Why should fracking be banned in New York?

Answer 1

Tina Li

603

4/12/12

Salk School of Science

When you first hear the word fracking, you may think that it is a new curse word and a smile appears. However, fracking is scarier when you've discovered the truth. It's the cause of heaven getting destroyed and the cause of someone's life getting ruined. Actually, fracking is a mining or drilling technique, commonly used in oil drilling and natural gas production. It's also called Hydrofracking and Hydraulic fracturing. Oil and gas companies first buy drilling rights from landowners. Then, they use water-based solutions to force rocks underground to open to allow oil or natural gas to be sucked out and turned into electricity or heat. Fracking puts our health and the environment's in serious risks. Fracking pollutes the water and air, and is dangerous for the workers and the animals. When landowners suspect that fracking is contaminating their water, a settlement can be made where the landowners can be given money; in return, they will need to promise to not talk to anyone about the problem. Fracking has taken place in 24 other countries outside of the U.S. and is now also taking place in New York State. Many of the areas on the Marcellus Shale, an underground rock formation running from parts of northern Kentucky and eastern Ohio through upstate New York is being planned to be the setting of Hydrofracking. Scientists are debating whether or not to allow fracking to take place in our beloved state. A solid decision will probably be made in the following year. I'm here to beg you to give all of the opponents a push by standing on our side. Hydrofracking shouldn't be allowed to take place in New York.

Unfortunately, animals are dying because of Hydrofracking accidents. Could humans be next? Do you know what do 17 dead cows; seven stillborn puppies, an anorexic horse, and a delirious child have in common? According to research published recently in New Solutions, they were all injured because of drilling for natural gas. The authors of The Dead-Cows Study reviewed 25 cases when health problems among the animals and their owners were suspected of being linked to fracking. In one case, fluid used in Hydraulic Fracturing was accidently released into a cow pasture. It killed 17 strong, healthy cows in one hour! Another case describes a series of events at two homes that were exposed to a large amount of natural gas drilling wastewater. First, a horse suddenly developed anorexia and died from liver failure. Then a dog, who had previously delivered three healthy litters, birthed a fourth in which one puppy was stillborn and one had cleft palate. In her fifth litter, seven puppies were stillborn and an eighth died with 24 hours; some were hairless. In another house, after a child was hospitalized, a test showed that the cause of his/her pain was arsenic poisoning. Scientific researches take years to figure out causes and solutions. People could be harmed while waiting. Indeed, we all needed to make decisions based on facts; we will need to take actions to protect the animals and ourselves. The best way is to stop fracking. While fracking accidents are mostly harming the animals, fracking also pollutes the water; consequently people are noticing a huge change in water quality.

Fracking contaminates the water in a very obvious way. Fracking could had been done only using water and clean sand. However to make the job easier and cheaper, the process includes many other 596+ chemicals. Many were harmful and some were unknown. For example, it includes methane that is also an ingredient of cigarettes. Also, there's diesel fuel, hydrochloric acid, and glycol ethers. Even though the fluid used in the process is pumped out after doing its job, it's impossible to get it all out. Studies show 20-40 percent remains underground which is same as 140,000 gallons of the fluid being left behind. Then, the harmful water will get mixed into some underground water sources.(EPA) Earthworks, an advocacy group, informs me that at least six states have reported changes of water quality after/before fracking is performed nearby. People found black grease, odors, methane, a gassy taste, and black sediments in their drinking water after the process was held. According to Gasland, the fracking water first turns tan, then brown, and finally results in the color of mud. Surprisingly, the water was so polluted that it is flammable. Also, the wastewater can cause brain damages. "Parts of the area overlaying Marcellus Shale and it's gas is the main water source of New York City and some of the surrounding countries- over 9 million people." One representative for Cabot Oil & Gas showed up at Ronald Carter's door with a tempting deal. The company he works for wanted the natural gas that lay deep below Carter's home, and the representative said that Cabot would pay Carter about $1,875. Still, Carter was afraid to imagine what would happen to his home is he signed the paper, but the representative told him that even if he didn't sign, they will still snake under his land and suck out the gas anyway. With such a threat, he signed. Today, he looks back at his decision and sighs. His family well is now tainted with natural gas that has leaked from nearby drilling. The water is too poisonous to be use for drinking, cooking, or bathing. Guests on the porch feel uncomfortable and they seem unpleasant to be there. They receive watery eyes and scratchy throats. They can't possibly breathe with all the fumes in the air. His family is hoping to sell their home and move to a better living environment, but what worries them is who will buy such a polluted junk land? This is the story of Carter's family and their unfortunate experience linked to hydraulic fracturing from Gas Leaks, by Joshua Kors. It illustrates what terrible scene it would be if a family agrees on the idea of allowing hydrofracking to take place near their home. Therefore, fracking is a huge threat for our country's water supplies. Could you imagine how our country could stand polluted air too?

