Name: Fayaz Shaikh Prof: Leo Zwischenberger Subject: English 114 “Ethics of Fracking” Fracking is actually drilling for gas, it’s not a normal drilling. It uses very harmful chemicals that are injected deep in earth, almost five to eight thousand meters. Those chemicals crack to rocks to obtain natural gas. As this provide so much gas to United States, it’s been used here for sixty years. It also have some very harmful effects on humans and nature.
Environmental health Unit 38 P1 Explain how human activity can damages the environment For years now we have been warned about human activity destroying our planet and environment. Some of the things that humans are affecting are Climate Change, Depletion of Ozone Layer, Pollution, Deforestation and Extinction of Species. Overcrowding, urbanisation and population growth Overcrowding can affect our planet more than some people think, Overcrowding means more people this means we use more natural resources this means the earth in the end isn’t going to have enough resources to support the growing population. Remember every person on the planet takes up space which could be used for farmland, and forests. People excrete wastes and litter that flow into water systems, and animal habitats, this is slowly polluting water and killing wildlife.
I have learned that the use of toxic chemicals during the fracking process and the occurring release of toxic chemicals and radioactive materials during well processing is bad for the environment. Such as, Naphthalene, Xylene, Toluene, Methylbenzene, and Formaldehyde, are all known or suspected to be human carcinogens (Schmidt). Also Hydraulic fracking hurts the environment by the contaminating the water wells, and springs, in which many humans and animals drink from. Another environment impact of hydraulic fracturing is air pollutions. Finally the way fracking impacted animal and human health.
These runoffs have contributed to the beach closures, and the unsustainable condition of biological life in the lake. Human health is at great risk due to the untreated waste that is dumped in Lake Huron each year. The untreated sewage contains many viruses, two being Giardia (an intestinal parasite), cryptosporidium, which causes intestinal illnesses and even death. E. coli a more familiar virus has elevated its concentrations in Lake Huron, found in either animal or human feces, which causes diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps. ("Testing the waters,"
West Virginia Chemical Spill Effecting Our Environment Industrialization has greatly impacted our Earth. In the article Federal Grand Jury Investigates West Virginia Chemical Spill, the authors, Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick, emphasize the damage the chemical spill did to our planet. Many people were left with no water to use and the environment was greatly damaged by the spill. Chemical plants allow our society to develop some service such as water, electricity or disposal services. Conversely, Chemical plants can contaminate the pure water or create harmful diseases to humans and the Earth.
2013).Pharmaceutical companies sometimes place active chemicals and waste into groundwater sources, in which almost all of the groundwater may be untreated which most likely cause contamination. (Herber, 2002). Abstract: Increase in the emissions of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels is the largest cause of environmental down grading resulting not only in global warming but also causing acid rain which alters the pH balance of ground water. Water is a universal solvent; however, its dissolving properties are very sensitive to changes in temperature and pH. Global economic growth has, unfortunately,
When we refine or even dig up oil sands we produce harmful chemicals. Since Alberta oil sands are located near major rivers some of those chemicals end up in the rivers. The most famous case is with the Athabasca River, where the water is contaminated by many harmful chemicals. The Athabasca water ecosystem is slowly being poisoned and so are the people that use the water for their water supply. The oil sands maybe a large part of our social and economic structure, but they are slowly ruining our environment.
Fracking is inherently risky, there is extensive evidence to suggest that fracking can contaminate groundwater and that it causes significant air pollution. For the first time in history, smog has become a major issue in many rural communities in the US, with some villages in Wyoming experiencing worse smog than downtown Los Angeles and an increase in lung cancer cases of over 500%. Since 2005, 1.2 trillion litres has been wasted in the fracking process creating toxic waste which cannot be recycled and must be disposed of very carefully to avoid danger to humans and the environment. In addition, one in six deep injection wells examined have an integrity violation leading to the leaking of toxic waste into the environment – more than 17,000 violations in the US alone. Such is the desperation for energy in the US, fracking has had to be made exempt from parts of at least seven major national statutes, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act in order for it to be made legal.
Whether you drive your car to work, turn on your light to illuminate a dark room or just watching television, you are burning using up energy that is being processed at a coal plant. Now that you know the enemy, let me inform you of its damage. Over the years, it’s been recorded that global warming has warmed up the entire planet causing water levels to rise; this may lead to devastating floods in costal cities all across the world. If that isn’t bad enough, we’re causing man made diseases with all the pollutants in the air. One such disease would be asthma, which takes the lives of 250,000 worldwide every year.
The methane concentration is seventeen percent higher in the drinking water near sites where fracking is performed. The water is used by near by cities and towns. This water has been seen to cause sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage to those who are exposed to it. The chemicals used in the mixture are chemicals known to cause cancer. Fracking is also hard on the environment.