What the Frack?

Recently, fracking has been in the public eye and has been subject to much scrutiny, especially from an environmental point of view. I thought I’d take a look at why this is, but first, what is fracking?

Fracking (also called hydraulic fracturing) is a method by which natural gas is harvested from underground rock, in particular shale. The gas is trapped in fissures within the shale rock and requires some persuasion in order for it to be released. This persuasion comes in the form of a concoction of water, sands and chemicals, otherwise known as slickwater. The slickwater is forced into pre drilled horizontal gaps in the rock under immense pressure. The high pressure causes fissures to expand, thus releasing the gas within. The diagram on the left illustrates the process.

The benefits of fracking are fairly substantial. Fracking represents a new way to extract gas to be used as an energy supply. This increased access to natural gas would therefore lower energy bills. Very handy in our current economic climate where gas and oil prices are skyrocketing. Particularly as large volumes of shale gas are lying dormant within our country’s rocks. It would seem fracking is a gift from the heavens for the country’s energy supply. However, the British public are not so easily convinced, but why?

What are the dangers of fracking?

Every potential hazard involved with fracking is the subject of much dispute as the topic is so contentious, but here are a few that have been suggested and/or witnessed:

• ·      The release of methane along with harmful slickwater chemicals intothe environment- this can pollute local water supplies and damage habitats. 
• ·      The causing of earthquakes- this has been associated with the insertion and withdrawal of fluids into the ground
• ·      Destruction of sensitive habitat by drilling- habitat may be directly disrupted by drilling
• ·      Local Communities being disrupted- some communities located near drilling sites complain about noise etc.
• ·      Pollution from the infrastructure involved with fracking- e.g. use of lorries for transportation

These problems range from localized issues to issues on a much larger scale, such as the earthquake issue. It would therefore appear that fracking has the ability to negatively affect people in many ways, some of which being potentially very serious. Consequently, it is easy to understand why people protest its use.

Whilst it is easy to see how our country could benefit from the use of fracking, I am also weary of the environmental concerns. I believe that if fracking is to be used on a large scale then its effects on local environments must be researched extensively and its use must be stringently regulated. I also believe fracking to be a relatively short term solution to our country’s problems as it does not solve environmental issues such as carbon dioxide emissions. In short, I believe fracking could prove a useful aid but should not be heavily relied on for our country’s energy production.

If anyone is interested further then the best way to read/watch material is to just search fracking. There is huge amounts out there and to cover it all would take much longer than just this post. Hope that was somewhat interesting and any comments/queries are welcome, thanks for reading.