreedblindsthemisthatthe
problemstheyleavebehindwilloutlivethemandgointoournextgenerationofkidscausing
moreproblemsforthem,wouldwewanttogivethemthebestchancepossible?Allofthese

examplesofhowfrackingshouldenlightenthosewhodon'tknowmuchaboutitandwhatitis
doingtoourearth.Weonlyhaveoneshotatthisearthtogetitrightandnotdestroyitandwhat
wearedoingneedstochangeorthedamagewillbeunrepairable.

WorksCited

Smith,StuartH."EarthquakeOutbreak:ArkansasBansFrackingOperationsInside
ThousandSquareMileArea."
StuartHSmithEarthquakeOutbreakArkansasBansFracking
OperationsInsideThousandSquareMileAreaComments
.N.p.,n.d.Web.04May2016.

hyder,JosephP."Hydraulicfracturing."
TheGaleEncyclopediaofScience
.Ed.K.LeeLernerand
BrendaWilmothLerner.5thed.FarmingtonHills,MI:Gale,2014.
StudentResourcesin
Context
.Web.4May2016.

"Fracking."
UXLEncyclopediaofScience
.Ed.AmyHackneyBlackwellandElizabethManar.3rd
ed.FarmingtonHills,MI:UXL,2015.
StudentResourcesinContext
.Web.4May2016.

"WestVirginia,EconomicHistoryof."
GaleEncyclopediaofU.S.EconomicHistory
.Ed.Thomas
Riggs.2nded.Vol.3.FarmingtonHills,MI:Gale,2015.14611463.
StudentResourcesin
Context
.Web.4May2016.

Fox,Josh."GaslandPart2."JoshFox,2010.Web.