As we continue to search for more and alternative sources of energy, a new term has come creeping up - hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking. Fracking is a drilling process used to extract natural gas where traditional extraction will not work. It's a particularly interesting subject to us because almost certainly has a direct link to the water and wastewater industry. Additionally, as Ed Morse points out in an excellent article in the Fall 2011 edition of the Wisconsin Rural Water Journal there is great potential for fracking in particularly in Wisconsin. The sand that makes up a great deal of our sandstone is ideal for fracking, and has brought a flood of hydraulic fracturing prospectors in what Ed calls "the great sand rush." This is apparent in the numbers alone - there were less than five frac sand mines five years ago, but now there are at least 22 active or in development, and another sixteen are proposed.
The diagram below helps demonstrate the process of fracking. Very basically, water is injected at high pressures to open up natural gas supplies, and sand is used to hold open the wells long so that the natural gas can be extracted.
The diagram below helps demonstrate the process of fracking. Very basically, water is injected at high pressures to open up natural gas supplies, and sand is used to hold open the wells long so that the natural gas can be extracted.
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/02/360014/shale-fracking-earthquakes/
I'm certainly not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but intuitively fracking makes me a little uncomfortable. When I look at the picture above, the first thing that jumps to mind is the potential for earthquakes. Because it seems to me that we're putting a giant crack in our foundation. This isn't a baseless fear, as this study cited by Joe Romm on the Climate Progress Blog shows (LINK):
A previously unreported study out of the Oklahoma Geological Survey has found that hydraulic fracturing may have triggered a swarm of small earthquakes earlier this year in Oklahoma. The quakes, which struck on Jan. 18 in a rural area near Elmore City, peaked at magnitude 2.8 and caused no deaths or property damage.
The study, currently being prepared for peer review, follows news today that Cuadrilla Resources, a British shale gas developer, has found that it was “highly probable” its fracturing operations caused minor quakes of magnitude 2.3 and 1.5 in Lancashire, England. The Cuadrilla study could complicate the expansion of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in risk-averse Europe, where France has already banned the practice.
Besides the potential for minor earthquakes, fracking uses quite a bit of water. There's quite a bit of concern about the wastewater from fracking and how it is treated. Where does it go, who stores it, who treats it, etc. It appears that there is little impact on groundwater in fracking operations and the surrounding areas. However, the potential threat, however small it may be, to the water supply has moved several United States towns to ban the practice.
The video below is a debate of fracking that centers on The City of Syracuse (New York) to ban fracking within city limits and limit where the wastewater from fracking can be stored. A proponent of fracking, Don Siegel, professor of earth sciences at Syracuse University, is confident that fracking does not have any long lasting, inherent risks to the environment based on the research. He is backed up by a great deal of research and evidence, and this greatly supports his cause. While they do not deny that the risks may be small, Kathleen Joy, Syracuse Council majority leader and Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of Onondaga Council of Chiefs of Onondaga Nation, helped push through the ban in order to prevent even the chance of errors. Lyons states that we must take the "long view and the large view...you have to protect the commons." Joy compares the current push for fracking to the past push for industrial uses that resulted in great pollution of lakes and water sources, and the ban helps to "stop the process before that happens."
The video below is a debate of fracking that centers on The City of Syracuse (New York) to ban fracking within city limits and limit where the wastewater from fracking can be stored. A proponent of fracking, Don Siegel, professor of earth sciences at Syracuse University, is confident that fracking does not have any long lasting, inherent risks to the environment based on the research. He is backed up by a great deal of research and evidence, and this greatly supports his cause. While they do not deny that the risks may be small, Kathleen Joy, Syracuse Council majority leader and Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of Onondaga Council of Chiefs of Onondaga Nation, helped push through the ban in order to prevent even the chance of errors. Lyons states that we must take the "long view and the large view...you have to protect the commons." Joy compares the current push for fracking to the past push for industrial uses that resulted in great pollution of lakes and water sources, and the ban helps to "stop the process before that happens."
It's undeniable that there is a need in this country to search for alternative sources of energy and to become less dependent on foreign sources. Certainly we should be seeking to use our natural resources to the best of our ability, and fracking may have a place in that. Additionally, innovation is the engine of success, and we should stop innovation based on small fears. However, we've got to be careful that we don't destroy our supply of the most basic human need. Water is probably the most common of goods, and it is because it's common that it becomes all of our duty to watch over it and ensure that it is protected. After all, it will be our supply of water, not natural gas, that continues to sustain life for generations to come.
Sources
"The Scoop on Frac Sand." Morse, Ed. Wisconsin Rural Water Journal, Fall 2011, Pg 44-45.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/4/debate_on_fracking_was_syracuse_right
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/02/360014/shale-fracking-earthquakes/
