So I figure it is safe to assume that most of you use gas on a regular,

if not daily basis. We in the United States heavily rely on natural gas in
order to function in our everyday lives. We use it for everything from
powering our cars, to heating our homes. According to the US energy
information administrations website eia.gov, the United States uses about
133 billion gallons of gasoline a year. Because most conventional natural
gas sources in America have been exhausted we depend on imported gas
from other countries around the world, however America still has huge
reserves of natural gas stuck deep down in the porous rock layers of the
Earth. This gas could be extracted using a technique called hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking. My name is Sam Skansi and today Im going to
tell you about a few of the negatives of fracking but also how a rise in
fracking operations can create millions of jobs for Americans as well as
boost our nations economy.
So what is fracking? Fracking is the process of extracting natural
gas from deep layers of shale inside the Earth. The process works by
drilling a hole into the Earth and pumping a mixture of water, sand, and
chemicals into the hole at incredible pressures. This creates tiny fractures
throughout the rock layer, which allows for the previously trapped natural
gas to flow out of the rock and up to the head of the well where it can then
be processed into the gas we use everyday.
Now fracking is not a relatively new form of natural gas extraction.
Fracking has been around for more than 60 years but with new
technologies frackers have found ways to dig deeper and deeper into the
ground. This is scary because the deeper these operations get the higher

the chances of having an accident are. This is one of the reasons why
fracking is currently under such frivolous debate and concern. The
skeptics of fracking often call attention to the negative environmental
effects that this drilling technique can have. According to
chicagobuisness.com, the two major objections to fracking are its
negative effects on the water supply and the possible corrosion of the
atmosphere. Fracking does waste a lot of water; dangersoffracking.com
states that to run the current wells we have in America it would take 72
trillion gallons of water as well as 360 billion gallons of chemicals and
sand. There is also a worry that if there was a spill at the well all the
chemicals that were just mixed in with the water could possibly flow into
the ground water and slowly poison the water supply in all the
surrounding areas of the well. The water supply isnt the only worry in
fracking for environmentalist though; the atmosphere is also under attack
due to the fact that when the natural gas is extracted from the head of the
well 3% of the natural gas is lost into the air. This very slight leakage
releases methane and other greenhouse gases into the air which slowly eat
away at our planets atmosphere. Which I think we can all agree isnt
good.
Now I cant disagree with those points, I would hate for a water
supply to be poisoned or the atmosphere to be destroyed but what isnt
considered by these skeptics is the positives fracking can have in
America. In 2014, the US imported over 2.6 million cubic feet of natural
gas. That is fortunately lower than past years, but still means that we are
reliant on getting gas from other countries to sustain ourselves.

Fracking can help solve this problem though, because according to

energyfromshale.com, the area beneath West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and
New York could produce about 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over
the wells 50-100 year lifespan. If we were to utilize all that natural gas we
could see gas prices go down as the country would save on importing, and
if we begin to collect gas in reserves we may be able to begin exporting
some of our own natural gas to other countries around the world. That
natural gas would be great for helping us fuel our economy and country as
well as create jobs for our people. According to
midwesternenergynews.com there have been 2 million jobs already
created by the fracking industry with a total of 3.5 million projected by
the year 2035. That is also not considering the jobs in the mining,
chemical refining, communication, and construction fields that would be
gained by a rising fracking industry. With all these new jobs coming about
I think we will soon see a rise in spending and a subsequent upturn to our
nations economy.
All in all, fracking is becoming the biggest and most debated source
of energy in our country. I believe that despite the possible environmental
effects that fracking can cause, the benefits greatly outweigh the
negatives. The creation of a stable fuel source and economy, as well as the
creation of millions of jobs will hopefully propel our country into a long
and prosperous future.