The Environmental and

Political Effects of Fracking

AUDREY M. SAXTON, PP, PLS

CONTROVERSY:

BIO105IN / CRN23361Instructor: Amber Carpe PhD

The Controversy

Do the economic benefits of fracking outweigh the risks to the environment?

The Players

Gas Companies & Associations

American Petroleum Institute

Environmental

Organizations

Food & Water Watch

Important Facts & Background

•“Fracking” (hydraulic fracturing)•Water, chemical and sand pumped deep underground•Rock fractures to release oil and natural gas

•Domestic oil/gas reduces US importation of foreign oil•2004: 60% of consumption from foreign sources•2014: 38% of consumption from foreign sources•U.S. projected to surpass Saudi Arabia as largest world producer

•EPA responsible for US regulation, safeguard of health•Nearly all US greenhouse gas emissions from oil, natural gas & coal

PROPONENTS OF FRACKING

Good for the economyCreates jobs/increases revenuesGood for the environment

OPPONENTS OF FRACKINGNo long-term benefitJobs short-term and not localNatural gas as “bridge fuel” false promisePollution & diminished water supplies threaten humans, wildlife and plants

FRACKING IS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY

Reduces reliance on foreign oilEconomic benefit from exportsAdds to world’s oil/gas supply

US will soon have enough surplus to begin export to Asia

More supply means lower prices

Oil/gas on federal lands alone can power 65 million cars for 60 years and heat 60 million homes for 160 years

If fracking is eliminated, US will lose 700,000 barrels of oil/gas per day, thus increasing oil costs

PROPONENTS FOR FRACKING

FRACKING CREATES JOBS AND INCREASES GOVERNMENT REVENUES

2012: 2.1 million jobs supported by fracking industry2025 (projection): 3.9 million jobs supported by fracking

President Obama 2012 State of the Union:“600,000 jobs produced by fracking” – Evidence: PA & OH

$30B/yr or $84M/day taxes paid to US government

Stop fracking: 48,000 jobs lost in first year

PROPONENTS FOR FRACKING

NATURAL GAS IS GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Cleaner burning than oil/coalGateway to renewable energyLess greenhouse gasses

Electricity: Replace coal with gas = 45% less greenhouse gas emissions

Eliminate coal-fired electricity generating plants:Thousands less annual deaths/illnesses from pollutants

Gas will displace coal as dominant source of energy by 2030

China (fastest growing coal consumer/polluter) will consume more gas than European Union by 2030

PROPONENTS FOR FRACKING

NO LONG-TERM BENEFIT FROM FRACKING

OPPONENTS AGAINST FRACKING

Drilling booms are short-lived (one year to set up wells)

Short-term benefits versus long-term costs

• Spike in tax revenue income is limited• Long-term costs to infrastructure post-drilling:

Repair of damage to roads from overweight vehicles

Elevated risk of fatal traffic accidents

OPPONENTS AGAINST FRACKING

JOBS SHORT-TERM AND NOT LOCAL TO DRILLING LOCATIONS

Drillers/employees brought from out-of-town

Job creation in only first year of “pre-production”

• 98% of employment for life of well in first year only

Boom and bust: Jobs move from town-to-town / no roots

OPPONENTS AGAINST FRACKING

NATURAL GAS AS A “BRIDGE FUEL” IS A FALSE PROMISE

Increase in demand vs. rate of production insufficient to meet needs of consumption

• 3.5M trucks/busses need 2.7T cu. ft. gas• Gas reserves stagnating and projecting to decline

Drilling sites measure 9% of total leaked gasses (methane)

• 1/3 of this rate is worse than current coal-burning emissions

OPPONENTS AGAINST FRACKING

POLLUTION AND DIMINISHED WATER SUPPLIES THREATENING HUMAN HEALTH, WILD- AND PLANT-LIFE

Methane migrations from fracking found in groundwater

Pennsylvania: Fracking wastewater stored above ground

• Radioactive properties in water

UT & CO: Native indigent flora and fauna endangered

I believe that the purported economic

benefits of fracking are not enough sufficient enough

to outweigh the risks to the environment

OPINION

RATIONALE

Cost

Long term

Unknown

Pollution

Damage

People getting sick

Other energy sources

OPINION

RATIONALE

Tainted end does not justify the means:- profits for private companies not people- clean-burning fuel versus methane from drilling- polluting water from drilling and leakage- continued reliance on fossil fuels- loss of life and damaged ecologies

OPINION

RATIONALE

Renewable energies should be focus:- cost of developing sources getting cheaper- long-term effects of oil production too great- sustainability of renewable indefinite

Literature CitedAmerican Petroleum Institute (“API 1”) (2014). Energy Answers. Retrieved from http://www.api.org/policy-and-issues/policy-items/taxes/energy-answers.American Petroleum Institute (“API 2”) (2014, Apr.). Hydraulic Fracturing: Unlocking America’s Natural Gas Resources. Retrieved from http://www.api.org/policy-and-issues/policy-items/hf/hydraulic-fracturing-primer.Brown, V. J. (2014). Radionuclides in Fracking Wastewater. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(2), A50-A55. doi:10.1289/ehp.122-A50.Cockerham, S. (2014, May 1). Geophysicist link fracking boom to increase in earthquakes. Retrieved from http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/05/01/226256/geophysicists-link-fracking-boom.html.Collins, Jim (2011, Nov. 8). Testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Retrieved from http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/ files/serve?File_id=63521aa2-b397-48a2-91b1-34dda1461b4d.Crawford, Mark (2013). Fracturing Rocks to Unlock New Oil. Mechanical Engineering, 135(12), 24-29.Endangered Species Coalition (“ESC”) (N.d.). Fueling Extinction: How Dirty Energy Drives Wildlife to the Brink. Retrieved from http://fuelingextinction.org/.Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA 1”) (2013). GHGRP 2012: Reported Data. Retrieved from http://epa.gov/ghgreporting/ghgdata/reported/index.html.Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA 2”) (N.d.). Natural Gas Extraction - Hydraulic Fracturing. Retrieved from http://www2.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing.

Literature Cited

Food & Water Watch (“F&W 1”) (2012, March). False Promises and Hidden Costs: The Illusion of Economic Benefits from Fracking. Retrieved from http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/factsheet/false-promises-and-hidden-costs-the-illusion-of-economic-benefits-from-fracking/. Food & Water Watch (“F&W 2”) (2011, June). The Case for a Ban on Gas Fracking. Retrieved from http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/tools-and-resources/the-case-for-a-ban-on-gas-fracking/.Handley, Meg (2013, Apr. 29). EPA Report Gives Pro-Fracking Camp a Win. USNews.com. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/04/29/epa-report-gives-pro-fracking-camp-a-win.Heinberg, Richard (2013, Oct. 23). Snake Oil. Resilience.org. Retrieved from http://www.resilience.org/print/2013-10-23/snake-oil-chapter-5-the-economics-of-fracking-who-benefits.King, George E. (2012). Hydraulic Fracturing 101. Retrieved from http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/Fracturing/Frac_Paper_SPE_152596.pdf.Neuman, S. (2014, May 5). USGS: Okla. At Increased Risk Of 'Damaging Quake'. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/05/309888859/usgs-okla-fracking-has-increased-chance-of-damaging-quake?sc=17&f=1001&utm_source=iosnewsapp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=app.Pierce, Jr., Richard J. (2013). Natural Gas Fracking Addresses All of Our Major Problems. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.gwu.edu/faculty_publications/176/.