While sitting in class for this lesson, I could not help but think about the goal of each lesson: to leave class more knowledgeable than before I had entered. The reason for this is the first time that I had heard about fracking was in my senior year at high school, as one of my classmates had been working for an anti-fracking agency in New York City. I remember seeing him pass out materials, and always don a button advertising his stance against fracking, but I never asked him about the subject, nor did I take his fliers. All the knowledge I had attached to fracking was that it was bad, because, if my friend is a smart guy, he must be on the right side. I understand it is foolish to gain a bias without any information on the subject, but since hearing the word “fracking”, I began to hear it more and more often. What interested me about the subject was the one-sidedness to the argument, as I heard arguments only against fracking. The media began to blow up at this time with news of fracking, yet somehow, I managed to accidentally evade any facts on the subject. Even all the celebrities were against fracking! How could I not be?
This lesson provided me with the information I believe necessary to gain my own stance on fracking. Now, originally having no information on the subject I was inclined to say fracking is a bad thing, however at this point I am not 100% certain of this. Although the lesson certainly gave me enough facts to jump on Mark Ruffalo’s bandwagon, it seems that the issue goes deeper than that (no pun intended). Obviously, it cannot be disputed that the videos we saw are more than just “parlor tricks,” lighting running water on fire. It would be a mindblowing coincidence if the only places that running water can be ignited were around fracking sites. The major issue in fracking seems to be the methods in which the gas is extracted, as it is an extremely aggressive process. It seems foolish to be attempting to release gasses so close to sources of water or the underground water ways. Despite all this, I have not lost all hope for fracking. There is no doubt my mind could be persuaded otherwise with further information, I am not implying I know all there is to know, but it seems like there have been serious flaws in the ways in which people are implementing the technique, especially in the safety precautions. I feel that if more money were invested rather than attempted to be profited from, fracking could possibly be a useful means of extracting these gases, but only if the proper safety precautions are made. I can say I agree with Mr. Ruffalo in that fracking should be put to a stop now, at least while people are being affected by the mistakes of big corporations, but the book on fracking should not be closed quite yet.
