Blog Post 11.1, Production Report 1

Outline Item:


Opening:

Explain the basics of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and it's rise to current popularity. Introduce some pros and cons of fracking (BBC). Finish by introducing the great idea(s): safer and greener fracking technologies.

Attention Grabber:

State an interesting fact about fracking (From BBC Article, especially).


Adaption of Outline Item:

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, is a mining process used to extract natural gas and crude oil trapped within shale rock. First, a rig is setup to drill into the shale rock. After the drilling is complete, a highly pressurized mixture of water, sand, and chemicals is used to break apart the rock along the sides of the drill hole. The gas and oil contained within the rocks is then free to come up through the drill hole and be collected (BBC News, “What is fracking and why is it controversial?).

Recently, the United States has experienced a boom in fracking. Thousands of new wells have sprung up in Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and other Great Plains/Rocky Mountain states such as Nebraska and Colorado. The boom has led to a massive increase in oil production in the United States. Indeed, CNN states that, “Fracking now accounts for more than half of all U.S. oil output, according to the Energy Information Administration” (CNN, “Fracking now fuels half of U.S energy output). As well, BBC also claims that, “In the United States, it is estimated that fracking will provide gas security for the next one hundred years!” (BBC News, “Fracking: The pros and cons of extracting shale gas”). If the government of the United States truly wants to obtain a higher level of energy independence, fracking may be an effective solution.

 
Fracking, however, also has significant drawbacks that must be concerned. For one, the 

fracking process can lead to significant pollution of local groundwater supplies. Tracy Carluccio, the 

deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, is quoted as saying, “Fracking disturbs, 

distributes, and carries upward with the fracked gas ‘produced waters’ containing radioactive 

materials, heavy metals, hydrocarbons such as BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and toluene), 

bromide, highly concentrated salts, and many other organic and inorganic compounds that, when 

exposed to our environment, are dangerous health hazards” (US News. “Fracking is Destroying Our 

Groundwater”). This consequence of fracking, while not seen in every well or every community, is 

still enough to convince some towns to ban fracking entirely. As well, fracking is being blamed by 

some for being the cause of minor earthquakes and tremors. Before fracking is expanded further, the 

safety and environmental concerns over the industry must be talked about. There are several new 

technologies being proposed to lessen the impact of fracking on the environment. Three possible 

improvements are: waterless fracking, using recycled water in the fracturing process, and changing 

the chemicals used.