Civic Issues: Environment (Energy)

In the region where I grew up and live (Southwestern Pennsylvania), Marcellus shale drilling is a big issue. The Marcellus Shale Formation runs from West Virginia to New York with most of it covering Pennsylvania. The shale contains natural gas and drilling method called fracking (also hydraulic fracturing) is used to obtain it. The fracking process has come under fire for containing hazardous chemicals and drilling companies not putting enough adequate safeguards in the process to curb environmental damage. Supporters of the process point out that natural gas is bountiful, clean, relatively easy to drill for, but above all, natural gas is in America. This means that the United States’ energy costs will go down, jobs will be created here, and we can escape the economic recession we are currently in. Those who are opposed to drilling are well educated people who know the environmental repercussions of an open season on Marcellus shale. Many people have had their drinking water quality be affected negatively due to gas drilling. I remember a couple of years back when we had a drought in the summer, the water levels of all the rivers were very low. As a result, the chemicals from the residual gas drilling that had been treated and put back into the rivers were not diluted as much as they had been before. Thus, a whitish spotting began to form on our silverware and dishes, and our washing machine began to have trouble working. First hand I saw the effects of Marcellus shale drilling as did my family and neighbors. Other notable examples of pollution include numerous fish kills, most notably Dunkard Creek. Once a thriving fishery in Washington and Greene County, not a single fish now swims in it. When the fish began dying off and floating to the banks people began noticing the rocks had gotten very slimy. This slime was a golden algae bloom that had sucked all of the oxygen out of the water, killing the fish. This algal bloom was later directly attributed to shale drilling pollution, as were other fish kills. Scientists and Professors from local universities like Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, and Pitt have performed and are currently performing numerous studies and experiments on Marcellus shale drilling. When I was in high school, I did several science projects on Marcellus shale drilling for science competitions like the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science and the Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair. One year at the Pittsburgh event I won an opportunity to work with a professor from Duquesne University. I helped perform many experiments looking at bacteria, total dissolved solids, and ionic compound levels. In test samples, levels of ionic compounds like arsenic, bromide, and chloride were elevated. So here we have a dilemma. We can waste our time and argue whether fracking causes water pollution or we can just move on from it in the statewide debate, and accept that it is real. The dilemma lies in whether we as a country are willing to risk our environment with the return of economic and energy superiority. In this blog, I will look at certain examples of rhetoric in the debate concerning fracking, along with evidence for both sides of the argument from brown well water and flaming sinks to economic renewal and community revival. Also in this blog I will look at ways that both sides could meet a compromise so that America’s environment and health be kept safe, while also remaining the most powerful country in the world.

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