Fracking causes air pollution and release lots of greenhouse gas. When fracking is performed, the wells could explode and cause a big spill. The big spill will cause air pollution and water contamination. "Leaks in gas wells and pipelines may also contribute to air pollution and to greenhouse gas emissions. While this isn't proven yet, many studies had suggested that the full carbon footprint of fracking could possibly cause more global warming than coals do. It is described because of the production of chemicals and the escaped emission of gas going into the atmosphere," Greenpeace- Fracking suggested. According to Gasland, about 1150 trucks go through Upstate New York per fracking well, performing many different roles. The oil the trucks use will pollute the air too. Upstate New York is the "lung" of New York; New York needs some clean air to refresh the place once in awhile so the air here could be half-way live-able. Our world is hotter today than 2000 years ago because of globe warming. The global temperature could climb so high that the climate and weather patterns could become more complicated, human civilization would be radically different later, Greenpeace- Stop Globe Warminginforms. As we create more greenhouse gas, more heat will be trapped in our atmosphere. Due to the fact: the temperature of our whole planet will rise, the whole ecosystem will be affected. For example, ocean levels are predicted to rise which will cause more land going underwater and less home for people. As we lose large area of land, some areas will be overpopulated. Another example is that places that currently have less water will contain even less water because of evaporation; similarly places with lots of ice will experience ice melting more often, and this will cause floods. Furthermore, unpredictable weather patterns will make it harder to plant crops and food will soon turn into a limiting factor. Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas that controls the planetary thermostat. Today's level of greenhouse gas is around 390 ppm. The Earth's temperature is expected to rise 3F to 7F in this century. The Earth's temperature is much like humans' body temperature, if a person's body temperature is as high as the Earth's, that person will get a fever. Climate change could cause 30% of the world's species to be threatened with extinction within someone's lifetime. Trees are our helpers, they turn carbon dioxide to oxygen while the process of photosynthesis. However because of the increase of the human population, many trees are chopped down; meanwhile the level of carbon dioxide is increasing and the trees just can't catch up. Furthermore, carbon dioxide makes asthma worse and also causes heat waves. For example on July 21, 2011, temperatures went go above the 100-degree mark with hot, sticky weather in cities from Washington, D.C., to Charlotte, N.C. At least two dozen people died of heat-related causes that week as the heat fixed itself over the Great Plains, transforming a large area of the nation's midsection into a sauna. That Tuesday, at least 17 states reached 100 degrees - a result of high pressures compressing and cooking the air. Therefore, as global warming and climate change continues, many organisms will be forced to make big and unpleasant changes to their living situation. We will needed to avoid using fossil fuels, and use renewable resources that are clean, cheap, and never run out. We are planning to be green but fracking is blocking us from our goal.

Some economists might say that fracking shouldn't be banned since it provide , many jobs and will keep the young people in the country. I disagree with that statement because of many reasons. According to Jannette Barth, an economist from J.M. Barth and Associates, areas that had fracking performed near by actually had a greater amount of unemployed people and highest unemployment rates. Also, fracking is suggested to be dangerous for the workers. Transportation and trucking issues present danger for the workers at natural gas sites. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), highway motor vehicle crashes accounted for 27 percent of the fatal injuries suffered by oil and gas extraction workers in the United States during 2003-2006. The New York City study estimated that 1,000 or more trips are required for trucks hauling fracking fluid to and from each well site. The CDC reports that truck drivers and workers in personal automobiles frequently travel long distances between well sites on rural highways that lack firm road shoulders, rumble strips and, occasionally, pavement. Because workers often are on 8- to 12-hour shifts and work 7 to 14 days in a row, fatigue is as a significant risk factor in trucking and transportation accidents among gas extraction workers. I'm sure money isn't worth of one's life or health. A recent study by the economic forecasting company IHS Global Insight Inc., paid for by the America's Natural Gas Alliance, projects that fracking will create 1.1 million jobs in the United States by year 2020. However, a closer read of the study reveals that the analysis also projects that fracking will actually lead to widespread job losses in other sectors of the economy, and would result in slightly lower overall employment levels the following 10 years. The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show employment in the oil and gas industry to be 4,144 in Pennsylvania. What the data tell us is that fracking has created very few jobs in Pennsylvania. In fact, employment in five northeast Pennsylvania counties (McKean, Potter, Tioga, Bradford and Susquehanna) with high drilling activity declined by 2.7 percent. Third of all, the cost of water and hospital care will increase, so even if fracking puts the problem of many unemployed aside, the employed people possibly still can't earn enough to offer better living situation. Furthermore, I'm going to make an inference too: If the air around here gets terribly polluted, I'm sure young people wouldn't think it is pleasant to breathe the dirty air and even with jobs offered, most of them would rather move and a receive better living environment.

As you can see, fracking isn't something you would want to destroy our beloved country. Fracking is very serious. It causes water contamination, globe warming, and many accidents that could lead to death, harmful illness, and disease. The following is a summary of a story from "Could Shale Gas Power the World?" by Bryan Walsh: For more than a decade, Bonnie Burnett and her husband Truman owned a second home in the hilly farmland of Bradford County, in northeastern Pennsylvania. It was a getaway for the Burnetts. It's a place to take their grandchildren to swim in the wooded pond. Bonnie described it as heaven there and they were planning to move there. Their plan changed when fracking was performed less than 122meters from their home. In June 2009, when the Burnetts were at their first home in Stroudsburg, tens of the thousands of gallons of drilling water that's stored in the well pad spilled, leaking downhill and into their trees and pond. The spill ruined 15 meters of the forest and affected their drinking water. The forest seems lifeless. Even after the accident, Bonnie still could hear the hum of a gas compressor running 24 hr. a day. "Did it ruin my life?" asks a tearful Bonnie. "I do have to say yes." Fracking does much treasonous harm on the ecosystem. Fracking should be banned on most areas of the Marcellus Shale. NYers, all of you can help. You can write a persuasive essay like me, or just plainly spread the word. Believe in what you think is true and try to help. Please take action to stop fracking.