Ethics of Hydraulic Fracturing Essay

Large gas companies have been wreaking havoc on Midwestern United States. These companies’ practices of hydraulic fracturing have been very detrimental to the local populace. Hydraulic fracturing has been known to damage the environment through earthquakes and gas spills. In addition, it has been said that these companies have certain law exemptions that only they enjoy. These unsafe practices have contaminated local’s water supplies. There have even been cases where people have been able to light the water from their faucets on fire. Stricter government regulation should be enforced on these gas companies. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has recently (in the last ten years) been used extensively by gas companies (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). Fracking involves drilling down below shale formations (over a thousand feet) in the ground and pumping water, sand, and chemicals until the rock fractures. When the rock fractures it releases natural gas that can be collected at very inexpensive cost. The problem is that this can contaminate local water supplies, including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and ground water. The documentary Gasland stirred up interest in the American population to the effects of fracking. After being offered one hundred thousand dollars for his land from a gas company, the director Josh Fox traveled around America investigating the effects of fracking on the local rural populace. Josh Fox did an excellent job at exposing the gas industry for what it really is. The film won an Oscar nomination and has been praised by environmentalists nation-wide. One of the environmentally damaging effects of hydraulic fracturing is that it has been known to cause earthquakes. Reports of minor tremors of no greater than 2. 8 on the Richter scale were reported on June 2, 2009 in Cleburne, Texas, the first in the town’s 140-year history† (Fox). On the other side of the argument, they claim â€Å"Given the ubiquity of fracking without seismic impact, the risks would seem to be remote† (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). This is irrelevant considering that earthquakes are happening where they otherwise would not have occurred. In addition to earthquakes, they also damage the environment by causing environmentally damaging oil spills. In the past two years alone, a series of surface spills, including two blowouts at wells operated by Chesapeake Energy and EOG Resources and a spill of 8000 gallons of fracking fluid at a site in Dimock, Pa. , have contaminated groundwater in the Marcellus Shale region. The amount of water required to drill all 2916 of the Marcellus wells permitted in Pennsylvania in the first 11 months of 2010 would equal the amount of drinking water used by just one city, Pittsburgh, during the same period, says environmental engineering professor Jeanne VanBriesen (qtd. n McGraw). Spills like these cause water contamination for the locals. In this case, a large portion of the spilled fracking fluid flowed into a nearby stream (McGraw). The level of contamination is still being investigated. These irresponsible and selfish practices must be regulated before irreversible collateral and environmental damage occurs. Gas companies have even been able to exploit certain loopholes in the law. An employee from the Environmental Protection Agency stated that the fracking industry enjoy certain legal exemptions from the Clean Water Act – courtesy of Dick Cheney (qtd. in Fox). The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a provision that has come to be known as the â€Å"Halliburton Loophole,† an exemption for gas drilling and extraction from requirements in the underground injection control (UIC) program of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Other exemptions are also present in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act (Fox). This is an injustice to the local people whose water has been contaminated by these companies. If the government will not regulate these large companies, what will stop these large companies? Furthermore, chemicals contaminating the locals’ water supply have been shown to be a serious health risk. It is reported that â€Å"Last year the EPA found that some chemicals known to be used in fracturing were among the contaminants detected in 11 residential drinking water wells†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lustgarten). These chemicals have even been known to be carcinogenic (Lustgarten). Contaminated groundwater becomes a problem for locals when their cattle have to drink the contaminated water. There are even cases of sick animals where all their hair falls out (Fox). Many farmers worry about the welfare of their cattle’s health which is sometimes their only source of income (Fox). Landowners in shale gas drilling areas have reported foul smells in tap water, and toxic chemicals, such as benzene, have been detected in water from wells near drilling sites (Fox). In addition, there are cases of air pollution from the machinery from the drill sites (Fox). Many claim that the air pollution is the cause of a lot of cancer in the locals (Fox). In Dish, Texas, Mayor Calvin Tillman claimed that the fracking industry created carcinogenic pollution in his town (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). He then quit his job and left his hometown to protect his sons from this pollution (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). These unsafe practices can be very harmful to the local rural populace, and must be regulated. Scientific studies have shown that the drilling has caused local drinking water to be contaminated with methane. In fact, it has been shown that locals can light their water on fire. â€Å"â€Å"Our results show evidence for methane contamination of shallow drinking water systems in at least three areas of the region and suggest important environmental risks accompanying shale gas exploration worldwide. A scientific study has linked natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing with a pattern of drinking water contamination so severe that some faucets can be lit on fire. While most of the wells had some methane, the water samples taken closest to the gas wells had on average 17 times the levels detected in wells further from active drilling† (Lustgarten). This shows that their gas drilling in fact causes this contamination. The contamination can get so bad that it directly affects the local’s safety. There is a case that is being investigated where a large portion of a river is highly contaminated from seeping methane gas; it is so highly contaminated that all wildlife has died along a large portion of the river (Fox). Along the banks of the river are dead bodies of birds, squirrels, and other wildlife (Fox). One local even claims that her father died from drinking the water many years earlier (Fox). In Josh Fox’s documentary, it shows a clip of someone lighting seeping gas coming out of the ground on fire (Fox). â€Å"In several cases, homes blew up after gas seeped into their basements or water supplies. In Pennsylvania, a 2004 accident killed three people, including a baby† (Lustgarten). This irresponsible, disregard for basic human rights must be stopped. Large corporations that run free and unregulated will do whatever it takes for their own gain. The local rural populace has been very badly affected by the practices of hydraulic fracturing. It is clearly shown that these locals are not being heard and little is being done for compensation for the locals (Fox). These gas companies have too much freedom to operate and must be put to stricter government regulation. The question is not whether we should frack or not, but rather how do we regulate these practices to minimize the collateral and environmental damage.