President Joe Biden has an interesting balancing act to perform with regard to his commitments on climate change with younger voters and more radically oriented Democrats, and with his support of fracking, given the fact that “since 2008, the United States has become the world’s leading producer of oil and gas, largely due to advances in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.” For starters, California’s Governor Newsom has recently banned fracking (Consumer Watchdog, 2021). 

In a lively 2013 CNN article, “Fears of Quakes and Flammable Tap Water Hit Britain as Fracking Looms,” Dan Rivers and Ben Brumfield write, “The fear of fracking has come to Britain, replete with worries about potential earthquakes and tap water tainted with natural gas that bursts into flames at the strike of a match.” The lifting in May 2013 of a ban on extracting (drilling) for natural gas found in rock layers deep underground in the town of Balcombe in southern England has several hundred protesters worried. Perhaps they have seen the American documentary Gasland II (2013) by Josh Fox, which shows several American homeowners losing the value of their properties and homes to certain energy corporations’ drilling and releasing flammable gas in their kitchen sinks. 

The debate over this drilling process in the United States and now in England has proponents and opponents stating their claims and arguing for very large stakes. Opponents fear for their homes and property values and potentially may have to leave their residences (many already have) because of the aftereffects and devastation caused. Proponents, including former president Obama, see natural gas on U.S. soil as an energy-independent national strategy. Cuadrilla, the British energy company waiting to drill in Balcombe, “believes there is about 200 trillion cubic feet of gas under the ground just within one of its local license areas. To put that figure into context, the United Kingdom uses about 3 trillion cubic feet of gas a year.” 

What Is Fracking?

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is a process used to retrieve natural gas that is otherwise inaccessible. This technology was first developed in the late 1940s and involves pumping a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals—the “fracking fluid”—deep underground to break up shale rock formations and release pockets of gas. Fracking usually occurs when a new well is drilled, but wells may be fractured multiple times to increase gas extraction. In its lifetime, a well can be fracked up to 18 times; 90 percent of all oil and gas wells in the United States are “fracked” to boost productivity, according to the Interstate Oil and Gas Commission.

First, a well is drilled until it nears the shale layer, typically 5,000 to 12,000 feet below ground. The bore then changes direction and continues drilling horizontally. After the drill is removed, production casing is inserted, and cement is pumped through and around the casing. The cement is installed to prevent anything from getting into the freshwater aquifers. Explosive charges then puncture the casing and cement on the horizontal portion of the drilled tunnel. A mixture of water, sand, and chemicals is pumped down the well and out of these apertures at high pressures. The fracking fluid is over 99 percent water but contains over 500 different chemicals. As a result, a single “frack job” can require as much as 5 million gallons of water. The mixture fractures the rock and allows the trapped gas to escape into the well bore. 

The fracking process not only requires millions of gallons of water but also results in large amounts of toxic waste. Some wastewater comes back up the well and must be collected. This wastewater contains dissolved solids such as sulfates and chlorides, metals, and other potentially hazardous components. Conventional municipal sewage or drinking water treatment plants cannot remove the sulfates and chlorides. Instead, the fracking fluid must be sent to a treatment plant, injected into underground disposal wells, or mixed with fresh water and reused. 

Benefits

Experts have known for years that natural gas deposits existed in deep shale formations, but until recently the vast quantities of natural gas in these formations were not thought to be recoverable. Hydraulic fracturing makes the drilling process more efficient and makes available vast new reserves of natural gas across the country. Natural gas plays a key role in meeting the energy demands of the United States, supplying about 22 percent of the total. The Energy Information Administration estimates that there is more than 1,744 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas that exists within the United States, 60 percent of which is contained as shale gas, tight sands, and coaled methane. The total amount of this resource is estimated to be able to provide enough natural gas to the United States for the next 90 years. Separate estimates of the shale gas resource extend this supply to 116 years.

Shale formations in the United States containing large quantities of natural gas are concentrated in the Northeast Appalachian range and the Rocky Mountain range of the West. The Marcellus Shale formation, which extends from West Virginia and eastern Ohio through Pennsylvania and into southern New York, could become one of the world’s most productive natural gas fields. It is estimated that this area alone possesses 500 trillion cubic feet of gas or more, enough to supply the entire East Coast for 50 years. The majority of “fraccidents” have taken place across Pennsylvania in this Marcellus Shale formation, potentially compromising the Delaware River, Monongahela River, and Susquehanna River. With the help of fracking, natural gas currently satisfies nearly one-quarter of the nation’s power needs. At current drilling rates and consumption levels, it’s expected to provide more than half the nation’s natural gas by 2030, according to an MIT study. 

The president of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Cal Dooley, states that “one of our highest priorities in this country is to establish energy security and to reduce our dependence on imported oil. . . . We see a game-changer here with our ability to capitalize on what is estimated to be a 100-year supply of natu ral gas in shale deposits.” This abundant domestic supply of natural gas has provided the United States with a competitive edge in overseas markets and a source for consumption within the country. 

Sara Banaszak, senior economist for the American Petroleum Institute (API), further states, “Developing domestic supplies of natural gas will mean billions of dollars in government revenue and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” The industry boasts that gas is cleaner than oil or coal, emitting less pollution when burned. In May 2010, an industry-financed study conducted at Pennsylvania State University estimated that gas companies spent $4.5 billion developing the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania. As a result, it has generated $389 million in state and local tax revenue and more than 44,000 jobs.....

Questions for Discussion

1. Do you think U.S. self-dependence on natural gas is worth the contamination of water supplies?

2. Should fracking be allowed to continue given the risks and damage to the environment? Why or why not?

3. If you were a top executive at Chesapeake Energy or Cabot Oil, for example, how would you persuade homeowners to sell your company the use of their land for drilling? How would your personal and corporate ethics guide you?

4. What role does legislation play in holding fracking companies accountable to ethical behavior?

5. In your opinion, how should fracking companies respond to the new EPA study regarding hydraulic fracturing?