Apr
2
Blog Post #13: Fracking
April 2, 2015 | Leave a Comment
The popularity of fracking has increased over the years in many of our states. Fracking is essentially extracting natural gas using a high-pressured mixture of water, sand, and chemicals. It is said to create safety hazards in our water and atmosphere. Many environmental groups and advocates have fought against the practice of fracking and Governor Cuomo took to their side with his recent ban on fracking in NY. With many other economic, educational, and environmental problems on hand, this is one step forward in the right direction.
Fracking is only a short-term relative solution for an alternative energy resource. The only advantages of this practice are for its high monetary value and its increase in energy resources. Even if there are more energy resources, they are not renewable or sustainable. In both the BBC and NY Times article, it is said that extensive fracking may cause water contamination, air pollution and small earthquakes. There seems to be no concrete evidence for the safety of fracking either. The risks out-weight the benefits here. There will also be a time when there will be no more gas to extract and we will need a new alternative solution.
I like the fact that the BBC article gives both the advantages and disadvantages to this controversial issue. Even here, there are more risks than benefits. It’s also interesting to see that there only a small percentage of companies fracking in the UK. This may be the result of having to get a license for fracking. I don’t see why the US doesn’t have a law like this to decrease the amount of potential companies trying to frack. However, you can see that there are lots of companies who are considering getting a license. Why are companies willing to destroy the environment for monetary gains when there are better alternatives?
I could see that people are more willing to accept profits now and pay for the consequences later, but the environment can’t be easily fixed. Fracking raises environmental costs where they need to use large amounts of water to be transported and used on fracking sites. It also damages nearby neighbors by causing climate change, air pollution, and water contamination. As what Dr. Zucker asked, who would want to live in a community where fracking is taking place?
Firms and governments should invest their money for the long term; in renewable sources of energy. We need to put our money in renewable energy research. Therefore, we can rely on efficient and sustainable supply of energy resources instead of fossil fuels. It’s great that fracking is banned in NY, but there needs to be pressure on other stares to do that same.
-JanYing He
