In my previous blogs I have been examining fracking (hydraulic fracturing) and whether or not it is a good way of producing energy. I started out with describing what fracking is and how it came about then went into a fair amount of detail on its benefits and negative effects on the environment. So far it is clear that fracking produces a lot of domestic energy that lowers our cost of energy and reduces our dependence on foreign countries providing us things such as oil. However there are concerns that fracking pollutes water supplies and damages the environment. In this post I am going to further evaluate fracking by talking about some case studies.
A study on the effects of fracking was conducted in Pittsburg, PA and the surrounding counties to try and find out if fracking in the area had been effecting the local population. The study reported, “The project found 27 cases where people in Washington County believe they were hurt by nearby drilling — seven cases of skin rashes, four of eye irritation, 13 of breathing problems and three of headaches and dizziness. The skin exposures were from water and the other cases were from air.” One surprise from this was it appeared the air pollution was more of a problem than water pollution, this goes against what is generally thought. Furthermore while these cases are believed to be tied to fracking in the nearby area they cannot by certain these peoples conditions were caused by fracking. Also looking at the bigger picture the development of fracking has led to less use of coal which causes far more pollution. So while fracking may have some issues it is a lot more environmentally friendly than burning coal.
The Theodore Roosevelt National park is located in North Dakota and is facing environmental damage from fracking. While no drilling sites are located on park grounds the surrounding areas have become full of drilling sites. There are serious concerns that these sites ruin the scenery of the park and spoil the experience of visitors who have to travel through the heavily industrialized areas to get to the park. While no drilling sites are currently inside park grounds there are 12 U.S. national parks where drilling has been allowed and Theodore Roosevelt Park has been identified as a potential park for drilling. National parks are meant to be preserved from exactly this kind of thing so why is the government making an exception for fracking. The use of fracking is still expected to increase greatly over the coming years so how much damage is going to be allowed to be done to national parks.
The research I’ve done for this blog enforces my personal view that fracking is not harmful enough to be stopped but has been growing exponentially without regulation and needs more controls in place. It should not be allowed to occur on National Parks as this really destroys the purpose of them and if we can’t even preserve our national parks what can we preserve. Fracking seems to cause some harm to surrounding populations but studies done so far show this to be limited and unconfirmed whether it is directly related to fracking. Fracking is a large source of domestic energy and as long as it’s done responsibly I think it should continue to expand.
Sources
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/25/pennsylvania-fracking-study_n_3813650.html
http://www.npca.org/about-us/center-for-park-research/fracking/
I think the reason why I like reading this blog is because you talk neutrally about the issues and the different sides. Also, you have a very sensible opinion, that fracking itself is bad but lack of regulation is, and I appreciate that.
I agree that fracking shouldn’t occur in National Parks since the whole point of The National Park system is to preserve natural land.
–K.E. Van Develde
I read one of your earlier blogs and agree that there isn’t enough evidence that fracking is detrimental to human health. At the same time, if we are going to continue using it as a method of obtaining energy, then it should be regulated. As your article points out, fracking should not be conducted in areas with a high population density as well as national parks.
I learned about the effects of fracking in my local area in my high school environmental science class. Although it does seem to be a plausible method to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, there were protests by the people in the community not to frack in the area, due to harmful health effects it can cause and damage to the surrounding land.