Self-Analysis

Let’s go back to a year ago: my knowledge of the internet was free music, facebook, Google, and random funny websites (p.s. those three links are random funny websites). I thought blogging was for people who didn’t have anyone to express their thoughts to except the people who endless surf the web—I was wrong. Speaking in strictly general blogging terms, I have grown to become much more open and accepting of others’ views, opinions, and practices.

Speaking in terms of the growth I have made in knowledge and understanding of Onshore Drilling, I have also come along way. In my first post I praised GasLand for its ohhh so perfect and complete portrayal of the onshore drilling world—I was wrong again. While GasLand does open the eyes of many Americans and relatively portray the world of onshore drilling correctly, it has many mistakes. Most of the mistakes come out of completely biased opinions: everyone they interview and see are excruciatingly biased in the way they think. Ninety percent of Josh Fox’s interviews are with people who have strong opinions and have contaminated water; the other interviews are cut so they make it seem so obvious that the gas companies are lying. Bias is the area in which most of my improvement has come from.

I have researched and read through numerous websites and articles that deal with fracking. Almost every site shows some sort of bias; however, through this blogging I have become pretty keen at spotting the bias. Sites such as ProPublica and 7Bends show large amounts of bias in favor of the environmentalists; they claim to be giving the truth that other news sites don’t. Other sites, such as, Colorado Independent and the National Journal, as well as, energy company sites like Chesapeake Energy, all show bias towards the gas drilling companies; they stress the importance of oil and keeping as many jobs as possible.

In addition to the bias many places show, I have learned how complex this issue really is. We have a need for jobs and Halliburton and other oil companies are providing many jobs. We also need as much gas as we can get; whether we like it or not America needs high quantities of gas to function. So while the environmentalists advocate to end onshore drilling (something I think would be good as well), there is simply no way to—we depend on these companies that many have come to hate. Through this blogging I have learned the true debate going on in the political and environmental sphere of the world, while simultaneously becoming more keen to bias.

Los Liiiiiiiinks!

 Affirming GasLand
This is by far the most used link in my archive. The Natural Gas drilling companies attacked the documentary GasLand online and trying to debunk the facts throughout the movie. This link is a 30 page comeback, from Josh Fox of GasLand, which provided hundreds of other links and facts about the harmful effects of fracking. While it is biased the information is relatively correct and persuasive.

7Bends

7Bends and especially the article linked to provide lots of information and news stories about hydraulic fracturing and the effects of it.

Vanity Fair
This article from Vanity Fair and the video attached do a great job of explaining what fracking is and the debate behind its use and lack of regulation.

Scientific America
Scientific America has numerous articles about fracking and the scientific evidence that pinpoints fracking as harmful. This article specifically talks about the pollution to water that fracking is causing.

ProPublica
Like Scientific America, ProPublica has a vast amount of articles and information on fracking and its effects. This article is also on the pollution that fracking is possibly adding to our drinking water.

Congress Launches Investigation
This is another story from ProPublica talking about Congress investigating the drilling practices of the energy companies.
Chemicals Found in Drinking Water
This article by ProPublica is about the EPA finding chemicals used in fracking in people’s drinking water in Wyoming.

Hydraulic Fracturing | Hydraulic Fracturing | US EPA
This is a link to the EPA’s description of hydraulic fracturing. It is an unbiased source that gives the basic description of what fracking is.

Hydraulic Fracturing Facts
This is a site set up by the Chesapeake Energy Company and they go into a lot of detail about what fracking is and where it is occurring. They also provide many .pdf files that show the usage facts.

Number of Wells
This link shows graphs and charts that showcase the number of natural gas wells and the trends of growth or decay of these wells.

YouTube Videos
There are numerous videos on YouTube that show the contamination of water and other things about gas drilling. Although they could be extremely biased, they do provide a good viewpoint of the people.

Government List of Chemicals and Procedure
This is a list of some of the chemicals pumped into the ground and the procedures that are used in the process of fracking and natural gas drilling.

Company Exemptions
This site provides many facts about the exemptions that the drilling companies have from many of the government policies protecting the environment.

New York Times
The Times has a couple good articles on Onshore Drilling and this one talks about two companies who admit using diesel fuel during fracking to pressurize and crack the ground, which is against the law.

Bureau of Land Management-Utah
This site is for the BLM of Utah and it provides figures about the amount of land given to companies for natural gas drilling

Theo Colborn’s Site
This is the world famous environmentalist’s, Theo Colborn’s, website. It talks about facking in general and provides a list of about 695 chemicals she has found in fracking fluids.

Senator Inhofe Speaks Out for Fracking
This is a link of a republican Senator named James Inhofe; he is pro-Onshore drilling and gives many reasons why fracking is positive for the economy and America.

            Video of Inhofe
            This is a video of his speech

Colorado Speaks Out Against EPA
The EPA asked nine major energy companies for the list of chemicals they use in their drilling process. Colorado politicians spoke out against the EPA and backed up the Gas Companies; this is the article about their position.

Good Neighbor Blogs

Algae: Powering the Future
This is one blog that everyone should check out; Humanmachine’s blog reveals an innovative alternative to the harsh practice of onshore drilling: algae. He researches and delves into the pros and cons of algae used as an alternative fuel; such as, the amount of space needed for algae to grow and the time it would take to produce a substantial amount. If you are interested in stopping oil drilling, check out this blog.

