Fracking has become an issue for many people over the past decade. It involves everyday farmers and state governments, and it continues to inspire opposition. For any who do not know, fracking is the process of pushing water and a small amount of chemicals into a well to break apart the rock and release the gas inside. Although fracking has entered the spotlight only a few years ago, the actual practice of it goes back decades. During the 1940s, Oil companies were looking for ways to increase the flow of oil from their wells. Fracking was first used here to get a little more out of the wells before they were finished. The first method involved using gelled gasoline to break apart limestone formations. The first test did not increase flow, but …show more content…
President Gerald Ford embraced fracking as a way to free the US from imported oil. There wasn’t much more development until companies applied horizontal drilling, where the drill turns sideways in the shale and continues for several thousand feet. That one change enabled gas wells to access a huge volume of rock, and thus increase gas production by a colossal amount (Manfreda, 2015). Gas wells multiplied in number, but as they became more common, so did the side effects of the drilling. Reports came in about how people and their families experienced health problems soon after wells were drilled on their property. They gathered media attention across the country and gave everyone cause to reconsider fracking and if it should be allowed at all, despite its benefits. Although fracking produces a large amount of America’s natural gas, the process poses a danger to people living nearby and to the entire …show more content…
Natural gas is supposed to be a more environmentally friendly fuel, but nobody takes into account the entire process that goes into extracting and transporting it. The first problem is that transporting the gas isn’t a perfect process. Studies have shown and even the companies themselves have admitted that while the well is drilled and the gas is transported, some amount of methane escapes into the atmosphere, where it has greater effects on global warming than carbon dioxide. The estimated losses are as high as eight percent of all gas in the well (McGraw, 2016). The problem with methane being released is that it is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, as it does a better job at trapping heat in our atmosphere than carbon. That means less methane is needed than carbon dioxide to have the same warming effect on our planet. This is one of the bigger issues, as the escaped gas can make the reduced carbon emissions of natural gas pointless if it is released in sufficient amounts. The opposition pounced on the fact that the industry admitted they experience methane leaks that high. This is a problem that should be easily solved, as more effective seals on pipes and containers are all that is needed, but the industry hasn’t concerned itself with that problem yet. Still, this