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IMAGE FROM “GASLAND” DOCUMENTARY FILM Does Fracking Cause Earthquakes? EXCESSIVE FORCE A
U.S. GEOLOGICAL STUDY just released notes a “re- markable” number of small earthquakes in the conti- nental U.S. since 2001, a period when the technique of hydraulic fracturing has been used extensively to extract natural gas. If the gas industry had been less eager to exploit
new resources, the fuel’s reputation as a clean-burning, “green” option might have remained above the fray. But the more we learn about fracking, the uglier the story gets. If you’re not sure what we mean, rent the documentary “Gasland,” and get a primer on how the gas industry frequently acquires this fuel. The end user product may be above criticism, but the process of getting it is a nightmare for the environment—and people who live nearby. Briefl y, fracking, a relatively new way to get at natural gas, sends
a drill deep into the ground, where it turns at a 90-degree angle. At that point, a toxic mix of hundreds of chemicals, plus sand and between 2 and 5 million gallons of fresh water are pumped into the ground, to force out the trapped gas. But communities from Arkansas to Pennsylvania are learning
the hard way that fracking can pollute fresh water supplies to an unheard of degree. And no one knows how long that water will remain toxic. It may be decades—or centuries. A study at Cornell University, in fact, suggests that fracking for
natural gas may create twice as much greenhouse gas pollution as coal extraction.
SEAL
GAS RESERVOIR (SANDSTONE)
GAS/SOURCE ROCK (SHALE, COALBED METHANE) Back to earthquakes. As if the water pollution factor wasn’t
enough to put the brakes on fracking immediately, recent quakes in Ohio have been linked to fracking. Natural gas may be inexpensive, but it’s time we realized it’s not cheap. The environmental costs of these new extraction techniques are too high. Without them, would natural gas still be an inexpensive alternative to fuel oil? At present, the gas industry is creating an enormous (perhaps in- calculable) debt that generations will have to pay. The only people cheering about this are probably the bottled water manufacturers.
– Editor
Aggressive techniques used to extract natural gas from shale call into question the fuel’s former reputation as a clean energy option.
www.greenbuildermag.com 06.2012
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