Hydraulic Fracturing (Hydrofracking): The Risks and Rewards of the Controversial Drilling Technique
Not an alien probe—a wellhead for hydraulic fracturing, with injection pipes. (image: dpcusa.org)
Fracking—if you’re a Battlestar Galactica fan, “fracking” is a coarse term for an intimate activity, as well as being an all-purpose, heavy-duty swear word.
However, if you’re in the oil or gas industry, or just read the news relating to upstate New York and eastern Pennsylvania, fracking—or fracing, as it’s also spelled—means something very different: hyrdofracking, or hydraulic fracturing. It’s a mining or drilling technique used to break up rock underground to create easier access to resources. It’s common in oil drilling; incredibly common in natural gas production; and is even used sometimes to revive flagging drinking water wells. It’s also used for some solid (as opposed to liquid or gas) mineral resources. For example, it’s used at a quarry in North Carolina to break granite blocks out from the surrounding bedrock.
Despite being in the news of late, it’s not a new technique. It was first commercially used in 1903, and was first used in the United States in the late 1940s. At present, thousands of wells use hydraulic fracturing. However, the “gas rush” in the Marcellus Shale formation in upstate New York and Pennsylvania has caused hydraulic fracturing to bubble to the surface of public consciousness: it may now come into widespread use in a densely populated region unaccustomed to fossil fuel resource extraction. Since the process—like most large-scale industrial processes—can have negative consequences, the near-certainty of its widespread adoption in this region has resulted in public controversy, as people weigh the benefits of economic gain against health and environmental risks.
And the debate has been loud, as would be expected when enough natural gas to satisfy US demand for at least a decade is set against possible harm to the water supply for almost 10 million people in one of the world capitals of media, finance, and law. It’s not natural gas per se that’s sparked a firestorm of controversy, it’s the technique—hydraulic fracturing—used to extract it.
So what exactly is hydraulic fracturing?
Anna Joy says: says:
Firstly, you’ve got to love language, the ability to manipulate words to persuade any issue in the direction of your choosing. Good Job…
Example, “hydrofracking has been around for since the 1940’s”, while if this site were either well informed or not influenced in some way by the gas industry they would have also stated; that this type of hydrofracking (High Volume Horizontal Hydrolicfracturing) has only been around since the 90’s and stands out because of the intense use of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals used in their mixture.
I could go on for hours about all these little things that basically allows thee companies to exploit the people and land of our beautiful nation. Look at how they gained all these federal exemptions “some how” during the Cheney reign. How is an industry that has any toxic chemical use in relation to gas retrieval in our environment and near homes exempt from the EPA’s Clean Air Clean Water Act??? Cheney’ affiliations with Haliburton perhaps? and Hailburtons production of Hydrofracking technologies/machinery.
I wont rant on, though there are literally hundreds of example of how fracked this industry is. and unfortunately a prime example of government and industry sharing pockets of the same pants. I want to leave with one food for thought… If this is truly ok then why are there some many unanswered questions? why cant we know whats exactly in this mixture before they pump it into our farm lands? Why do they have so so many federal exemptions that no other industry similar can compare to? And if we are in such a huge gas crisis to the point we need to rush production, then why is the very gas that’s being retrieved being sold to other countries while our economic status only worsens and gas prices increase.
Honestly, are there no light bulbs going off in your heads,
and for those whom deceive the truth with colorful language, how’s is your conscience?
Final note; WATER is our mot precious resource, not gas, and people should be our priority, not industrial profits.
– A concerned citizen of NY
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