KyliePayne

Prof.Hughes
ENGLI1102
1March2016
EvaluationDraft2
EnvironmentvsEconomy:HydraulicFracturing
ThissummermyboyfriendspentaweekandahalfinPennsylvania,hisgrandparents
homestate.PennsylvaniaisabovethemassiveMarcellusShale,makingitoneofmanystates
eligibletohydraulicallyfracture.Manyyearsago,hisfamilywaspaidbyanaturalgascompany
tohydraulicallyfracturethelandthattheyownandliveontocollectnaturalgastouseasan
alternativefuelsource.Hydraulicfracturing,alsoknownasfracking,involvesdrillingdeepinto
thegroundtoreleasenaturallyoccurringshalegas,inordertodothiswaterchemicalfluid
mixtureshavetobeinjectedintothegroundforthisnaturalgastobereleasedandcaptured.
Manyotherpeoplehavealsosignedofftheirprivatelandtobefrackedfornaturalgastobeused
asanalternative,clean,modern,fuelsource(shalegas)tooil,whichAmericahappenstohave
alotof.DuringtheweekandahalfmyboyfriendwasinPennsylvania,hedranknowaterfrom
theirfaucet(whichwouldhavecomefromtheirwaterwell)andonlyshoweredtwiceinthehot
summeroutoffeartoabsorbwhateverunknownflammableandpresumablypoisonousortoxic
chemicalstherewereinhisGreatAuntswater.
Inthedocumentary
Gasland
,directorJoshFoxexplorestheclaimsPennsylvaniafracking
victimshavemadeabouttheirwaterhissingandbubblinguponcomingoutoftheirfaucet,and
evenignitingonfire.MyboyfriendsfamilyinPennsylvaniaexperiencesthisfirsthand.

FrackingisalsoillegalnowinseveralcountriesinEuropeduetothedangerous,carcinogenic,
chemicalsused,andthenegativeeffectsitposestothenaturalenvironment.Becauseofthe
aforementionedreasons,IdonotbelievefrackingshouldbepracticedorlegalbecauseIdonot
thinkitissafeforhumans,animals,ourwatersupply,orthegeneralenvironmentinwhichweall
live.
InMichaelBloombergandGeorgeMitchellsopinionarticleinTheWashingtonPost,
titledFrackingistooimportanttofoulup,theyarguethattheeconomicpossibilitiesof
hydraulicfracturingandnaturalgasaretoolargeandvasttopassup,despitetheenvironmental
andhumandangerstheycurrentlypose,astheycouldpossiblybereducedbyscientific
advancements.Ipersonallyfindthissuggestionoverlyoptimisticforsomethingthathas
physicallyharmedsomanyAmericanlives,nottomentiontheenvironmentalcostofwhatwe
havealreadydonewithhydraulicfracturing.Ialsohavefoundtheirstatementstobelackingin
evidence,incrediblybiased,andalsoquitenarrowsighted.Myreasonsforthisaretheirlackof
explanationonhowtheyintendtominimizeenvironmentalramificationsandthehealtheffects
ofprevioushydraulicfracturing.
Wewillencouragebetterstateregulationoffrackingaround
fivekeyprinciples:DisclosingallchemicalsusedinthehydraulicfracturingprocessOptimizing
rulesforwellconstructionandoperationMinimizingwaterconsumption,protecting
groundwaterandensuringproperdisposalofwastewaterImprovingairpollutioncontrols,
includingcapturingleakingmethane,apotentgreenhousegasandReducingtheimpacton
roads,ecosystemsandcommunities.
Thewritersofthisarticlealsoseemtobeoftheopinion
thattheirsuggestionsonhowtomakefrackingsafer,
willbeacceptedasnecessaryexpensesby
naturalgascompaniesandthattheselawswillbeenforcedmorestrictlythanlawssuchasthe

