Fracking: The Environmental and Political Implications
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This article was originally written in November of 2024.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, extracts natural gas or oil from impermeable rock formations like shale by blasting enormous quantities of chemicals, water, and sand. These fractures are "induced by high-pressure, high-volume hydraulic fracturing to provide the conductivity necessary to allow natural gas and oil to flow from the formation to the well and then up through the well to the surface" (Jackson 329). Fracking starts by drilling long vertical or angled wells extending around a mile into the earth to extract natural gas and oil. Fracking wells need to shift horizontally near the impermeable rock formation. Next, steel pipes, which are called casings, are inserted into the drilled well. The casing is filled with cement. Afterward, small holes are drilled into the casing, allowing fracking fluid to create new fractures or expand pre-existing holes in the impermeable rock.
Fracking fluid is a mixture of 97% water, chemical additives, and proppants, "small, solid particles used to keep the fractures in the rock formation open after the pressure from injection subsides" (Denchak). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified 1,084 chemicals used in reported fracking formulas from 2005 to 2013. The chemicals in the various fracking fluids differ based on the different kinds of permeable rock at the designated fracking site. Some common ingredients include "methanol, ethylene glycol, and propargyl alcohol," (Denchak) which would be pumped into the earth as fracking fluid. The entire fracking process requires a significant amount of water, with the average amount consumed between 1.5 million and 9.7 million gallons of water for a single fracking well, according to the United States Geological Survey (Denchak). As in the case of fracking fluid chemical composition, the amount of water depends on different factors like rock formation and well type. Typically, the water used for hydraulic fracking is freshwater from groundwater and surface water sources. In the fracking industry, a movement exists to replace freshwater with nonpotable water beneath drinking water standards to preserve drinking water reserves.
Fracking results in millions of gallons of wastewater that is too contaminated to return to its source because of its significant levels of toxicity and radioactivity. Fracking wastewater contains a mix of "heavy metals, salts, and toxic hydrocarbons like benzene, and radioactive materials like uranium" (Denchak). Leaks may occur throughout fracking due to human error and equipment failure. The EPA reports that some spills reached surface water sources; 10% of fracking spills from 2006 to 2012 entered streams, creeks, and other freshwater bodies. In residential areas near these shale-fracking areas, leaking wastewater poisoned the local water supply. Other methods of energy production negatively impact the environment. For example, burning coal contributes to water pollution, with tons and tons of toxic coal ash impacting air and water quality. Even the growing proposal of recycling wastewater poses an environmental threat because it creates concentrated waste products. The recycled wastewater must be treated appropriately to minimize environmental damage. Unfortunately, it is difficult to properly recycle fracking wastewater because companies refuse to disclose all the chemical contents in the fracking wastewater.
This unconventional method of procuring energy through fracking could potentially decrease the emission of some pollutants. Research revealed that "natural gas burned for electricity generates half the CO2 that coal does during combustion" (Jackson 351). According to Jackson's findings, burning natural gas emits practically no SO2, Hg, and less NOx and particles than burning coal. That is not to say that burning natural gas comes without consequence: studies have shown that air quality in national parks is a rising concern. For example, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota has experienced a flare-up in fine particle formation, consisting of "ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and black carbon" (Jackson 351) and impairing visibility, which can be attributed to the natural gas emissions on the rise in North Dakota. More research must be conducted to ascertain how hydraulic fracturing harms air quality. Both long-term and short-term studies must be conducted to evaluate the potential health risks of natural gas emissions.
The reported examples of induced seismicity caused by hydraulic fracturing are lower than other man-made triggers like dam impoundment or mining. The genuine concern for induced seismicity is wastewater disposal, which follows hydraulic fracturing. Fracking-induced seismicity is associated with wastewater injection. Though it is uncommon for earthquakes to occur, they do generate higher energy events. There are more felt earthquakes after there was wastewater disposal that came with hydraulic fracturing. These magnitude increases are sufficient enough to harm people and damage buildings. The largest recorded earthquake associated with deep injections after hydraulic fracturing occurred in Prague, Oklahoma, in 2011, which "destroyed 14 homes and injured two people" (Jackson 345). However, much is unknown about the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and induced seismicity. Researching the factors could help predict potential seismic events in the area.
Fracking has allowed the United States to substantially increase domestic oil and gas production, which reduces the United States' reliance on foreign powers to import oil. From 2010 to 2020, oil imports took a sharp decline (Maverick). Though the United States remains dependent on foreign oil, it has significantly reduced the level of dependence because the country can provide over half of the fuel needs of America. The advancement in fracking techniques and technology has allowed energy companies within the country to extract substantial quantities of natural gas and oil. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil production in the United States tripled from 2010 to 2020. These high levels of energy production from fracking create an economically cheap way to access valuable energy, leading many local American economies to rely on natural resources rather than nonrenewable coal or potentially renewable resources. Other analysts consider energy independence as "producing more than [the United States] consume[s]" (Rapier). Since 2005, there has been a steady increase in net United States energy imports. 2019, however, revealed that the United States produced more energy than consumed for the first time since the 1940s. This was because the shale boom allowed for a large amount of domestic oil and gas production.
