Introduction Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a drilling technique used for extracting oil or gas from deep under the earth’s surface. It has been around for more than 60 years, but has emerged as a controversial topic in the US energy sector. The highly debated activity has become a focal point to environmental and political issues. Since 1949, the beginning stages, which started in Texas and Oklahoma, fracking has fueled an environmental debate of clean air, drinkable water, clean energy, and its large contribution to green house gases. This process is much safer and cleaner than the old method known as the “Exploding Torpedo,” but still leaves room for controversy due to its profitable amounts of oil and the lingering effects. The gas and oil industries diligently worked to perfect a fracking process to extract more oil. After hydraulic fracturing began commercializing, this new oil extracting process allowed the US to become the worlds largest oil and gas producer.

What is hydraulic fracturing? Hydraulic fracking involves pumping water, chemicals, and solid materials down an oil or gas well under extremely high pressure to break apart rocks or pockets that contain oil and gas. The solid materials used with the water and chemicals usually is sand and holds the cracks open after they are formed. When the cracks are held open oil and gas can easily flow to the well with less resistance. This new technique of fracking has allowed a huge boom in the oil and gas industries to allow oil companies to become prosperous and make a lot of money. In fact, this process is used in nine out of ten natural gas wells in the US and has allowed oil production to increase by nearly 1200 percent.

How is it done? Fracking begins with a well that is vertically drilled to one or two miles deep from the surface. When the drilled well reaches its point of destination,