Climate Change: Fracking, Fossil Fuels, and the Environmental Impact

This essay examines the relationship between climate change and fracking, highlighting the environmental consequences of relying on fossil fuels. It presents a thesis statement asserting that human dependence on fossil fuels is gradually affecting our climate, with fracking exacerbating the problem through its impact on agriculture and the environment. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is defined as an industrial process used to extract fossil fuels like methane gas and oil from shale rock formations. Despite claims of safety by fossil fuel companies, the long-term environmental impacts of fracking are largely unknown. The essay discusses the dangers associated with fracking, including water use and pollution, earthquakes, and compromised air quality, supported by evidence and examples. It concludes that while fracking may benefit the fossil fuel industry economically, it poses significant threats to the environment.

Running head: CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Change
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change can be described or called as global warming and it is referred as the rise
in surface temperature of the earth. It is accepted by the scientists and researchers that due to the
excessive use of fossil fuel by humans has led to the rise in greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere in the air. The gases that are trapped within the atmosphere has led to the
several negative impacts like the landscapes getting susceptible to wildfires, severe weather
events, rising levels of the sea, the effect on the ecosystem. Fracking is also on such activity that
is controversial and has contributed positively to the environmental pollution (Boudet et al.).
Thesis statement- With humans relying on fossil fuels to run the earth, it is starting to
have a gradual effect on our climate change. Fracking for fossil fuels has never affected
agriculture more, depletion in crop and livestock production every day can be seen. Fracking is
stripping the earth from its natural state and leaving the atmosphere vulnerable to harsh and
harmful conditions.
Fracking, in short, is used to describe a process called hydraulic fracturing and this is an
industrial process that is able to break apart the formations of rocks for the purpose of extracting
the fossil fuels like methane gas and oil. The oil and gas are found in the rock formations which
are called shale. These fuels thus are called shale gas or shale oil. It has been claimed by the
fossil fuel companies that fracking is practised with safety. However, very little is known about
the long-term environmental impacts associated with fracking (Jackson et al.). It has been seen
that the due to the advancement in technology and changes in economics has allowed the several
fossil fuel companies to frack on a larger scale. At the same time, it has been found out these
fossil fuel companies have warned the investors regarding the various risk associated with injury
to the workers, environmental damage arising from explosions, spills and chemical leaks. The
advent of the newer technologies has rendered fracking more dangerous and profitable and

2CLIMATE CHANGE
attractive to the fossil companies but the tendency of damaging human health and environment
has increased as well (Boudet et al.).
The dangers associated with fracking is alarming and the impacts are studied by the
scientists. Fracking is thus found to be contributing to water use and pollution, earthquakes, air
quality and climate. Water use and pollution- the process employed in fracking is a water-
intensive process and it has been estimated that 3.6 gallons of water are used every time fracking
is done. The process involves the injection of water and it thus requires a huge amount of fresh
water which is mixed with the toxic chemicals (collectively called fracking fluids) deep inside
the ground (Hatzenbuhler and Terence). It has been mentioned by the fossil fuel companies that
there is only 2 percent among the 98 percent of the mixture. Within this 2 percent, about 2 billion
gallons of fracking fluids has hundreds of toxic chemicals and many are kept secret by the fossil
fuel agency (Greenpeace USA). This has major implications in the form of polluting and
contaminating the groundwater and acquirers. There is evidence of groundwater contamination
due to fracking in West Virginia, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Earthquakes- The
Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that there is a positive connection between the
fracking and increased number of earthquakes (BBC News). For example, Oklahoma
experiences an average of 21 earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude and this took place between 1967 to
2000. However, since the year 2010 when the fracking began the state of Oklahoma started ton
experience an average of more than 300 earthquakes that are of the 3.0 magnitude (Greenpeace
USA). Earthquakes are generally caused by the underground injection wells as it is used to
dispose of the contaminated water created during the process of fracking. Climate and air
quality- Due to the rise in the number of fracking are has been found that there is a spike in the
air pollution caused due to the leakage of methane gas from the fracking wells. States like

3CLIMATE CHANGE
Colorado have noticed a spike in levels of pollution occurring due to fracking wells. Methane gas
is one of the main components of the natural gas although less common but is a potent
greenhouse gas. Methane in comparison to carbon dioxide is 85 to 100 times more powerful and
it gets leaked into the atmosphere due to the fracking (Sovacool).
Thus from the above study, it can be concluded that the fracking although is beneficial for the
fossil fuel industries in terms of revenue, but it is equally detrimental for the environment.
Fracking is a process through which the shale gas or shale oil is recovered but it has negative
effects on the environment.

4CLIMATE CHANGE
Reference
BBC News. "What Is Fracking?". BBC News, 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401.
Accessed 25 July 2018.
Boudet, Hilary, et al. "“Fracking” controversy and communication: Using national survey data to
understand public perceptions of hydraulic fracturing." Energy Policy 65 (2014): 57-67.
Greenpeace USA. "Fracking". Greenpeace USA, 2018, https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-
warming/issues/fracking/. Accessed 25 July 2018.
Hatzenbuhler, Heather, and Terence J. Centner. "Regulation of water pollution from hydraulic
fracturing in horizontally-drilled wells in the Marcellus Shale Region, USA." Water 4.4 (2012):
983-994.
Jackson, Robert B., et al. "The environmental costs and benefits of fracking." Annual Review of
Environment and Resources 39 (2014): 327-362.
Sovacool, Benjamin K. "Cornucopia or curse? Reviewing the costs and benefits of shale gas
hydraulic fracturing (fracking)." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 37 (2014): 249-
264.