Fracking is the title of my blog so it must be important, right? Correct, it is the most significant issue in the debate between environmentalists and Oil Companies for many reasons. Hydraulic Fracturing, or “fracking,” is involved in the deep oil well drilling executed by big Oil Companies across America. In the process of drilling oil wells, which are generally about 8,000 feet deep, there is not enough pressure to efficiently extract the oil out of the ground; this is the purpose of fracking. Fracking is the method of pressurizing the well by forcing millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground; therefore, creating fractures in the oil shale 8,000 feet down which allows the majority of the oil to flow into the well. Sounds like an efficient and safe method to get oil, right?
This is where the heart of the debate arises. Yes, fracking is efficient no one argues that; however, many argue that it is nowhere near “safe” for us or the environment. Hydro fracturing has many negative side effects according to environmentalists, pretty much all of which are denied by the Big Oil Companies. The millions of gallons of water pumped into the well during fracking is mixed with the oil and contaminated, they label this “produced water.” This water that is full of chemicals and oil is then left in pits to evaporate and produce harmful VOCs or seep into ground water that is used as drinking water for many people; also about 20-40% of this “produced water” and chemicals is just left in the well underground. This is the basis of the dispute with Big Oil Companies, who deny that any of this occurs.
I find this whole issue about oil drilling in the Midwest to be very interesting. When one thinks of oil wells, he or she thinks of sweltering Texas, in the middle of nowhere, or giant oil rigs off of America’s southern coast. As an advocate for alternative energy sources and environmental protection, I think that these big oil companies are taking advantage of the government loopholes, as you said before, and are disregarding the residual effects of drilling in these places. Fracking, although it is efficient in getting oil, seems to me like it has more detrimental effects than good ones. It is scary to think that this “produced water” is just being left to damage our atmosphere and our drinking water, inevitably having extremely harmful future side effects.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that this "produced water" should, under no circumstances, be left just sitting out. The gas companies not only leave it out and fill in manmade fill holes, they purposely spray this water into the air as fine misty particles that will easily evaporate. This is causing pollutants to be directly inserted into our atmosphere, such as, VOCs and O3 (which is the harmful chemical breaking apart our ozone layer). There are so many negative impacts of some of these practices and because of loopholes in policy the companies can just continue polluting the environment.
ReplyDeleteAll this information can be found directly on GasLand the documentary (which I strongly suggest everyone watches).