GannonSeeck
C&S212:101:10
gseeck@gmail.com
TheNextGreatResource
Sincethedawnoftime,menhavesearchedforvaluableresources.Whetherit’s
gold,oil,orwatertheseresourceshavebeenintricatepartsinhumanhistory.Intoday’s
society,theuseoffrackinghascreatedanewresourcethatmaybecomeastapleinthe
energypolicyofthegreenmovement,naturalgas.Naturalgasisaflammablegas
consistingofmethaneandotherhydrocarbons,whichoccurnaturallyundergroundand
usedasfuel.Naturalgasisthecleanestofthefossilfuels,andcontainshalfoftheair
pollutantsofcoal.However,manyenvironmentalistsandcitizensareupinarmsaboutthe
useoffrankingontheirland,andtheriskofinfectingdrinkingwatersupplies.Theuseof
frackingandnaturalgaswillgivethehumanraceatransitionalfuelinthejourneytofully
dependonrenewableresources.
Manypeoplehaveheardofthetermfracking,butfewknowwhatthetermmeans.
Hydraulicfracturingistheprocessofremovingnaturalgaswithinlayersofrockfromthe
earth(About).Thisrockisusuallyshale.Theprocessoffrackingmakesitpossibletoextract
thenaturalgasintheshalethatwasunreachablebeforetheuseoffracking.Withrecent
advancesindrillingtechnology,newmanmadefracturesinshalecanbedeeperandmore
accuratewiththeuseof3Dimaging(About).Thewellisthenlinedwithconcretetoprevent
groundwaterfrombeingcontaminated.Theinjectionofanextremelypressurizedmixof
water,sand,andchemicalsaresentintotheshalearea.68milliongallonsofwaterwillbe
usedtocreatethechannelsusedforextractingthenaturalgas(About).Thenaturalgasis
thentakenfromthenewlyformedchannelswithintheearth.Thisprocesscantakeuptoa
mouthandisduguptoamilebelowtheearth’ssurface(About).
Therearemanysocialgainsfromthetransitiontonaturalgas.Accordingtothe
EPA,Naturalgaspoweredelectricitygenerateshalfthecarbondioxideofacoalfired
plant.Historically,carbondioxideemissionshavegrownalongwiththedevelopmentofthe
modernsociety.Atitspeak,carbonemissionsreached6billionmetrictonsin
2007(Tweed).Sincethebeginningofthegreenmovement,thisnumberhasfallen.in2012,
thenumberdecreasedto5.3billionandisexpectedtocontinuedropping(Tweed).TheEIA
hasprojectedthesefindings,ininlargepart,becauseofreplacementofcoalwithnatural
gas.Thetransitiontonaturalgasismovingintherightdirection,however,theprocesswill
takedecadesforcoaltobedethronedastheenergykingoftheUnitedStates.Blackand
Veatchprojectsthatby2038,powerplantsthatarepoweredbycoalwillonlymakeup12.5
percentofallpowergeneratedintheUS.Inthesameyear,themarketshareofthe
consumptionofnaturalgastoproduceenergywillreach56percent(Tweed).Theother31.5
percentoftheenergywillbefromrenewableresourcessuchaswindandsolarpower.
