Negative Effect of Fracking on Water

Get the frack out! Fracking is proven to have harmful effects as it results in water contamination, contributes to global climate change and can even cause earthquakes. Fracking leads to the a possibly extreme water contamination. Fracking injects water, sand, and chemicals deep into the ground in order to extract natural gas and this creates runoff that is sent into the groundwater system (Source A). According to RSN, over 40,000 gallons of hundreds of different chemicals are used in every fracking well.

Only 30 to 50 percent of the chemicals used are reclaimed, leaving the rest or the majority in the ground. This demonstrates than an overwhelming amount of contamination may be derived from fracking alone.

Fracking contributes to the change in global climate. Fracking results in an incredibly large amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Fracking interrupts the water cycle as it leaves less water in the ground that is needed to continue the natural water cycle (Source B).Methane traps more sunlight in the atmosphere than CO2, and contributes more to our global climate change. Methane leaks regularly from fracking sites (Source C).

Fracking, although profitable and attractive, poses a threat to our economy. With the recent fracking boom, gas prices have been rising steadily(Source C). This method has been used over a million times in the United States alone. As stated in Source D, unconventional sources for natural gas have become more attractive to society. This process is so admirable because of how convenient it is, but the cons to it are often not considered. For example, the tendency to contribute to natural disasters is a downfall of this method.

Although fracking may generally be an easier method to obtain natural gas, it is undoubtedly incredibly and  harmful to our environment; fracking can be detrimental to our health and atmosphere through its contamination as well as how it results in more earthquakes and climate change. Rather than looking for a simpler alternative, it is important to take state of the environment as well as the general public’s health into consideration before continuing to use this method.

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