Hydrofracking Research Paper

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The issue: Is hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, a safe way to extract natural gas, a much needed energy resource? Or could it contaminate drinking water and cause other environmental damage? * Supporters of hydrofracking say: There is no proven case of hydrofracking contaminating drinking water, and the process is perfectly safe. Natural gas can revive local economies, reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and provide a cleaner-burning fossil fuel. Further regulation is unnecessary and will only prevent an opportunity for the U.S. to develop an alternative energy source and create jobs. * Critics of hydrofracking say: The chemicals used in fracking fluid are toxic and pose a danger to public health if they contaminate drinking…show more content…
The use of chemicals in the hydrofracking process and the energy needed to operate the trucks and drills, critics say, offset the low carbon emissions from the burning of natural gas, making it no better than oil or coal. Furthermore, opponents contend, pollutants left behind at hydrofracking drilling sites could seep out from closed pipes and wells, posing a danger to public health for generations. Therefore, critics say, the federal government must step in to institute stricter regulations than the states have already…show more content…
Michael Economides, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Houston in Texas, testified, "[T]he fracture treatments are [at] well confined heights, at least a mile below the deepest groundwater. The chance of propagating a fracture upward into groundwater is nil. You have a better chance of winning the lottery." It is physically impossible, supporters say, for fracturing fluid to migrate upward from that

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