CleanWaterAct,whichnaturalgascompanieshavealreadyfoundloopholesaroundfornearlya
decadethroughsomethingknowastheHalliburtonLoophole,whichhasallowedthemtonot
disclosethechemicalsusedinfracking(5).
Intheirarticle,BloombergandMitchellstate,Thelatestresearch,including
peerreviewedstudiesoutofCarnegieMellonUniversityandArgonneNationalLaboratory,
suggeststhatifproperlyextractedanddistributed,theimpactofnaturalgasontheclimateis
significantlylessthanthatofcoal.Whilethisissomeoftheonlyreferencetoscientificstudy
theydiscuss,theyneverexplainwhatthissupposedstudyactuallystudied,nootherinformation
isgivenaboutitotherthananunnamedstudyoccurredandthatitprovesthatfrackingcouldbe
clean.Ifindthisclaimtobebaselessbecauseofthis.

Inthedocumentary
Gasland
,directorJoshFoxexploresseveralfamilieswhoselives
havebeenharmedbythephysicalrepercussionsoflivingnearplaceswherefrackingis
occurring.Onewomanshowsherhorsesandcatswhichhavebeendrinkingherwellwater
whichhadbeencontaminatedbyfrackingfluids.Allofheranimalsweresufferingfromhairloss
duetothis.Anotherfamilyhadtoleavetheirhomenearlandthewasbeingfrackedbecausethey
wereexperiencingrashesandrandomfaintingduetodangerousfumesthatwerebeingblown
overbythenearbyfrackingoperation.

AccordingtotheEuropeanCommission,hydraulicfracturingfluidscancontainthings
suchasmercury,chromium,andarsenicamongmanymanyotherchemicalcompoundsinfluid
formormixedwithwater.Allofthesethingsarequitetoxicandextendedexposuretothese
thingscancauseaslewofcancersandmedicalproblems.Theyalsostatethatfrackingfluid

commonlycontainshalogenatedhydrocarbonswhichareagroupofchemicalscontaining
chlorineandbrominethathavebeenfoundtocauseliverandnervoussystemdamage(6).Since
thesechemicalsarebeinginjectedintotheground,therearemanyrisksthattheyleachinto
groundwaterornearbybodiesofwaterandmanypeoplehaveexperiencedthisfirsthand.

Becauseoftheaforementionedreasons,itisinmyopinionthatthelegalityandsafety
shouldbedeeplyconsidered,especiallybythepeoplewhomweelectintopositionsofpower
suchasMichaelBloomberg.Thesepeopleshouldlooktothecommunitiesexperiencingthe
effectsofhydraulicfracturingtoformtheiropinionsonthesituationratherthantakingtheword
ofcorporatebusinessownerswhohaveofferedthemmoneyinturnfortheirsupport.

WorksCited

1. Bloomberg,MichaelR.,andGeorgeP.Mitchell."FrackingIsTooImportanttoFoulup."
WashingtonPost
.TheWashingtonPost,23Aug.2012.Web.03Mar.2016.
2. "WhatIsFrackingandWhyIsItControversial?BBCNews."
BBCNews
.BBCNews,16
Dec.2015.Web.03Mar.2016.<
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk14432401
>.
3. Food&WaterWatch."Fracking."
Food&WaterWatch
.Food&WaterWatch,n.d.Web.03
Mar.2016.<
https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/problems/fracking
>.
4. King,Hobart."UticaShaleTheNaturalGasGiantBelowtheMarcellus."
Geology.com
.
Geology.com,n.d.Web.03Mar.2016.<
http://geology.com/articles/uticashale/
>.
5. Gasland
.Dir.JoshFox.Perf.JoshFox.ATYPIKFilms,2011.DVD.

6. "PotentialEnvironmentalEffectsofFrackingWastewater."
Risks,Mitigation,andRegulation
WastewaterandShaleFormationDevelopment
(2015):61.
Ec.europa.eu
.European
Commision.Web.
<
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/chemical_composition_
of_fracking_wastewater_404na4_en.pdf
>.
7. "Fracking:LawsandLoopholes."
CleanWaterAction
.CleanWaterAction,n.d.Web.11Mar.
2016.<http://cleanwater.org/page/frackinglawsandloopholes>.