Oneexampleoftheenvironmentaleffectsoffrackingistheleakingofmethanefrom
thewell.Methaneisoneofthenaturalgasesthatisfoundwithintheshale.Whilethe
naturalgasthatisusedforfueliscomparativelyclean,themethanethatescapesintothe
airisharmfultotheenvironment.Forseveraldecades,thismethanecanaddasignificant
amountofgreenhousegassestotheenvironment.Oneofthemaingoalsofthefracking
andenvironmentalindustriesisminimizingtheseleaksasmuchaspossible.Steven
Hamburg,thepresidentoftheEnvironmentalDefensesFund,isparticipatinginastudyto
learnmoreabouttheeffectsoftheMethaneleaks.Hamburgestimatestheamountof
methaneleakedisfourpercent.Ifthiscouldbereducedinhalf,theU.S.wouldhaveanine
percentreductionoftotalgreenhousegases.TheCouncilonForeignRelationsexperton
energy,MichaelLevisays,”Therearecosteffectivewaystoreducemethaneleaks,”He
explainedthattheirarealreadyproducers,likeShell,whoareusingtechnologytominimize
leaks.Agricultureandthedevelopmentofbiofuelsalso,contributetothereleaseof
methaneintotheatmosphere(Nocera).JohnHolko,aleaderinthefrackingmovement,
discussedinadebateaboutfrackingthat,“Thegasindustryisthemostqualifiedtohandle
theproblem.”Hetalkedabouthowthegasindustrycancapture,develop,andsellthe
methane.Thisgascanbeusedinvariousindustrieslikethefabric,plastic,antifreezeand
fertilizerindustries.
Thebenefitsofhydrofrackingnotonlyincludetheenvironmentalaspect,butthe
economicbenefitsaswell.Therearecurrently600,000U.S.jobsinthehydrofracking
industryandtheinsourcingofchemicalcompanies(Peerboom).Largecorporationslike
Dow,achemicalcompany,haverelocatedbacktotheUnitedStatesinordertocapitalize
onthefrackingboom.AreportfromGoldmanSachsbelievesbetween2013and2020,
shalegasandoilwilladd380690billiontoAmerica’snationalGDP(Hassett).This
translatesintotwotofourpercentagepoints,creating1.7millionindefinitejobsinthe
process(Hassett).Stateswithhighunemploymentrates,likeNewYork,willbenefitgreatly
fromthegrowthofthisindustry.NewYork’svastamountofshalesedimentsareboundto
bringwiththemnumerousjobstohelpshrinktheunemploymentrate.ThestateofNewYork
mightwishtoweightheeconomicadvantagesofhydraulicfrackingwhenevaluatingthe
costsandbenefits.Atitsheightin1980,thegassectorsupported267,000employees,
accordingtodatafromtheFederalReserveBankofSt.Louis(Hargreaves).Astheeasily
tappedoilreservesbegantodwindle,andtheproductionofdomesticoilbegantofalter,so
didtheemployment.Thenumberofemployedpeoplesinthegasandoilbusinessshrank
thefollowing20years(Hargreaves).Thesectordeclinedabout50percentatitslowin2003.
Sincethen,thejobmarkethasrisen63percentreaching200,000jobsin2012(Hargreaves).
Whileotherindustriessufferedgreatlyinthegreatrecession,thegasindustryhasbeenthe
exception.Theriseinnaturalgasproductionhascreatedashiftintradebalance
throughouttheworld.Lastyear,theObamaadministrationapprovedthebuildingofa10
billiondollarnaturalgasexportationfacilityinTexas.ThishasbeenamilestonefortheU.S.
onitswaytobecomeamajorsupplierofenergythroughouttheworld.In2012,theU.S.
exported4.4billioncubicfeetperdayofnaturalgas(NewDawn).By2020,theU.S.is
projectedtoexport68billioncubicfootperday(NewDawn).Otherindustriessuchasthe
electricityindustryhasbenefitedfromtransitioningtonaturalgas.Becauseofthelowprice
ofnaturalgas,plant’suseofnaturalgashasincreasedfrom5.3quadrillionBtuin2000to
6.38in2006and7.7in2011(NewDawn).
TheusefrackingintheUnitedStatesisontherise.Theunavoidabletransitionto
renewableresourceswilltaketimetofullydevelop,andbeputintousethroughoutthe
world.Theuseoffrackingtoretrievenaturalgaswillserveasaenvironmentallyfriendlyfuel
untilthegoalofrenewableenergyisachieved.Theuseoffrackingwillgivethehumanrace
thetimeitneedstosolvethemysteriesofaselfsustainedenergysource.