Some states within the country have a vested economic interest in fracking, forcing the topic of fracking to take the stage during the election cycle. Pennsylvania is a state that is dependent on fracking and natural gas for its economy. This causes potential issues for the Democratic party because their candidate, VP Kamala Harris, was firm on her belief in banning fracking during her tenure as Senator of California and while running during her 2019 campaign for the Democratic ticket in the 2020 election. Though Harris has declared that her stance on fracking has changed during her position as the Vice President of the United States, Trump seeks to remind the voters in Pennsylvania of her radical stance on energy. According to the Financial Times, "A Philadelphia Inquirer/New York Times/Siena College poll from September 19 showed that 48 per cent of Pennsylvanian voters trusted Trump to do a better job on fracking than Harris, at 41 per cent. A majority, 51 per cent, said they trusted Trump to do a better job on the economy, compared with 46 per cent for Harris" (Smyth). Because Pennsylvania is a swing state, both candidates need to gain the favor of the crucial battleground state. Shale industry leaders of Pennsylvania warned Harris that she would need to do more to earn the trust of the Pennsylvanian people. She needs to prove that she is genuinely pro-fracking. However, former president Trump encourages this discourse by reminding Pennsylvania in his rallies to "Remember, a politician always goes back to what their original thought was" (Levy). This reminder seems to have worked for former president Trump because he won the 2024 election against Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania, winning 19 electoral votes.
Democratic politicians in Pennsylvania ran on strict regulation of fracking rather than a total ban because fracking is a crucial industry that brought Pennsylvania significant wealth. During the Biden-Harris administration, the United States became a global leader in natural gas and oil production. Despite this, some Pennsylvanians, specifically in Western Pennsylvania, expressed distrust in the Democratic party, which pushed for more environmental protectionism and attempted to bring the United States to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In reality, Pennsylvanians were not as focused on fracking as the rest of the country believed; they explained that they were worried about the economy and inflation, especially for energy prices. The Trump campaign dedicated significant resources to remind Pennsylvanians of the economic impacts of the Biden-Harris administration, like Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the post-Covid supply crunch, which led to higher energy prices (Lefebvre). Republicans and the Trump administration emphasized Harris' tendency to switch views on crucial political issues when comparing her 2020 campaign, her tenure as the Vice President, and her 2024 campaign.
To many Americans, fracking is necessary in the current economic and environmental climate. Fracking could be a stepping stone as the United States looks towards renewable energy sources, which would work to achieve the Democratic ambition for the US to rely on renewable energy by 2050. Currently, the US is dependent on natural gas and cannot support infrastructure for renewable energy. Electric-powered infrastructure is becoming increasingly popular, but it would be an expensive switch. Politically, fracking is a contentious topic because it allows the United States to be less dependent on foreign powers like Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Colombia for energy, according to the EIA's reports. Fracking introduces jobs crucial to the economies of some regions in the country, making fracking a contentious issue. To many Americans, it is a crucial environmental and political issue, but to these fracking neighborhoods, the concern extends beyond the political and environmental; it is an economic issue crucial to their communities.
Bibliography
Robert B. Jackson et al., “The Environmental Costs and Benefits of Fracking,” August 11, 2014. https://jacksonlab.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj20871/files/media/file/jackson_et_al._arer_2014.pdf
Melissa Denchak, “Fracking 101,” NRDC, April 19, 2019. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fracking-101#what-is
J. B. Maverick, “How has fracking decreased U.S. dependence on foreign oil?,” August 31, 2022. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/012915/how-has-fracking-helped-us-decrease-dependence-foreign-oil.asp
Energy Information Administration, U.S. Field Production of Crude Oil, https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=mcrfpus1&f=m
Robert Rapier, “U.S. Energy Independence Soars to Highest Level in Over 70 Years,” May 2, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2023/05/02/us-energy-independence-soars-to-highest-levels-in-over-70-years/
Jamie Smyth, “Trump’s fracking claims hit Harris’s US election hopes,” October 1, 2024. https://www.ft.com/content/5f81953a-5d8e-4c6d-9cb1-324da5c22609
Marc Levy, “Harris once wanted to ban fracking. Trump wants voters in energy-rich Pennsylvania to remember,” August 5, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/fracking-pennsylvania-president-campaign-donald-trump-kamala-harris-104f3f051df4d28e4645f05051eb6cff
Ben Lefebvre, “Why Harris and Trump are debating the F-Word,” September 9, 2024. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/09/trump-harris-fracking-feud-explained-00177583
Energy Information Administration, U.S. Field Production of Crude Oil, October 15, 2024. https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=mcrfpus1&f=m