Fracking what is it and what does it cost

Half of America Doesn’t Know What Fracking Is

If you read green news, even if only sporadically, you’ve heard of “fracking.” If you follow progressive politics, you’ve heard of fracking. If you know much about modern energy production, you’ve heard of fracking. If you’re an environmentalist, you’ve probably protested fracking.

But those descriptions don’t apply to the 63% of Americans who’ve never heard of, or aren’t familiar with, the practice known as hydraulic fracturing. That’s the eye-opening finding of a new poll, and one that was carried out with a pretty decent sample size to boot. Here’s how the results break down:

That’s crazy. Fracking has fundamentally transformed the energy debate—and energy production—around the world. It has helped create the glut of natural gas we’re currently sitting on, and that in turn is helping to drive coal out of business. It also poses numerous health and environmental risks that everyone—especially those who live in fracking-impacted areas—should be aware of. It can contaminate groundwater, spur small earthquakes, blast methane emissions into the sky, etc.

The poll reveals that there’s a lot of work yet to be done on energy education (that’s a massive understatement all around)—the public can’t make informed decisions about the controversial practice if it doesn’t even said controversial practice exists, after all.

So, for those of you reading this who’ve never heard of fracking: It’s the process wherein companies blast a highly pressurized chemical cocktail deep down into the earth, in order to fracture the rock layer to gain access to reserves of oil or gas.Well here you go please watch this short video 

Fracking Chemicals Likely Found in Water

Chemicals have been detected in two deep water wells in west-central Wyoming, the EPA said they are consistent with those used in gas production and hydraulic-fracturing fluids. Where did the synthetic chemicals come from? Most likely a gas field near Pavilion, Wyoming is the source. Pavilion is located within the Wind River Indian Reservation, which covers over two million acres and is where two tribes live – Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho.

About 150 gas wells in the Pavilion area are owned by Canada’s largest natural gas producer. A company representative said, “They’ve used terms like ‘likely’. What they’ve come up with here is a probability. It’s not a  definitive conclusion.” (Source: Bloomberg) However, the company has been providing water from a different source to about 21 families from Pavilion. Other residents have also sought outside water sources.

Alternate water sources were recommended for residents of Pavilion by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2010 due to their detection of petroleum hydrocarbons in well and groundwater. At that time the same agency said they couldn’t determine the exact source though. This year the  EPA dug their own monitoring wells in the aquifer and found, “compounds likely associated with gas-production practices,  including hydraulic fracturing”.  (Source: Bloomberg) They also said levels of the chemicals are well above safe limits.

This development is a big story potentially, because earlier this year EPA Chief Lisa Jackson testified before Congress that she knew of no proven case where the fracking process had affected water. She didn’t lie, but now the EPA has acknowledged it is likely  fracking chemicals have contaminated water.

At the time she made her statement a study from Duke University indicated fracking had contaminated water, but she may have been unaware of the research.