Apr
16
Blog Post #15: Innovation in Energy
April 16, 2015 | Leave a Comment
We’ve talked about hydraulic fracturing plenty of times and have seen the negative effects outweighing the positive ones. Sure, hydraulic fracturing is a better alternative to other options such as oil drilling and coal mining. However, it is still not the optimal solution, not even close. Hydraulic fracturing utilizes over 600 carcinogenic chemicals and toxins that pollute the water supply and destroys the environment. There has to be cleaner alternatives, especially with technological innovations skyrocketing in the past few decades.
Many proponents of hydraulic fracturing, such as those in the AVI article, give the same excuse that such an option provides jobs for our improving but fragile economy, that the technique has not been scientifically proven harmful for the environment and people, that it is the only way to supply the economy’s demand for energy. Yes, it does provide a certain amount of jobs and supply the demand for energy. However, thsee positives are coming at a higher cost.
Hydraulic fracturing does provide jobs. Concurrently, this technique also creates and sustains a small group of wealthy, hardened individuals who view hydraulic fracturing as a mean of climbing up the social ladder. They do not sympathetize with the citizens who are forced to drink chemical ridden tap water. Additionally, they do not realize that a “small” addition to the income inequality makes a big difference as the Gini coefficient had skyrocketed since the 1970s and 1980s.
At the B-Corp/Corporate Social Responsibility event at Baruch, one speaker from Equitable Origins mentioned that there may not exist an energy source that is completely clean, but there is one out there that comes pretty close. With the innovation we’ve seen across so many industries, I believe this solution is not out of our reach. In fact, the absurd amount of money we’ve placed into hydraulic fracturing is definitely something we can reallocate into the research and development of new, innovative options for satisfying the energy supply.
However, this innovation is not highly encouraged by those in power in the energy and hydraulic fracturing. This is naturally due to the fact that such innovation will draw revenues away from the higher ups who are reaping in millions from this lucrative business. The articles do say, however, that hydraulic fracturing is, no matter how lucrative, not sustainable in the least. At one point, we must change. We can either choose to do so now before more damage is inflicted on our crumbling environment or later when changing is the last option we have left. Good businesses never want to be backed into a corner where there is only one option left. We shouldn’t either.
-Amy (SiJia) You
