Revisions

The issue lies in the safety and environmental aspect of the process. America is currently in a recession and our natural resources are quickly dwindling. Fracking would help alleviate pressures from both of these by creating jobs and opening up new opportunities for fuels. However, people are concerned that their water and land could be contaminated by hydro-fracking. A Marcellus Shale boom is occurring in Pennsylvania but many have mixed feelings. They want the benefits of the natural gas and jobs but have the NIMBY attitude. NIMBY stands for “not in my backyard” and the skeptics of Marcellus Shale drilling have good reasons to feel this way. The drill pad disturbs five acres of land or more not including any roads, right-of-ways, or piping that would need to be installed to transport gas and equipment to and from the drill site. Also, people are also afraid of the consequences of drilling through and below the water table. Pennsylvanians do not want their water quality to be compromised through the process. Furthermore, there is a concern with the content of the water used for fracking. 99% of the brew is water and sand but the remaining 1% is a mixture of toxic chemicals. Finally, there is always the scare of a disaster. If a drilling site were to have a blow out or major fire surrounding homes could be serious danger. Although all of these are very serious concerns that must be monitored and prevented, the Marcellus Shale industry has done an excellent job of keeping this process as safe as possible.


A Marcellus Shale boom is occurring in Pennsylvania but many have mixed feelings. The issue lies in the safety and environmental aspect of the process. America is currently in a recession and our natural resources are quickly dwindling. Fracing would help stimulate the economy by creating jobs and lessen the effects of the energy crisis by opening up new opportunities for fuels. However, people are concerned that their water and land could be contaminated by hydro-fracing. They want the benefits of the natural gas and jobs but have the “NIMBY” attitude. NIMBY stands for “not in my backyard” and the skeptics of Marcellus Shale drilling have good reasons to feel this way. The drill pad disturbs five acres of land or more not including any roads, right-of-ways, or piping that would need to be installed to transport gas and equipment to and from the drill site. Also, people are also afraid of the consequences of drilling through and below the water table. Pennsylvanians do not want their water quality to be compromised through the process. Furthermore, there is a concern with the content of the water used for fracing. A small percentage is toxic chemicals with the potential to create health risks. Finally, there is always the scare of a disaster. If a drilling site were to have a blow out or major fire surrounding homes could be serious danger. Although there is a great financial and gas producing potential for Marcellus, there is also great risk. Despite companies’ attempts at making the process safe there is still room for water contamination, soil pollution, and health concerns.