Apr
2
Blog Post #13
April 2, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Just like how there two sides to everything, there are advantages and disadvantages to fracking. Without knowing much information about it and only from the readings, I personally don’t think fracking is that advantageous, especially to the environment. Although it may be a method to reach natural oil, at the same time it’s probably hurting the environment the same amount or more. Even if the earth tremors caused by fracking have so far been minor, that doesn’t mean that as time goes on, they won’t get worse, and by then it might be too late.
Reading more articles about fracking discounts one of the major controversies of fracking; the fact that the gas will contaminate drinking water. If the gas escapes into drinking water, that can have unknown effects on our bodies. Apparently if a match if held next to tap water, the methane from the gas will cause it to burst in flames. However, it’s not necessarily because of tracking that’s the cause of this burning water. If fracking wasn’t the cause of it, then the article stated it was natural and occurred worldwide. Natural wells can also leak this gas if they aren’t sealed properly, which is a human error.
The article also mentioned how the amount of methane in tap water was greater where fracking was also involved. However, there may be a logical explanation for that, which is how if there’s natural gas, energy companies will go there to drill so it’s not necessarily a causal relationship between tracking and amount of methane gas. These points provide an argument against one of the major controversies, but I still have doubt that fracking is harmless.
I agree with the first article about how we shouldn’t rely so much on fracking and should instead look for new sources of energy. I’m glad that Cuomo banned fracking in NYC because it’s a start to banning fracking, and soon other places may follow suit. Fracking remains a mystery where there still might be unknown effects, and we shouldn’t have to experience it the hard way in order to find out what those effects are.
Safety is probably the biggest issue; if protocol is followed, then there will probably be no problems. However, if there’s the chance that something will go wrong, what will happen to the people affected? Will the company tell the public about the mistake and try to resolve it?
-Margaret Wang
