Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 70 to 140 billion gallons of water are used to fracture 35,000 wells in the United States each year. This is approximately the annual water consumption of 40 to 80 cities each with a population of 50,000. Fracture treatments incoalbed methane wells use from 50,000 to 350,000 gallons of water per well, while deeper horizontal shale wells can use anywhere from 2 to 10 million gallons of water to fracture a single well. The extraction of so much water for fracking has raised concerns about the ecological impacts to aquatic resources, as well asdewatering of drinking water aquifers. It has been estimated that the transportation of a million gallons of water (fresh or waste water) requires 200 truck trips.
Ike was a huge economic burden to the U.S. and “estimates suggest Ike may become one of the costliest hurricanes on record” (FEMA 10). Hurricanes are known for causing severe structural damage to houses, but also have an effect on many businesses as well. Many people had to evacuate and be out of work for up to two weeks due to power outage and debris. Also, some businesses were damaged by flooding and wind, which caused the loss of crucial business equipment. Businesses were flooded along the Texas coast and lost all of their vital technology such as computers, telephones, and other office equipment.
Over the years, the silt has been collecting in Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, and it is predicted that over the next few hundred years this lake will fill up with silt. This could threaten the entire Colorado River reservoir system. Just in the past 10 years, Lake Mead’s water levels have dropped by more than 100 feet and the basin is only half full. Something needs to be done to stop the trends and even
The third chapter of the book focuses on coal mining and its dehumanizing effects that take place in Welch, West Virginia. "Disease in the coalfields is rampant... More than half a million acres, or eight hundred square miles, of the Appalachians have been destroyed... Along with an estimated one thousand miles of streams." Rudy Kelly is the main focus of this section; he was diagnosed with black lung cancer and he underwent multiple operations, although the doctors told him he was supposed to have died more than twenty years ago. He says, “I’m breathin’ because the profit margin is higher than the price of a man’s life.
The initial impact was devastating which left about 300,000 people homeless out of a population of about 410,000. Many of the people were evacuated to nearby cities, and the others lived in makeshift tents on the beach of North beach. In fact years later in 1908 these refugee camps were still in operation. The overall cost of the damages was estimated at the time to be 400 million US Dollars (around 8.2 Billion present Dollars). The fires that were a direct result from the main shock and the aftershocks were just as damaging because of the uncontrollable burning from ruptured gas lines.
U.S. forces had fifty four killed and 425 wounded in the initial invasion in November. By December 23, when the operation was officially concluded, the casualty number had risen to 95 killed and 560 wounded. Estimates of insurgent casualties are complicated by lack of official figures. Most estimates places the number of insurgents killed around 1,200 to 1,500 with some estimations as high as over 2,000 killed. Fallujah once known as the City of Mosques, had 60 of it’s over 200 mosques destroyed.
In this section of the report, the authors detail the rate at which destructive fire kills, injures, and causes property loss to Americans. The report states that fire claims the lives of 12,000 people every year in the U.S., making it the second highest cause of accidental death. That isn’t the only human toll, because there are also 300,000 people who are injured by fire on an annual basis. The authors expound on the injuries by detailing the painful experiences of patients who must endure numerous plastic and reconstructive surgeries. The price of destructive fire is estimated at over $11 billion a year in the U.S. Loss of businesses leads to loss of jobs, which is a price that is beyond calculation.
The area contains approximately 379 million gallons of drinking water for over 5 million people living in New Jersey. The Highlands is being threatened by overdevelopment. Between 1995 and 2000 the area lost 17,000 acres of forest and 8,000 acres of farmland. Due to the large development in the region the drinking water is being affected, causing it to become
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (ON SCREEN) Avalanche Dogs STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every year, more than 150 people worldwide are killed in avalanches. The most common causes of death are suffocation, trauma, and, to a lesser degree, hypothermia. Since the human body is three times denser than avalanche debris, we sink more quickly and once the avalanche stops, it gets so packed, it`s like hardened concrete. That`s why rescue dogs are so important. It would take rescue workers four hours to search a little over two acres.
In some cities as many as 500-800 people would die daily by this disease. This massive number of deaths greatly affected the economy in