Science was finding ways for vehicles to be driven with clean energy, solar energy, wind energy, and hydro energy was beginning to take off as well. Fracking has lengthened the amount of time we have to rely on such resources. This is great in itself, but now fracking is distracting from the research of alternative and cleaner energy sources. Sadly, we have pushed finding cleaner energy to the back burner. It is still unknown what we will do when the gas and oil sources run out.
Although this might not impact the generation of today, it should still be a concern for our future generations. Fracking requires vast amounts of water to break through the rock beneath the surface, for example, each fracturing job typically requires between 1 and 8 million gallons of water to complete.
With a vast majority of the United States experiencing drought, this brings some bad news. This poses a problem especially when fracking is considered more important than people who need water to live. Naturally, locals began having issues with fracking in their neighborhoods when they discovered that most of the water in their towns were being used to locate gas that was not entirely needed. Precaution is taken to ensure that drinking water remains untouched by fracking, but last April confirmed that high-volume hydraulic fracturing could contaminate drinking water.
There have been many citizens across the country that have complained of fouled tap water. There have even been reports of tap water that comes out of the tap bubbly and flammable from methane increases.
Wells have blown out and are completely hazardous to the environment. Since it is unknown what the companies are putting in the blast mixture, it is concerning as to what happens to those exposed to it. There have even been situations where companies have cut corners, creating unsafe sites and working environments. These cut corners lead to dangers of wells blowing out and leaking lots of chemicals and hazards into the water systems.
Along with a slight increase in water pollution, fracking has grown noise pollution quite a bit. Fracking is a very loud process and continues for extended periods of time.
For people that are living close to the fracking location, the noise can become extremely annoying and even cause problems with their function. Fracking aside, the noise of the equipment and vehicles is enough to drive anyone crazy. Light pollution is also a problem. Since fracking continues, regardless of the time of day, lights will be brought in to keep the process going. These lights can be extremely annoying to those that are living close by.
The combination of the noise and the light can disturb local lives and the lives of numerous animals living around the area.
You can read more about the danger of noise pollution. Since water is being used to blast rocks apart under the surface of the earth, scientists believe that fracking creates earthquakes. In general, hydraulic fracturing is still relatively new. Steel pipes called casings are inserted into the well, and the space between the rock and the casing is fully or partially filled with cement. Small holes are made in the casing with a perforating gun, or the well is constructed with pre-perforated pipe.
Fracking fluid is then pumped in at a pressure high enough to create new fractures or open existing ones in the surrounding rock. This allows the oil or gas to flow to the surface for gathering, processing, and transportation, along with contaminated wastewater that is stored in pits and tanks or disposed of in underground wells. Hydraulic fracturing requires an extensive amount of equipment , such as high-pressure, high-volume fracking pumps; blenders for fracking fluids; and storage tanks for water, sand, chemicals, and wastewater.
This infrastructure, plus more, typically arrives at drill sites via heavy trucks. Made up of as much as 97 percent water , fracking fluid also contains chemical additives and proppants small, solid particles used to keep the fractures in the rock formation open after the pressure from injection subsides.
The U. Environmental Protection Agency EPA examined more than 39, chemical disclosure forms submitted to FracFocus from January 1, , to February 28, ; it found that more than 70 percent of the forms listed at least one chemical as CBI and that 11 percent of all chemicals were claimed as such.
Chemicals Used in Fracking Different chemicals are added for different purposes, based on the rock type and other specifics of a fracking site. Acids, for example, are used to dissolve minerals to help fossil fuels flow more easily; biocides eliminate bacteria; gelling agents help carry proppants into fractures; and corrosion inhibitors prevent steel parts of the well from being damaged by fracking fluid.
The EPA identified 1, different chemicals reported as used in fracking formulas between and Common ingredients include methanol, ethylene glycol, and propargyl alcohol. Those chemicals, along with many others used in fracking fluid, are considered hazardous to human health. Meanwhile, and perhaps more disconcertingly, the potential human health impacts of the majority of chemicals used in fracking formulas are simply unknown.
For instance, scientists in California found that complete information about hazards and risks to humans and the environment is available for only about one - third of the chemicals used for fracking and other, similar operations in the state. A single well operation can truck in thousands of tons of frac sand. The United States is the single largest producer of frac sand in the world, with almost 70 percent of domestic production coming from the Great Lakes Region, particularly from Wisconsin and Minnesota , which both saw a doubling of sand mines between and Many questions remain about the dangers of the process, with mounting evidence raising serious red flags about the impact on drinking water , air pollution , and our climate.
