The Truth about Fracking
- The basic technique of “hydraulic fracturing” has been used in conventional-style wells since the late 1940s.
- Horizontal fracking requires enormous volumes of water and chemicals.
- Two to four million gallons of water for a single lateral, as well as 15,000 to 60,000 gallons of chemicals
- 75 percent of what is blasted down (water) comes back up.
- In Pennsylvania, household taps have gone foul or lit on fire
- Faulty cementing is the leading suspect in possible sources of contamination
- Because of the depths of the gas and the combination of fracking and directional drilling, instead of 80,000 gallons of water it is now millions of gallons per fracking operation
- Methane existed in 51 of the wells that overlaid the Marcellus Shale.
- Gas companies have been guilty of carelessness in how they drill wells and dispose of waste and fracking technology itself may be exonerated
The author mainly points out the issues with fracking, while also pointing out the benefits it can bring. Fracking has brought many problems to people that have little options. Many people rely on their wells for water, which is now being contaminated by the results of fracking. Natural gas often leaks into wells and into the homes of people near the operations. The author also points out the wastefulness of fracking, using millions of gallons of water for a single operation. The author mainly wants to point out the issues with fracking to the public and why changes need to be made.
The problems that fracking brings makes me feel very uneasy about the government. The fact that the government allows this with very little regulation makes me feel unsafe. If i was in an urban area and my only water supply was my well, I would be very concerned if a company was legally allowed to let gas leak into my water. I would have no other option for water except for going out of town and getting clean water from another source or to drill a new well, both of which will be expensive. The amount of water it uses per operation makes me wonder how some people are surprised that we are running into a water crisis in some places.