The Pros and Cons of Fracking essays

The Pros and Cons of Fracking essays Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has become a widespread process with companies trying to benefit from the newly developed method for extracting oil and natural gas from wells that were once thought tapped. North America uses the technique more than any other country (85%) however the method of fracking is spreading quickly (CNN). The fracking process brings new life to old wells by using pressurized water mixed with a few chemicals (1%) and sand, which are forced down a well to create small fractures in the well (TTaF). Once the fissures are open the sand from the solution provides filler to keep the cracks open so the shale can be extracted. During the extraction process usually, about twenty percent of the used water is then recycled and reused at the next extraction site (Grottenthaler). There has been a lot of controversy over fracking with many people protesting against it. In the Marcellus Shale especially they say that the method of fracking causes drinking water to be contaminated. Pennsylvania residents say seventy-five percent of the sampled wells within one kilometer of the wells were highly contaminated with methane (Howarth). The main complaints are that of methane that seeps into the aquifers below the surface and coming out the tap. Researchers say that it is not the actual fracking process, but from wells that have been built incorrectly (TTaF). Another complaint is the amount of salt output of a typical well. A single well produces more salt per well then a common state would use for icy roads for over a decade. In turn, the massive cost that comes with the treatment and disposal of the tainted water and abundance of salt that has to be transported on trucks creating more and more emissions. Considering that there is an average of five hundred trucks that are needed per good completion, the disposal process is a highly intensive and expensive process (Glanville). Experts say that even though there have been many...