As shale and fracking is increasing, the International Energy Agency projects that the United States could become the world’s leading oil producer by 2015 (WhatIsFracking.com). Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling down into the earth. A high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Soon, water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at a high pressure, which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well (BBC.com). Fracking refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the pressure; in fact, experts moreover refer it to a frac job and a frac unit (BBC.com). In nineteen forty-seven Floyd Farris of Standind Oil and gas began a study on relationships between oil and gas …show more content…
The United States has more than triple the amount of fracked wells compared to China and Canada; therefore, the United States. has a fifteen year advantage; in fact, major companies are banking on that in the future (New America). One other example happened in Pennsylvania. In two thousand and ten, a Marcellus Shale Coalition press released “The safe and steady development of clean-burning natural gas in Pennsylvania’s portion of the Marcellus Shale has the potential to create an additional 212,000 new jobs over the next 10 years on top of the thousands already being generated all across the Commonwealth.” (New Republic). In addition to the fracking revolution created a modern day gold rush in North Dakota; in fact, oil field workers there can make up to six figures. During the fracking boom, North Dakota had an unemployment rate of two point eight percent; on the other hand, the national unemployment average was at five point eight percent. (FrackingEconomicGrowth.org). Job creation and economic benefits are another pro for fracking because of the demand for jobs in …show more content…
Geoscientist Raymond Pierrehumbert stated “you first need to realize that for many years, we 've been burning huge volumes of coal to obtain electricity—and coal produces a ton of carbon dioxide, the chief gas behind global warming. Natural gas, by contrast, produces half as much carbon dioxide when it burns, and thus, the fracking boom has been credited with a decline in US greenhouse gas emissions.” (Mooney). Fracking produces a third of all the United States natural gas; furthermore, Lawerence Cathles, a professor at Cornell University did a study and found out that if we replaced coal with natural gas, we would cut about forty percent of carbon emissions linked to global warming (From Coal to Gas). He stated “When you burn natural gas it 's a cleaner burning fuel, but the more significant thing ... natural gas can generate electricity with almost twice the efficiency in terms of conversion of energy content of fuel." (From Coal to Gas). As you can see above, this is what a fracking facility looks similar to (Fracking in Colorado). The fracking procedure being better than other procedures such as coal mining is another pro to