Hydraulic fracturing
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Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking for short, is a method of extracting natural gas and oil where fluid is shot through a borehole in a rock formation in order to fracture it allowing for an easier mining process. The process has been in use since the 1940s, however, it has come under fire recently due to a number of alleged instances of groundwater contamination in Pennsylvania and across the mid-western United States. The safety of fracking operations is also under question due to the fact that newer methods developed over the last decade or so allow much deeper wells to be drilled.
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[edit] Environmental effects
It's difficult to definitively link specific cases of groundwater contamination with fracking. The EPA has acknowledged past cases[1] and a possible current case in Wyoming[2] but the extent to which current cases of contamination are caused by fracking or natural causes is still speculative. A 2011 study by Duke University researchers found increased levels of methane in drinking water near fracking sites but this doesn't demonstrate a "smoking gun" link.[3] Another issue with the practice is that energy companies are not required to disclose what chemicals are used in the fracking fluid (most of it is just water and sand, but may include diesel as a Congressional probe revealed).[4]
Besides contamination of groundwater, another issue is the release of "fugitive" methane into the atmosphere. Because methane is a greenhouse gas (more potent than carbon dioxide), it would worsen global warming.[5][6][7]
[edit] Basic Geology
The layer of black shale is down in the subsurface several thousand feet. If you can drill down to that level, the hydrofracturing cracks do not extend more than 1000 feet or so; the ends of the cracks are still going to be several thousand feet below the surface [where wells and aquifers sit]. The image of turning on a water faucet and having natural gas leak out, in general those are situations where they have sunk their well into a sandstone that has already filled with gas; that gas is naturally accumulating. [8]
The idea that deep-injected fluids will migrate into groundwater is false. Basic geology prevents such contamination from starting below ground. A fracture caused by the drilling process would have to extend through the several thousand feet of rock that separate deep shale gas deposits from freshwater aquifers. According to geologist Gary Lash of the State University of New York at Fredonia, the intervening layers of rock have distinct mechanical properties that would prevent the fissures from expanding a mile or more toward the surface. It would be like stacking a dozen bricks on top of each other, he says, and expecting a crack in the bottom brick to extend all the way to the top one. What's more, the fracking fluid itself, thickened with additives, is too dense to ascend upward through such a channel. [9]
A video of a Colorado resident setting his tap water on fire due to gas seeping into the water supply has been circulating around the internet for some time.[10] Mike Markham, a landowner, ignites his tap water. However, according to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which tested Markham's water in 2008, there were "no indications of oil & gas related impacts to water well." Instead the investigation found that the methane was "biogenic" in nature, meaning it was naturally occurring and that his water well was drilled into a natural gas pocket. [11][12]
[edit] Politics
In 2005, the "Halliburton Loophole" inserted into the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by Joe Barton at the behest of Dick Cheney prevented EPA oversight of fracking.[13] Two versions of a bill called the FRAC Act were proposed in 2009 and have been stuck in legislative purgatory ever since.[14]
In December 2012 the Council on Foreign Relations argued that the reduction of gas prices could have a major impact on Russia. 60% of Russia's federal revenues come from energy exports and any reduction in income from gas would be catastrophic for Russia. Economic necessity and looming bankruptcy could one day force political reform on Russia. The article suggests that Russia has therefore financed environmental groups to oppose unconventional gas extraction methods like hydraulic fracturing, because there aren't normally protests in these countries. Because of large, country wide protests, Bulgaria and Czech Republic have banned this technology.[15]
[edit] External links
- FracFocus Chemical Disclosure Registry (It should be noted that participation in the registry is voluntary.)
- My Water's on Fire Tonight
- As Regulators Weigh Drilling in Marcellus Shale, EPA Opens Public Hearings on Health and Environmental Impact of Hydraulic Fracturing, Democracy Now!
- Hydraulic Fracturing Considerations for Natural Gas Wells of the Marcellus Shale, presentation to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
- Just the Fracking Facts, FactCheck
- Scientific American: The Drillers Are Coming, What the Frack?
- Facts About Fracking, SciShow
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ EPA probe of fracking contamination includes retrospective, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- ↑ EPA Releases Draft Findings of Pavillion, Wyoming Ground Water Investigation for Public Comment and Independent Scientific Review, EPA News Releases
- ↑ Stephen G. Osborn, Avner Vengosh, Nathaniel R. Warner, and Robert B. Jackson. Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online.
- ↑ U.S. fracking firms may have broken environmental law: probe, Reuters
- ↑ Fracking Methane, Real Climate
- ↑ Switching from Coal to Gas Would Do Little For Global Climate, Study Indicates, National Center for Atmospheric Research
- ↑ Gas and Air, Nature 482, 131–132 (09 February 2012)
- ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/fracking-facts-safety-chemicals-shale-2012-7
- ↑ http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/top-10-myths-about-natural-gas-drilling-6386593#slide-4
- ↑ Video of man setting his tap water on fire
- ↑ http://www.anga.us/critical-issues/the-truth-about-gasland
- ↑ COGIS Complaint Reports
- ↑ The Halliburton Loophole, New York Times
- ↑ Energy: The FRAC Act is Back in Congress, Summit County Citizens Voice
- ↑ http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138597/aviezer-tucker/the-new-power-map?page=show