Natural Gas Drilling (Fracking)

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Natural Gas Drilling(Fracking)

• Lauren Thompson, Carly Meyer, Jeannie Kwan

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Introduction

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vU01EK76Sy4Afeature
  related

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What is Fracking (Natural Gas Drilling)?

• Better known as natural gas drilling, it involves
  pumping water saturated with chemicals into shale
  (rocks) in the ground to release natural gases.
• Began in the 1940s in Texas as simple
  hydrofracking
• Made more efficient in 1990s with horizontal
  drilling
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?featureplayer_embedd
  edvtimfvNgr_Q4

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(No Transcript)
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Safe Drinking Water Act

• Federal law ensuring safe water to drink
• Passed by Congress in 1974
• Amended 1986 and 1996
• Fracking exempted by Congress in 2005

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Energy Policy Act of 2005

• Addresses energy production
• Signed by George W. Bush
• Provides loan guarantees for people using new
  technologies to avoid by product of greenhouse
  gases

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Evidence/Statistics

• In the west, fracking waste water is injected
  underground and is intended to be permanently
  kept there
• In PA, used to just flow into rivers but EPA is
  now trying to pass legislation to control how
  waste water is disposed

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Recent Developments

• EPA finds need to further investigate safety of
  fracking, and is due to be released 2012
• Arlington put 2,397 annual fee on natural gas
  drilling wells money will go to emergency
  preparedness and response programs
• New York state court ruled that towns have the
  right to ban fracking even though states argue
  otherwise

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Frack Action

• Tries to protect water, air, and public health
  from dangers of hydraulic fracturing
• Raising awareness, exposing false claims of gas
  industry, mobilizing a citizen movement

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Frack Action Arguments

• Generates large amounts of toxic wastewater
• Left to evaporate
• Dumped into rivers
• and streams
• Contaminates
• drinking water
• Can cause people to get sick
• Uses large amounts of fresh water

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Other Groups Opposed to Fracking

• Josh Fox (Gasland)
• Earth Justice
• ProPublica

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Earth Justice Video

• http//earthjustice.org/our_work/campaigns/frackin
  g-gone-wrong-finding-a-better-way?gclidCIjr-5CBiq
  4CFWYTNAodRhLB2Q

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Pro-Fracking

• Abundant
• Estimated that the US holds over 2,000 trillion
  cubic feet of available gas
• Clean and more efficient than coal and oil
• Domestic
• Rely less of foreign oil
• Boosts economy and brings jobs, locally and
  nationwide
• 2008 2.8 million American jobs, billion to the
  U.S. economy, from natural gas
• Estimate for 2015 800,000 jobs, 118 billion to
  the economy, from shale alone

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Energy From Shale

• To protect hometowns and the environment, workers
  adhere to strict safety standards
• Construct natural gas wells with barriers made of
  steel and cement to protect freshwater resources

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Energy From Shale (cont.)

• Water for fracking is not obtained by our
  freshwater resources. Instead
• surface water, groundwater, municipal water
  suppliers, treated wastewater from municipal and
  industrial treatment facilities, power plant
  cooling water, and/or recycled produced water
  and/or flow back water.
• Waste Water is
• injected in permitted disposal wells in
  accordance with Underground Injection Control
  regulations
• delivered to water treatment facilities to remove
  pollutants
• reused/recycled.

