What the frack?

What is oil fracking?

Oil Fracking is a process by which liquids at high pressure are forced down boreholes into formations of shale rock to break them up, releasing pockets of oil and gas stored within (Webb). In recent years, fracking has become a big topic concerning environmental safety. Although fracking is believed to be safe and necessary, it has been linked to the cause of water contamination and the release of potent greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.

History of fracking

Fracking, formally known as hydraulic fracturing, began to gain prominence in the late 20th century. In the United States, the modern use of fracking began around 1940 but has grown rapidly in the last 15 years due to technological advancements. Fracking was started in the United States but has since spread to countries all across the world. In Kansas in 1947, fracking was used for the first time by Stanolind Oil and Gas company. Fracking has been a reliable process but recently has turned into a big debate about whether or not it is safe for our environment.

How does fracking affect our water?

Fracking can lead to water contamination in a variety of ways. As Greenpeace USA writes, "Groundwater becomes contaminated by hydraulic fracturing in a number of ways, including leakage from liquid storage areas, leakage from injection wells, leakage during hydrofracking along faults or up abandoned wells, seepage into the ground when wastewater and residuals are applied to land" (2017).

Fracking has a few different ways that can lead to water contamination. Chemical contamination will occur if chemicals happen to migrate to the groundwater. If a well is poorly constructed or maintained that can lead to the migration of fluids from the wellbore into the ground, which will contaminate underground aquifers. Flowback water disposal is another big problem with water contamination caused by fracking. Flowback water is wastewater that is produced during the fracking process, which has contaminants and radioactive materials. Incorrectly disposing of this wastewater can result in environmental harm. Lastly, methane migration is a big way that water gets contaminated. Fracking can release methane gases that are stored beneath underground rock formations. If precautions are not taken, this gas can migrate to drinking water sources, resulting in health risks for anyone that consumes that water.

Where is this problem evident?

Water contamination coming from fracking is evident in over half of the states in the US and numerous countries around the world. The extent of the severity varies by state and county. A few states that have the least problem with water contamination from fracking are Washington and Oregon. On the flip side, states like New York and Pennsylvania are seeing high rates of water contamination. With that, 1/3 of Pennsylvania counties are experiencing contaminated water as a result of fracking (Hurdle, 2021).

Besides just the United States, fracking is becoming a concern in other countries across the world. Canada has given fracking the "okay" in a few different provinces, which has already led to environmental concerns having to do with water contamination. Australia and China have run into the same backlash having to do with water quality. In the United Kingdom, fracking has been a topic of controversy for other reasons. Officials are concerned that fracking will lead to earthquakes, which ultimately is ending fracking in the whole country. Lastly, countries in Africa have debated whether or not fracking would be beneficial, but ultimately they do not have a surplus of water, so every wasted gallon can mean people die from the water shortage. It comes as no surprise that problems are occurring in every region where fracking is utilized. Almost all states in the U.S. that have fracking sites are experiencing environmental concerns, as well as all other countries that are using this method. Not all concerns are strictly water-related, as there are many concerns about things like air pollution, seismic activity, and natural resource depletion.

How much water is getting wasted?

Nationwide, fracking has used up nearly 1.5 trillion gallons of water since 2011 (Tabuchi & Migliozzi, 2023). For reference, that’s how much tap water the entire state of Texas uses in a year. 1.5 trillion gallons of water can fill around 75 million residential swimming pools, and 2.27 million Olympic-sized swimming pools. Lastly, it would take Niagara Falls over six years to discharge that much water.

What do we do?

Due to the environmental concerns that fracking is continuing to bring, it would be best to utilize wind and solar power. According to the Ohio State University report done on fracking, Wind and solar power are renewable energy, which means its clean, affordable, and theoretically inexhaustible (OSU EDU).

Using wind and solar power instead of fracking has pros that outweigh the cons:

-Solar and wind power do not give off toxic emissions into the environment.

-Solar and wind power are renewable resources, meaning they will not deplete over time. In contrast, extraction done during the fracking process can lead to environmental degradation.

-Solar and wind power is a cleaner way to produce energy. Fracking releases greenhouse gases, which negatively affects climate change.

-Solar and wind power leads to water conservation. Since the US is losing so much water each year from fracking, we will now have millions of gallons more of clean water.

-Solar and wind power lead to economic opportunities and the creation of more jobs. To invest in clean technologies will take more workers, leading to more job opportunities.

-With the technological advancements continuing to happen, wind and solar power will drive down costs.

There are negatives when talking about wind and solar power, with the biggest including intermittence and issues with storage. However, because of the technological advancements that are continuing to happen, there should be no reason to worry that these problems won't get fixed with new technology.

Let's do it!

We need to make the switch from utilizing fracking and instead use solar and wind power. It is the safer alternative for our environment and will be easily controlled and regulated with the technology we have in this day in age. It may not be the switch that everyone wants, but it's the choice that will best keep our planet healthy.