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MiaCain
Ms.Gardner
English10
10May2016
AFrackingFuture
In2012,gasolinereachedanalltimeaveragehighintheU.S.of$3.61pergallon.In
2015,theaverage[American]householdsaved$660atthegaspumpperyearandwillsave
another$320peryearin2016(Koenig),reportstheU.S.EnergyDepartment.Hydraulic
fracturing,commonlyknownasfracking,islargelyresponsibleforthesesavings.IntheU.S.,
gasolinepriceshavereachedasevenyearlowaveraging$2pergallonnationwide.Frackingis
thepracticeofdrillingdeepintheEarthusinglargevolumesofwatertoupheaveshaleandgasat
highpressure.FrackingisimportantbecauseoftheprofitandindependenceitbringstotheU.S.
intheworldmarket,butitmayhaveeffectsonclimateandwater.Abalancemustbestruckto
reapthebenefitsofalowpriceatthepumpandprotectingtheplanet.Frackingthereforeshould
be,noteliminated,butrestrictedinordertokeeptheplanetsafe,toprotectpeopleslivelihoods,
andtoliberatetheworldfromfossilfuels.
Manypeoplearguethatfrackingshouldbebannedduetoenvironmentalhazards.InWest
Virginiaforexample,solidoilandgaswastedonothavetobedisposedofinspecialized
facilitiesitcanbedumpedinmunicipallandfills(Hasemyer).Inaddition,studiesshowthat
earthquakesarerisingwherefrackinghasoccurred.InOklahoma,lastyear[they]experienced
585earthquakesof3.0orgreatermagnitudemorethanintheprevious30yearscombined
(Bustillo).Thosehighlyopposedtothisformofdrillingbelieveitmustbebannedoutright

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becauseitwillcontinuetocausedangerstotheplanetthroughimproperdisposalandnatural
disasters.Indeed,manyseethatbanningisthebestsolutiontopotentialissueshowever,banning
willcontinuetoleadtorelianceonfossilfuel,anddependencyontheMiddleEasttoprovideit.
BothsidescanagreethatdependingontheMiddleEastisdangerous.Furthermore,with
810billionbarrelsinreserves(50%ofglobaltotal)and28millionbarrelsperdayinproduction
(30%ofglobaltotal),theMiddleEasthaslongbeenthecenteroftheglobaloilmarket
(Clemente).AndwithterroristsgroupssuchasISIS,controllingterritory,akeypartoftheir
strategybecauseitfeedsthegroup'scaliphaterhetorictheneedtobecomelessdependentis
growingmoreandmorenecessary.AstheMiddleEastcontinuestosufferbecauseofuprisings,
terrorists,andtheimmigrationcrisis,theUnitedStatesmustfindawaytosupportitselfonits
ownsoil.As
FortuneTimes
reporterChrisMathewsstates:AndthoughtheriseofISISand
generalinstabilityintheMiddleEastistheresultofmultifarious,complexforces,thedesireto
exertpowerthroughcontrollingtheflowofoilfromthatregionisundoubtedlyamajorfactor
(Critchlow).ThestruggleforblackgoldcontinuestodisruptthenationsoftheMiddleEastand
embroilstheU.S.inaconflictveryunnecessary.
MostofIraqsmajoroilfieldsarelocatedinthesouthofthecountry,whichareShia
Muslimheartlands.ThefailureoftheIraqiarmytodealwiththethreatofIsilisasignof
theirvulnerabilitytoisolatedattacks.Meanwhile,SaudiArabiaisinavirtualstateof
lockdownafterthebombingbyIsilmilitantsofaShiamosqueintheoilrichEastern
Province.Thebrutalattack,whichappeareddesignedtoprovokesectarianunrestinthe
kingdom,killed21worshippersandinjured80others.(Matthews).

