Adapted from information on Fracking in the public domain

Text 1: Fracking

1. Fracking, more formally known as hydraulic fracturing, is a well stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a pressurized liquid.  The process involves high-pressure injection of ‘fracking fluid’, primarily water containing sand, into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep-rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum, and brine will flow more freely.  When the hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, small grains of hydraulic fracturing proppants (sand) hold the fractures open.

2. Fracking began as an experiment in 1947, and the first commercially successful application followed in 1950.  As of 2012, 2.5 million “frac jobs” had been performed worldwide on oil and gas wells; over one million of those within the U.S.

3. Hydraulic fracturing is highly controversial in many countries, as opponents argue that there are potentially many environmental impacts and risks, but its proponents greatly advocate for the economic benefits of fracking, as well as the more extensively and readily accessible materials it helps to excavate.

4. One benefit of fracking is that it is used to increase the rate at which fluids, such as petroleum, water, or natural gas, can be recovered from subterranean natural reservoirs.  This technique allows and enables the extraction of natural gas and oil from rock formations deep below the earth’s surface, generally 5,000-20,000 ft, which is greatly below typical groundwater reservoir levels.  At such depth, there may be insufficient permeability or reservoir pressure to allow natural gas and oil to flow from the rock into the wellbore at high economic return.  Thus, fracking is instrumental in the extraction of these materials in these instances.  

5. While the main industrial use of fracking is to stimulate this oil and gas production, it is also used to help stimulate groundwater wells, enhance waste remediation from spills, dispose of waste by injection deep into rock, and to generate electricity.  Fracking has also been used to increase the yield of drinking water from wells in a number of countries, including the United States, Australia, and South Africa.  We would not be able to access these vital materials and benefits without using hydraulic fracturing. 

6. Another benefit to fracking is the economic effects it provides.  A large majority of studies indicate that hydraulic fracturing in the United States has had a strong positive economic benefit so far.  The Brookings Institution estimates that the benefits of Shale Gas alone have led to a net economic benefit of $48 billion per year.  Another positive economic benefit is that fracking has helped to create many jobs in the areas where it occurs.

7. Not only does fracking help us have access to materials we might not otherwise be able to utilize, it also serves to help our economy.  For those reasons, fracking is something that is beneficial and helpful since its introduction nearly 70 years ago.

Adapted from information on Fracking in the public domain

Text 2: The Controversy of Fracking

1. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, has become an extremely controversial practice around the world.  So controversial, that an international anti-fracking movement has emerged, gaining support of many international environmental organizations.  Many opponents of fracking are concerned with its extensive negative environmental impacts, as well as the consequential hazards to public health.

2. Fracking has been found to have an extensive list of risks and negative impacts directed toward the environment.  This list includes air emissions, climate change, high water consumption, water contamination, land use, risk of earthquakes, noise pollution, and health effects on humans.  

3. Air emissions are primarily methane that escapes from wells, along with industrial emissions from equipment used in the extraction process.  Fracking uses between 1.2 and 3.5 million gallons of water per well, with large projects using up to 5 million gallons.  Additional water is used when wells are refractured, meaning an average well requires 3 to 8 million gallons of water over its lifetime.  Not only are exorbitant amounts of water used in the process, surface water may be contaminated through spillage and improperly built and maintained waste pits, and groundwater can be contaminated if the fluid is able to escape the formation being fractured.

4. About 9 acres of land is needed per each drill pad for surface installations when fracking.  This likely has negative effects on wildlife.  Each drill pad also has about 800 to 2,500 days of noisy activity, which affect both residents and local wildlife.  In addition, noise is created by the continuous truck traffic needed for fracking.

5. Hydraulic fracturing has also been linked to induced seismicity or earthquakes.  The magnitude of these events is usually too small to be detected at the surface, although tremors attributed to fluid injection into disposal wells have been large enough to have been felt by people, and to have caused property damage and possible injuries.  A U.S. Geological Survey reported that up to 7.0 million people in several states now have a similar earthquake risk to that of California with hydraulic fracturing and similar practices being a prime contributing factor.

6. On top of these environmental impacts, fracking has been found to have impacts on human health, too.  As the number of drilling sites increases, so does the number of people who are put at risk due to potential accidents or exposure to harmful substances used at the fractured wells.  A 2011 hazard assessment recommended the full disclosure of chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing, as many have immediate health effects and others may have long-term health effects. 

7. In December 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency issued the “Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States,” finding scientific evidence that fracking activities can impact drinking water resources. 

8. There have been many protests directed at fracking and documentaries have even been made to share the opposing views various filmmakers share on this controversial practice.  So, do the benefits outweigh these extensive and detrimental costs?  Most of the evidence seemingly points to “no”.

You have read the text, “Controversy of Fracking”

Respond to the items below.

Adapted from information on Fracking in the public domain

Text 2: The Controversy of Fracking

1. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, has become an extremely controversial practice around the world.  So controversial, that an international anti-fracking movement has emerged, gaining support of many international environmental organizations.  Many opponents of fracking are concerned with its extensive negative environmental impacts, as well as the consequential hazards to public health.

2. Fracking has been found to have an extensive list of risks and negative impacts directed toward the environment.  This list includes air emissions, climate change, high water consumption, water contamination, land use, risk of earthquakes, noise pollution, and health effects on humans.  

3. Air emissions are primarily methane that escapes from wells, along with industrial emissions from equipment used in the extraction process.  Fracking uses between 1.2 and 3.5 million gallons of water per well, with large projects using up to 5 million gallons.  Additional water is used when wells are refractured, meaning an average well requires 3 to 8 million gallons of water over its lifetime.  Not only are exorbitant amounts of water used in the process, surface water may be contaminated through spillage and improperly built and maintained waste pits, and groundwater can be contaminated if the fluid is able to escape the formation being fractured.

4. About 9 acres of land is needed per each drill pad for surface installations when fracking.  This likely has negative effects on wildlife.  Each drill pad also has about 800 to 2,500 days of noisy activity, which affect both residents and local wildlife.  In addition, noise is created by the continuous truck traffic needed for fracking.

5. Hydraulic fracturing has also been linked to induced seismicity or earthquakes.  The magnitude of these events is usually too small to be detected at the surface, although tremors attributed to fluid injection into disposal wells have been large enough to have been felt by people, and to have caused property damage and possible injuries.  A U.S. Geological Survey reported that up to 7.0 million people in several states now have a similar earthquake risk to that of California with hydraulic fracturing and similar practices being a prime contributing factor.

6. On top of these environmental impacts, fracking has been found to have impacts on human health, too.  As the number of drilling sites increases, so does the number of people who are put at risk due to potential accidents or exposure to harmful substances used at the fractured wells.  A 2011 hazard assessment recommended the full disclosure of chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing, as many have immediate health effects and others may have long-term health effects. 

7. In December 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency issued the “Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States,” finding scientific evidence that fracking activities can impact drinking water resources. 

8. There have been many protests directed at fracking and documentaries have even been made to share the opposing views various filmmakers share on this controversial practice.  So, do the benefits outweigh these extensive and detrimental costs?  Most of the evidence seemingly points to “no”.