America was in a recession, but then they got high
Lacey LaPlant does an immaculate job with her blog, “America was in a recession, but then they got high.” She probes into the world of legalizing marijuana. She explains the pros and cons of legalization if it were to happen; but most importantly she enlightens us the positive effect legalization of cannabis would have on our economy. She also keeps us up to date on the current laws and bills that a trying to get passed, such as Proposition 19. If you want to know what that is—read her blog!

Rights for All and Same-Sex Marriage
Both of these blogs deal with the chiefly the same issue: rights of homosexuals. In “Rights for All” Elaine digs into the multitude of issues dealing with Gay Rights, such as, marriage and the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” Policy emplaced by the Clinton administration. “Same-Sex Marriage,” by Sparky McDolspienker, deals with specially the issue of marriage in the LGBT world. He discusses the pros and cons of the issue and ways to solve it, like secular marriage. I think both of these blogs are great reads and inform us of the controversial debate quite well; so read them!

Immediate Fracking Problems

Throughout the life of my blog, I have explored the future or potential problems caused by hydraulic fracturing and natural gas drilling. Now it’s time to show you some immediate problems:

These two photos showcase some of the immediate dangers of natural gas drilling and fracking. There are stories all over the internet of natural gas wells exploding, injuring, and killing people. The photograph to the top is in Texas, from a well going into the Barnett Shale; the photo on the left is another explosion in Pennsylvania. This article is about an explosion in Indiana that killed 2 people; the strangest thing I found in that article is that the company from Houston, Texas that came up to cap off the burning well was called, “Wild Well Control.” If an entire company can be based off contained “wild wells” I don’t think it is a good idea to have thousands of wells in people’s backyards; but maybe it’s just me. The fact that a team from Texas had to fly all the way to Indiana to stop the fire because no one else could also illustrates the lack of safety precautions set up around these wells. It is almost like the Deepwater Horizons oil spill; after the explosion it took far too long for someone to figure out how to stop the flaming gas from spewing out.

These explosions are happening all over the nation: here in West Virginia, here is another from West Virginia, here is a huge explosion in Texas, many more. Not only explosions are happening due to gas drilling; there are thousands of incidents around the country that have occurred. “Accidents are not uncommon in unconventional natural gas mining. In Pennsylvania, 1,435 violations by Marcellus shale drilling/mining companies were documented in two and a half years between January 2008 and June 2010. In Colorado, the Denver Post reported over 5 million gallons of drilling liquid and oil spilled in almost 1,000 accidents over a similar time period. A Marcellus Shale gas well exploded June 3 in Clearfield County, Pa., spewing natural gas and toxic wastewater for 16 hours before it could be capped.”

Even if you don’t consider the potential long-term effects of natural gas drilling and fracking, it is easy to see the immediate danger that these practices pose to our environment and workers.  

Give Your Mind a Fracking Break

If you have been thinking about fracking too much lately, so have I so here's a site to get your mind off of it.

http://www.foodporndaily.com/

(site does not contain fracking or nudity)

Should Companies Disclose the Fracking Chemicals?

About a month ago the EPA requested the fracking chemicals from 9 Natural Gas drilling companies. These chemicals are a secret concoction that these companies pump into the wells that are going dry; the chemical cocktails contain hundreds of chemicals that are unknown to the public and could be seriously endangering the environment. Gas drilling companies strive to keep these chemicals a secret because they are specially designed to create the right balance of pressure underground and gain the highest amount of gas; if they make this information public any other company can steal their hard work. However, the risk that these chemicals pose to the environment is severe and the Environmental Protection Agency is finally stepping in to try and regulate these companies.

Many companies are furious that the EPA is asking for the chemical list; but one is looking on the bright side. By disclosing the chemicals used in fracking, Ranger Resources Corp. hopes that they will please the EPA and the public and prevent even more regulations on their practices. The public view on hydraulic fracturing is extremely negative and this has a great deal of influence on the government and EPA’s push for regulation. I believe that if these companies are telling the truth and their chemicals are one-hundred percent safe to the environment, they should follow in Ranger Resource Corp.’s footstep and tell the public what they use. It would improve the public view on the practice and the EPA would allow them as much freedom as they once had a few years ago.

Implications of These Fracking Practices

Through the analysis posting, we can see the seriousness of the natural gas and fracking issue throughout the United States. There are indeed ways to solve this issue; new biofuel like algae is a possibility (which we explored in the Theory post two days ago). However, what if natural gas drilling and the employment of fracking doesn't subside or harsher regulations weren't implemented? The EPA is requesting a list of fracking chemicals from each of the major gas drilling companies; however, the companies are putting up quite a fight. If the big gas companies end up winning the standoff with the EPA and evade regulations by the government it could result in many negative impacts. The environment is the first factor that would be harmed; in the Midwest the land is extremely venerable to contamination and desertification due to these chemicals. If the government can't properly test and regulate these practices and we blindly put all of our trust into these companies, the environment could be harmed beyond repair before we know what we’re doing wrong. Without regulation, our environment is in a great deal of harm and potential destruction. Not only could our land become infertile, much our drinking water could become contaminated and undrinkable as well. This is already happening in many areas of the Midwest and with drilling beginning on the Marcellus Shale in the Northeast there is a possibility more drinking water could be contaminated. Overall, if these practices aren’t regulated or stopped all together the consequences could be destructive.