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ThetruththattheUnitedStatesreliesheavilyonanareariddenwiththeconstantthreatto
terrorismisscary.FrackinghastheabilitytolessentheU.S.dependenceonforeignoil.
FrackingintheU.S.providessecuritythatnationsabroadcannot.
Therefore,theoutrightbanonfrackingwouldreducetheUnitedStateseconomic
independence.AsKyleIsakowerofthe
TribuneNewsService
argues,therateofjobgrowthand
theliftingofbansonoilexportscouldgenerateupto300,000additionalU.S.jobs(Isakower).
Thesejobs,likewise,cutthetradedeficitby$22billion(Isakower).Alaska,California,New
Mexico,Oklahoma,TexasandNorthDakotaindividuallymakethetop35inoilproduction
globallyasnationsduetofracking.Therevenuegeneratedfromfrackingmaintainsastablejob
market,wealthofmanystatesandthenationalincome.Intotal,frackingisakeyindustrythat
impactsallofAmerica.Howcouldthispracticebeobliteratedwithoutcrushingwagesandjobs?
Ultimately,frackinghastheabilitytoreducetheneedforfossilfuels.Ifdonecorrectly,fracking
canbemuchbetterfortheclimatethancoal.Forinstance,coalpowerconsumesmorethan
twicethewaterpermegawatthourgeneratedthanunconventionalgas(Golden).Someother
benefitsoffrackinginclude:betterairquality,lowercarbondioxideemissionsthancoaland
almostnoneofthemercury,sulfurdioxideorash.Thebenefitsoffrackingdoleaveasofter
footprintontheglobethanotherpreviousmeansoffuel.Theabilitytocuthalftheelectricityand
watercouldprovideaexcellentleaptowardworldclimategoalsasduringtheParisClimate
talks.Frackingcouldhelptoachieveabalancebetweenanthropogenicemissionsbysources
andremovalsbysinksofgreenhousegasesinthesecondhalfofthiscentury,onthebasisof
equity,andinthecontextofsustainabledevelopmentandeffortstoeradicatepoverty
(Davenport),amainclauseinthecharter.AswellashelpingtheU.S.reachtheirpersonalgoalof

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cuttinggreenhousegaspollutionbetween26to28percentfrom2005levelsby2025(The
KeyPlayersinClimateChange).Therefore,frackinghassurpassedourcurrentformsoffuel
andgas,butstillmustbestrictlymonitoredinordertokeeptheplanetanditscreaturessafe.
Thegrowingindustrydoesposedangerstotheenvironmentandhealthsafety.The
commercializationofthispracticecouldhavesignificantconsequences.Toillustratethis,the
EPAdidextensivetestinghoweverdeclinedtoincludeinitialbaselinetestingofsiteswhere
wellsweretobedrilled,thenfollowedupwithtestingduringandafter(Yardley).Theseresults
wereinconclusive,showingneithersupportnornegativity,asnodatawastakenfromdrillsites.
AsstatedbyKateHudson,DirectorofCrossWatershedInitiativesatRiverkeeper,"Intheend,
therearenofeasibleorprudentalternativesthatwouldadequatelyavoidorminimizeadverse
environmentalimpactsandthataddressthescientificuncertaintiesandriskstopublichealth
from[fracking,]"(Dey).AstudydonebyStanfordgeologistRobertJacksonfoundthat,thereal
threatsarefailuresinthesteelandcementcasingsofwellsnearertothesurfaceandthedisposal
ofwastewater.Numerouspreviousstudieshaveshownthatcasingsfailbetween1percentand10
percentofthetime,dependingongeologyandwellconstruction(Golden).Thisinformation
indicatesthatsomethingmustbedoneastheseeventsareclearlynotsafeandnotenoughis
known.ThepracticeofhydraulicfracturinghasledtoaneconomicboomandledtheU.S.outof
theGreatRecession,butpossiblyintohealthsafetyissues.Boththepoliticiansandscientists
mustworkhandinhandtogrindoutreforminordertoprotectallcitizens,butmaintain
economicgrowth.Asaresult,moreindepthtrainingmustbedoneinordertodeterminethe
extentofharmtowaterandhowitaffectsthepopulation.

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Inconclusion,frackingshouldnotbebannedbutrestrictedbecauseofitspotentialhealth
risksandtheeconomicstabilityitprovides.Banningfrackingwouldtakeawayhundredsof
thousandsofjobs,butlettingitgrowwithoutchecksandbalancesprovidesdamagetodrinking
waterandariseinearthquakes.Thebalancebetweenearthandincomemustbekeptcarefullyin
check.In2015,therewere46.7millionpeoplelivinginpovertyintheU.S.alonefrackingcould
providejobs,incomeandstabilitytothesepeople.ThisoilharvestedonAmericansoilkeepsthe
U.S.outoftheMiddleEastanditsturmoil.Frackinghasthepossibilitytogivesomuchand
damagesomuch.

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Clemente,Jude.TheMiddleEast'sGrowingOilDemandProblem.
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Critchlow,Andrew.OpecundersiegeasIsilthreatensworld'soillifeline.
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Dey,Isha.It'sOfficial:NewYorkStateBansFracking.
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Golden,Mark.Stanfordledstudyassessestheenvironmentalcostsandbenefitsoffracking.
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Hasemyer,David."FrackingWastePutsPublicatRisk,StudySays."
InsideClimateNews
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