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Other Interest groups

• ANGA- Americas Natural Gas Alliance
• Clean Growth Now
• Marcellus Shale Coalition
• Range Resources
• Independent Natural Gas drilling company in the
  Appalachian Regions

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States that have Fracking

• New Mexico
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• New Jersey

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Fracking in Pennsylvania

• Pro
• "during 2010 Pennsylvania Marcellus natural gas
  development generated 11.2 billion in value
  added or the regional equivalent of gross
  domestic product, contributed 1.1 billion in
  state and local tax revenues, and supported
  nearly 140,000 jobs." The Pennsylvania Marcellus
  Natural Gas Industry Status, Economic Impacts
  and Future Potential
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?featureplayer_embedd
  edvn3sGdfE9nXg
• Con
• Water Resources at Stake Delaware River,
  Monongahela River, Susquehanna River
• Sold to gas companies, towns loose control

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Pennsylvania Laws

• Pennsylvania was the only state not to have a tax
  on natural gas drilling. In Oct. 2010, a bill was
  turned down.
• In Feb. 2012, Bill passed that would put a tax on
  natural gas drilling
• Many opposed
• Environmental and safety standards were weak.
• takes away the rights of local governments to use
  zoning laws to regulate the location of natural
  gas drilling sites in their communities

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Public Opinion

• A survey was taken of 525 Pennsylvania residents
  from randomly selected areas
• Key findings include
• (1) more Pennsylvanians believe drilling has and
  will provide more benefits than problems
• (2) drilling firms should be taxed and the
  revenue should be used for road and bridge repair
  or environmental protection
• (3) Pennsylvanians view natural gas as a public
  resource and believe there should be disclosure
  of fracking chemicals used and,
• (4) Pennsylvanians have significant doubts about
  the credibility of the media, environmental
  groups and scientists on the issue, and also
  believe Governor Tom Corbett is too closely
  aligned with the preferences of energy extraction
  groups.

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Public Opinion (cont.)

• The survey also found that
• 44 percent of those polled say they somewhat or
  strongly agree the media are overstating the
  environmental impacts of fracking, while 41
  percent say they somewhat or strongly disagree.
• 48 percent say they somewhat or strongly agree
  that environmental groups are overstating the
  impacts of the drilling, while 39 percent say
  they somewhat or strongly disagree.
• 34 percent say they somewhat or strongly agree
  that scientists are overstating the impacts of
  fracking, while 42 percent say they somewhat or
  strongly disagree.
• http//rfflibrary.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/frackin
  g-for-natural-gas-public-opinion-on-state-policy-o
  ptions

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Political Party Views

• For the most part, all parties agree that it
  would be beneficial to our economy
• Green party opposes
• President Obama, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum,
  Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney think that natural gas
  drilling would be beneficial for America

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Political Cartoons
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(No Transcript)
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(No Transcript)
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Sources

• http//www.propublica.org/
• http//earthjustice.org/
• http//www.gaslandthemovie.com/
• http//frackaction.com/content/what-fracking
• http//www.intoon.com/cartoons.cfm/id/105548
• http//www.propublica.org/article/new-york-court-a
  ffirms-towns-powers-to-ban-fracking
• http//www.2facts.com/icof_story.aspx?PINi1600570
  termnaturalgasdrilling
• http//www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/exploration.a
  sphttp//ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/searchResults/a
  ctionWin?failOverTypequeryBSnaturalgasdrilli
  ngprodIdOVICwindowstatenormaldisplay-queryBS
  naturalgasdrillingmodeviewlimiterACytotal
  SearchResultCount1090displayGroupsuserGroupNam
  eactionecatIdactivityTypeBasicSearchscanId
  CSH
• http//www.2facts.com/icof_story.aspx?PINib160572
  termfracking
• http//www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydr
  aulic_fracturing_101
• http//www.propublica.org/article/epa-plans-to-iss
  ue-rules-covering-fracking-wastewater
• http//blog.modspace.com/2012/02/09/2012-president
  ial-election-candidates-views-on-natural-gas/
• http//www.energyfromshale.org/
• http//www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/us/pennsylvania-
  senate-passes-compromise-bill-on-gas-drilling.html
  ?_r1smidtw-nytimesnationalseidauto
• http//www.anga.us/TruthAboutGasland
• http//earthjustice.org/features/campaigns/pennsyl
  vania-and-fracking
• http//www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/05/pennsylva
  nia-natural-gas-drilling-bill_n_1255759.html