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Oil and Gas

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Natural gas is a fossil fuel formed when layers of buried plants, gases, and animals are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands of years. "Many observers have hailed natural gas as a solution to several energy problems facing the U.S. Utilizing the country's ample domestic supply of the resource, many have said, could greatly decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil and possibly drive energy prices down." In order to access the natural gas in the U.S. shale formations, energy companies have employed a controversial procedure called hydraulic fracturing—also known as "hydrofracking" or simply "fracking." Hydrofracking is a technique that releases natural gas by pumping millions of gallons of water, laced with sand and chemicals, thousands of feet underground to blast open, or fracture, shale formations, freeing the gas. [See Today's Science: Natural Gas—Bridge to the Future?]
This process has raised numerous questions and uncertainty in minds of many critics and supporters. Supporters of hydrofracking are arguing that there is no proven case of hydrofracking contaminating drinking water, and the process is perfectly safe. On the other hand, Critics of hydrofracking arguing that the chemicals used in fracking fluid are toxic and pose a danger to public health if they contaminate drinking water reserves or leak out of wells. Oil and gas companies are not being honest with the public about the dangers of hydrofracking, and the federal government should apply much stricter, nationwide regulations to ensure that hydrofracking does not cause widespread health problems that could plague the public for

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