Fracking consumes a massive amount of water. Anywhere between 1. Water used for hydraulic fracturing is typically fresh water taken from groundwater and surface water resources.
Although there are increasing efforts to use nonpotable water, some of these sources also supply drinking water. But fracking operations can strain resources in areas where freshwater supplies for drinking, irrigation, and aquatic ecosystems are scarce and often becoming scarcer thanks to climate change.
Water used for fracturing is too contaminated to return to its source without extensive treatment and so typically is disposed of deep underground, where it is removed from the freshwater cycle. In fact, a Duke University analysis found that while U. In the already drought-ridden Permian Basin region of West Texas, for example, water use for fracking during those years increased by as much as percent. Fracking operations not only strain water resources but risk polluting them as well.
A EPA analysis found that while large data gaps and uncertainties make it difficult to fully assess the impact on drinking water, fracking operations can—and do—affect drinking water resources.
The activities that pose the biggest threats include spills and leaks of fracking fluids, the injection of fluids into inadequately built wells, and poor wastewater management practices. Fluid Leaks Spills and leaks can occur throughout the fracking process, including during the transportation of concentrated chemical additives; the mixing and pumping of fracturing fluids; and the storage, transportation, and disposal of used fracturing fluid and wastewater. Both human error and equipment failure can cause spills and leaks, and some spills are known to have reached surface water resources, according to the EPA.
The full impact can be difficult to measure, however, for many reasons, including that the chemical makeup of the spilled fluid may be unknown or poorly described, and the ultimate fate of the spilled fluids and impacts of the spill are not typically studied.
Well Construction Oil and gas wells must be properly constructed to withstand intense temperature and pressure fluctuations. Otherwise, a well may be damaged, possibly allowing oil, gas, and fracking fluid to leak. For example, the EPA faulted burst casings—the steel pipes used to construct wells—in the leakage of fracking fluids into wells used to monitor water quality in Killdeer, North Dakota, in Another study, of cases of suspected drinking water contamination in Pennsylvania and Texas, pointed to faulty well construction as the likely reason behind some cases of methane pollution.
When a fracture extends farther than intended, it can link up with a naturally occurring fault, other natural or man-made fractures, or other wells and then carry fluids to other geological formations, including, potentially, drinking water supplies. Equally concerning, according to the EPA , is the lack of data on how close induced fractures are to underground aquifers.
You cannot download interactives. However, over time, there has been a shift in demand for cheaper and cleaner fuel options, such as the nonrenewable energy source of natural gas, and renewable options like solar power and wind energy. Each energy resource has its advantages and disadvantages. Explore nonrenewable and renewable options with this collection on energy resources.
Students discover how geologists use the composition and location of rocks to find deposits of oil and natural gas. They use an interactive computational model to explore how hydraulic fracturing releases natural gas from deep shale formations.
Petroleum, or crude oil, is a fossil fuel and nonrenewable source of energy. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom.
Background Info Fast Facts Vocabulary. The video above is from the March iPad edition of National Geographic magazine. Fracking uses huge amounts of water, which must be transported to the site at significant environmental cost. As well as earth tremor concerns, environmentalists say potentially carcinogenic chemicals may escape during drilling and contaminate groundwater around the fracking site. The industry suggests pollution incidents are the results of bad practice, rather than an inherently risky technique.
Campaigners say fracking is distracting energy firms and governments from investing in renewable sources of energy, and encouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels. The government believes shale gas has the potential to provide the UK with "greater energy security, growth and jobs" and says it "could be an important part of our transition to a low carbon future". Prime Minister Theresa May told the Yorkshire Post shale gas extraction was important "because of the impact it can have on our future energy security".
Her predecessor David Cameron was also a supporter of fracking, saying it could support tens of thousands of UK jobs and reduce bills. Downing Street has said shale gas planning applications in England are to be fast-tracked to crack down on councils that delay decisions. However, Labour has called for fracking to be "banned, not promoted" , describing shale gas as a "dirty fossil fuel".
In January , MPs overwhelmingly rejected an outright ban on fracking but did pledge an "outright ban" on fracking in national parks. Critics, including Labour and Greenpeace, accused the government of a U-turn.
Ex-Labour MP is first fracking commissioner. Fracking given go-ahead by government. Fracking 'likely cause' of quakes.
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