Following house dinner, the Becker Rose Café had professors Greg Poe, David Wolde, and Shanjun Li come and host an environmental panel. They began the discussion by asking people what environment problems we have concerns about. I raised my hand and answered that fracking was seen as a big environmental concern nowadays.
I learned about fracking in my AP Chemistry class junior year. Once finished with the AP, our teacher thought it was important that we become more aware of our environment and learn about problems facing us today. One of the topics she covered was fracking. We actually watched a documentary that was filmed on the effects of fracking. Basically, fracking also known as hydraulic fracturing is a process when gas companies drilling down into the Earth and then a high pressure mixture of water and chemicals is released to hit the rock below the Earth and releases gas. Although the actual drilling is vertical, the process takes place vertically. One of my classmates also wrote their senior thesis paper on hydraulic fracturing, and she got the opportunity to speak with lobbyists and some Senators working to stop fracking. The gas companies, have a lot of money and therefore a lot of leverage in politics, so fracking continues to devastate several areas with little responsibility placed on gas companies.
When brought up at the panel, the three professors all chose to look at the benefits to fracking. They admitted that there were some negatives to fracking, but these effects were so minimal compared to the benefits gained from it. They said that virtually everything we do has a negative consequences. If this is true, what is the point of raising awareness of the destruction of forests, global warming, and other environmental problems? Where should the line be drawn with hurting the environment and benefitting society?
It’s true that fracking is a good resource for gas, but the negative effects are severely downplayed. The state of New York has banned fracking, so people are not aware of the negatives to fracking. I remember watching a video that shows how contaminated and dirty the water is and in fact, you could set the water on fire because gas has contaminated the water supply. I remember seeing images of sick animals who drank this water, and yet gas companies claim that the water contamination is not due to fracking. They dismissed the fact that people and animals got cancer and other diseases at the same time they started drilling for oil by “coincidence.” While the panelists brought up the positives to fracking, I couldn’t help but think back to the sick individuals who were manipulated by gas companies into allowing them to drill on their property. At the very least, gas companies should own up to the problems they have caused and they should offer some compensations for individuals affected.
Fracking is also a large concern of mine. I grew up in Watkins Glen, NY, about 30 minutes West of Ithaca, on the head of Seneca Lake. A few years ago, fracking was a very prominent concern in my town, when the gas companies wished to frack in my town. Through this the community came together and fought this. One statement that I disagree with you is, “The state of New York has banned fracking, so people are not aware of the negatives to fracking.” I think that the state of New York has banned fracking because of the upheaval that people, especially in this area, caused when fracking was a possibility. They reacted this way due to their knowledge about the negative consequences. I throughly enjoyed your post!
If there was a way for fracking to be less harmful to the environment that would be great. Contrary to the panel’s beliefs, I think that while there are benefits to fracking, the costs associated with the harm done to the surrounding areas (animals, people, etc.) are not minimal and for this reason fracking remain to be banned in NY.