Economic Comeback
It is the contention of the energy sector that hydraulic fracturing will soon enough be added to that list. However, while it is in our nature to cultivate a higher standard of living we have to do it in a different, sustainable way. The issue of global warming does not collide with the agenda of energy independence or the viability of hydraulic fracturing. In fact, it is the complete opposite. While we are a far time away from having completely sustainable energy sources, and hydraulic fracturing is certainly to completely clean, it is cleaner than traditional methods nonetheless.
It is also the contention of energy experts and leading economists that hydraulic fracturing plays a key role in the transition from traditional fossil fuels to green energy. The argument about pollution of drinking water seems to be made frequently by the opposition, but frankly it is Just not true. Such criticisms are pure neglect of factual scientific evidence. Throughout the past 20 years scientists have been investigating this, there has not been one case where this has been proven to be true. “The US
Ground Water Protection Council stated they have not seen a single instance of contamination of water by franking fluid. ” (Bristling Energy 4)Water wells were contaminated because of drillers ignoring state regulations and doing the procedure improperly. It can also occur due to misconstruction of wells and negligence. This can be effectively seen in almost every industry and there are no accounts that the practice of franking itself is what is leading to well contamination as various studies from the EPA confirm.
There is much more confusion about the topic at hand mostly u to countless myths and false statistical analysis from the opposition that clouds the issue. For one, a common myth is that “hydraulic franking is hardly regulated at all and transnational companies are allowed to do anything they pleased, and access to doing things that completely neglect the environment that many other energy companies do not have. ” (Sierra Club) This cannot be further from the truth. Hydraulic franking is one of the most regulated energy practices in the United States. Operators need approved permits related to design, location, spacing, operation, ND abandonment. Environmental permits are required for water management and disposal. They have to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Under Ground Injection Control regulations. ” (Energy in Depth) Hydraulic franking is “a type of well stimulation in which hydraulically pressurized liquid is pumped into the ground to break up shale rocks and retrieve natural gas, petroleum, and brine” (Energy Resources Program).
Not only is this an artificial structure but it is widely reported to occur naturally. It is within this fundamental understanding of he process that environmental issues are quelled dramatically while allowing for a much more efficient allocation of resources by maximizing output while minimizing pollution in a process that serious technological advancement has been allowing us to do, and pragmatic capitalism has been incentives us to do since its inception.
The more engineers learn and develop new methods of extracting natural gas, the more we can continue to do this while respecting our environment and curving our carbon emissions. Hydraulic fracturing has allowed us to reach natural gas services buried deep below the surface and as result of this the US actually cut greenhouse gases by half. This can be credited due to natural gas slowly replacing and easing out coal. (Bloomberg) Franking in the US this year alone has created over 1. 7 million U.
S Jobs both in the industry alone and the communities they build from the ground up. Within the next 20 years Job growth by franking is expected to reach 3. 5 million. Beside important environmental and economic benefits, it’s also one of energy independence. Studies show that up to “one third of our trade deficits is due to oil imports” (Morris 53) the US spends “approximately 1 billion dollars a day importing oil” (Center for American Progress) which is absolutely absurd due to massive abundance of energy reserves in the US.
Supporting and promoting an export fueled agenda would greatly reduce our energy dependence and allow the US to finally start benefiting from free trade agreements in a more economically sustainable way. Mostly due to the fact that domestic energy production Jobs cannot be outsourced and are often high paying and long term. Not only that, but it’s a moral Agenda. Oil imports are one of the main reasons why backwards third world countries are able to ignore and violate the human rights of its citizens.
Syria is the great example of how we directly aid ridiculous regimes that slaughter and undermine the rights of their own people. “Currently, upwards of 200 million dollars is imported annually from Syria alone, while 20 billion in oil is imported from Algeria, 36 billion from Nigeria, and countless other examples. In total the US imports approximately 4 million barrels of oil a day’. (Center for American Progress) We will likely continue on this fast track o completely ignore human rights unless we can continue to produce natural as right here in the US.
We need to be supporting an agenda of Job growth in the US, not human rights violations in the Middle East. The last, but probably most important argument is one of energy in itself. Economists predict that “by the year 2050, energy demand will double. There will be approximately 2 billion more people in the world, roughly 2 billion personal vehicles will be on the road from the mere 900 million today’ (International Energy Agency) Hydraulic Fracturing isn’t Just an egocentric American economic interest, it’s an international agenda fueled by the need of affordable, accessible, and safe energy.
The US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia are the only nations with the reserves necessary to push this international Agenda, and the US is the best practitioner with the lowest amount of pollution out of all three, yet the most production capacity. We need to respond to the threat of global warming, but we need to do it in uniquely developed ways. We need to tacos on utilizing the natural resources within specific gee-graphic advantage, rather than trying to apply old world solutions to new world problems.
Rather than importing energy from different areas and increasing pollution via transportation we need to produce and use them right here at home. What the scientific community has learned is that regardless of whatever happens in the next decade fossil fuels will indeed play a large role in how we get our energy. If this is indeed the case, that we need fossil fuels, then we need to make sure we are constantly developing more efficient ways to do it, maximizing efficiency y minimizing pollution.
