Fracking has gotten a bad reputation, and with good reason. But using natural
gas might be the first practical step toward reducing carbon emissions.
In the three decades leading up to 2000, there were about 21 earthquakes per
year in the central part of the U.S. Between 2000 and 2011, that number
increased sixfold.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), there were 50 earthquakes in
2009, 87 in 2010 and 134 in 2011, none of which resulted in human casualties or
significant damages to property. Researchers think this trend is correlated to
hydraulic fracturing – fracking – and the resulting millions of gallons of
wastewater that is injected into disposal wells.
Fracking is a relatively simple process: drilling companies inject water, sand
and chemicals into deep shale formations to break up the rock, releasing the
natural gas trapped inside and under it. Most of that
chemically-polluted water rises to the surface and has to be removed and placed
in disposal wells.
Fracking has also been blamed for poisoning nearby wells and watersheds. The
chemicals in fracking fluids have been known to include benzene, ethylbenzene,
formaldehyde, methanol, naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, toluene,
xulene, boric acid, hydrochloric acid, isopropanol and diesel fuel.
France, Paris
Togo, Lomé
Taiwan, Taipei,
Rwanda, Kigali
Senegal, Dakar,
Vanuatu, Port-Vila
Morocco Rabat
Mozambique, Maputo,
Naperville Illinois USA
Rockhampton Queensland Australia
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