Ethics of Hydraulic Fracturing Essay

Large grease-gun companies guard been wreaking havoc on Midwestern United States. These companies practices of hydraulic fracturing have been very detrimental to the topical anaesthetic populace. Hydraulic fracturing has been cognize to suffering the environment through earthquakes and hit man spills. In addition, it has been said that these companies have plastered law exemptions that only they adore. These unsafe practices have fould locals irrigate supplies. There have sluice been fountains where people have been able to light the water from their faucets on fire.Stricter regime regulation should be enforced on these brag companies. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has recently (in the last ten years) been used extensively by gas companies (The Facts Ab unwrap Fracking). Fracking involves boring down below shale formations (over a thousand feet) in the ground and pumping water, sand, and chemicals until the rock fractures. When the rock fractures it releases earth y gas that rear be collected at very inexpensive cost. The problem is that this can contaminate local water supplies, including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and ground water.The documentary Gasland stirred up stakes in the American population to the effects of fracking. After being offered maven hundred thousand dollars for his land from a gas company, the director cod Fox traveled around America investigating the effects of fracking on the local rural populace. Josh Fox did an excellent job at exposing the gas industry for what it really is. The film won an Oscar nomination and has been praised by environmentalists nation-wide.One of the environmentally damaging effects of hydraulic fracturing is that it has been known to mystify earthquakes. Reports of minor tremors of no greater than 2. 8 on the Richter scale were inform on June 2, 2009 in Cleburne, Texas, the first in the towns 140-year memoir (Fox). On the another(prenominal) side of the argument, they claim Given the ubi arresty of fracking without seismal impact, the risks would seem to be remote (The Facts About Fracking). This is irrelevant considering that earthquakes are calamity where they otherwise would not have occurred. In addition to earthquakes, they also damage the environment by causing environmentally damaging oil spills.In the past both years alone, a series of surface spills, including two blowouts at rise operated by Chesapeake Energy and EOG Resources and a spill of 8000 gallons of fracking po lightenic at a site in Dimock, Pa. , have soil groundwater in the Marcellus Shale region. The amount of water required to drill all 2916 of the Marcellus wells permitted in Pennsylvania in the first 11 months of 2010 would equal the amount of crapulence water used by just one city, Pittsburgh, during the same period, says environmental engineering professor Jeanne VanBriesen (qtd. n McGraw).Spills like these cause water taint for the locals. In this case, a hulky portion of the spilled fracking fluid flowed into a nearby stream (McGraw). The level of contamination is still being investigated. These irresponsible and inconsiderate practices must be decided before irreversible collateral and environmental damage occurs. Gas companies have even been able to exploit certain loopholes in the law.An employee from the Environmental Protection Agency stated that the fracking industry enjoy certain legal exemptions from the Clean Water figure out courtesy of barb Cheney (qtd. in Fox). The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a homework that has come to be known as the Halliburton Loophole, an exemption for gas drilling and extraction from requirements in the underground injection control (UIC) program of the just Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Other exemptions are also expose in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act (Fox).This is an injustice to the local people whose water has been contaminated by these companies. If the presidency will not regulate t hese large companies, what will stop these large companies? Furthermore, chemicals contaminating the locals water supply have been furnishn to be a real health risk. It is reported that Last year the EPA found that some chemicals known to be used in fracturing were among the contaminants detected in 11 residential boozeing water wells (Lustgarten).These chemicals have even been known to be carcinogenic (Lustgarten). Contaminated groundwater becomes a problem for locals when their oxen have to drink the contaminated water. There are even cases of sick animals where all their tomentum falls out (Fox). Many farmers worry about the welfare of their cattles health which is some quantify their only source of income (Fox). Landowners in shale gas drilling areas have reported foul smells in tap water, and unhealthful chemicals, such as benzene, have been detected in water from wells near drilling sites (Fox).In addition, there are cases of air contamination from the machinery from the drill sites (Fox). Many claim that the air pollution is the cause of a lot of cancer in the locals (Fox). In Dish, Texas, Mayor Calvin Tillman claimed that the fracking industry created carcinogenic pollution in his town (The Facts About Fracking). He then quit his job and left his hometown to protect his sons from this pollution (The Facts About Fracking). These unsafe practices can be very harmful to the local rural populace, and must be regulated.Scientific studies have shown that the drilling has caused local drinking water to be contaminated with methane. In fact, it has been shown that locals can light their water on fire. Our results show evidence for methane contamination of shallow drinking water systems in at least terzetto areas of the region and suggest important environmental risks consecutive shale gas exploration worldwide. A scientific study has linked natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing with a pattern of drinking water contamination so severe that some faucets can be lit on fire.While most of the wells had some methane, the water samples taken closest to the gas wells had on average 17 times the levels detected in wells further from active drilling (Lustgarten). This shows that their gas drilling in fact causes this contamination. The contamination can get so bad that it directly affects the locals safety. There is a case that is being investigated where a large portion of a river is highly contaminated from seeping methane gas it is so highly contaminated that all wildlife has died along a large portion of the river (Fox).Along the banks of the river are dead bodies of birds, squirrels, and other wildlife (Fox). One local even claims that her father died from drinking the water umpteen years earlier (Fox). In Josh Foxs documentary, it shows a clip of someone lighting seeping gas coming out of the ground on fire (Fox). In several cases, homes blew up afterwards gas seeped into their basements or water supplies. In Pennsylvania, a 2004 accident killed three people, including a baby (Lustgarten). This irresponsible, disregard for basic human rights must be stopped.Large corporations that run free and unregulated will do whatsoever it takes for their own gain. The local rural populace has been very badly touch on by the practices of hydraulic fracturing. It is clearly shown that these locals are not being perceive and little is being done for compensation for the locals (Fox). These gas companies have besides much freedom to operate and must be put to stricter government regulation. The question is not whether we should frack or not, but rather how do we regulate these practices to minimize the collateral and environmental damage.