Drafts / Peer reveiw

Fracking Problem Thesis and Ideas

                Fracking has been in the United States for a while now, but just recently has it began making big headlines. With the way people live in America today there is an extremely high demand for oil and gas. With tensions in the middle-east the United States is trying to rely less on foreign countries for oil. This has led to an increase in interest for hydraulic fracking. Although hydraulic fracking could help relieve the high demand for energy in the U.S., it could also have major repercussions. Fracking wastes large amounts of water, contaminates the air, and pollutes water supplies.

Blog 1

Fracking has been in the United States for a while now, but just recently has it began making big headlines. Fracking is on the move in the United States and could be coming to your backyard. With the way people live in America today there is an extremely high demand for oil and gas. With tensions in the middle-east the United States is trying to rely less on foreign countries for oil. This has led to an increase in interest for hydraulic fracking. Although hydraulic fracking could help relieve the high demand for energy in the U.S., it could also have major repercussions.

                Fracking seems like an easy solution to our energy crisis right? At first this sounds like a great idea, but once you look further into it there are major issues. A major problem with Fracking is water pollution. If fracking is such a danger to our water supply then it seems absolutely crazy to do it. A fact on DangersOfFracking.com is that there have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas of gas drilling as well as cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water. If it harms people then it is insane to keep building fracking sites, especially around homes. With hundreds of chemicals being pumped into the ground to extract the natural gas from the rock it is easy for these chemicals to lake into water supplies and be pumped directly into households. If most people knew the danger that could be coming to their backyards then they would be irate.

                If fracking causes such issues with the water we drink then we are just killing ourselves. Gas and oil companies need to make people aware of the possible dangers before they start fracking in an area. With the rapid expansion fracking in the United States many grassroots organizations are fighting back. These organizations are trying to have anti-fracking laws passed within their states. Once people in future fracking areas realize the danger of fracking they will not want it in their local communities, but the important part is making everyone aware of the danger before it is too late. Although fracking can take some of the demand of oil from foreign countries, it is just not worth the risks.

From: http://www.dangersoffracking.com/ 

Make annotated bibs

Find more evidence and examples to make a stronger statement.

Good conclusion, just restate intro and maybe add more evidence as well

Needs stronger introduction/hook

Make main point clearer. Make it easy to realize that the point is “people are not aware”.

Minor spelling and punctuation errors.

Blog 3

                  Have you ever imagined that the water you drink, bathe, and cook in could be harming your health? Well thanks to hydraulic fracking this is a reality for some people and is going to be for more people in the near future. As the spread of fracking is on the rise, human and animal health issues have increased. According to Janna Palisser, contaminated water from fracking can cause burning of the nose, throat, eyes, and also causes headaches, as well as neurological, dermatological (rashes), vascular (nosebleeds), sensory, immunological, urological, and gastrointestinal (vomiting, diarrhea) issues. This has to be stopped before more people and animals are harmed.

                Hydraulic fracturing can cause harm to animals and humans in a few ways. These ways include water pollution, air pollution, and earthquakes. Yes, even earthquakes. An article in science scope states that two earthquakes shook Youngstown, Ohio, in December 2011. These were both within a mile from the injection well and 100 meters from each other. Shortly after, nine more earthquakes struck between March and November, all around the fracturing site. Scientists believe the quakes were caused by a slippage of the fault at the same depth as the injection site below the surface due to injection fluids. These fluids can act as lubricants between two rocks, helping them to slip along the boundary. Pollution is one thing, but causing a serious natural disaster could have detrimental effects. This could easily kill people. Not only could this harm people it can harm animals as well. According to the same article many cows, goats, and chickens have died due to exposure to drilling waste and emissions. This shows the danger of the air and water pollution from hydraulic fracking.

                Not only is it proven that fracking causes human and animal health problems, it can lead to earthquakes as well. As more and more fracking sites pop up across the United States more people are in danger. Safer ways of drilling oil need to be researched now before more people and animals get sick or have their lives put at risk. The cons of fracking absolutely outweigh the pros. When human health is put at risk, that’s when things have gone too far.

Work Cited

Palliser, Janna. Fracking Fury. Science Scope. Web. March 2012

This article tells the true dangers that come with fracking. Not only does it have cons of fracking, it also lists the pros in a non-bias way. Has a ton of great information on the effects of fracking and research that has been done.

Blog 2

                 Water contamination next to areas of hydraulic fracturing have caused cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water. Wouldn’t it be awful to have your safe drinking water you use every day to become poisoned with dangerous toxins? This soon could be coming to a neighborhood near you. A major effect of fracking is water pollution. This water pollution can harm people and even animals that drink from nearby streams and lakes.

                As fracking spreads more and more across the United States research is being done to find out how it effects people and the environment. Research has shown how it negatively effects our water supply. For example, according to dangersoffracking.com during the process of hydraulic fracking, methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from the system and contaminate nearby groundwater. This does not necessarily contribute to the well water contaminations, but this is how it can effect animals and the environment. But not only can it harm animals it can be harmful to humans as well. Dangerdoffracking.com states that 600 harmful and toxic chemicals are pumped into the ground that can leak into our water supply. Some of these chemicals are uranium, methanol, hydrochloric acid, radium and lead just to name a few. To me it seems common sense that I would not want to even think about drinking any of these chemicals.

                Fracking some benefits but at what cost? Water is the most important element to life and fracking harms our water supply. Contaminating our own water supply sounds extremely irresponsible, and ignorant. Not only can it hurt us it hurts our surrounding environment such as animals. Laws need to be passed to slow the spread of fracking and increase research to find other safer ways of extracting gas and other fuels. Not only would this protect us from toxic water, it will prevent us from the of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage that has already emerged in some areas.

Work Cited

Dong, L. What Goes In and Out of Hydraulic Fracking. Dangers of fracking. Web. 13 Nov 2013.                 <http://www.dangersoffracking.com/>.

                This website shows specifically where and what dangers come from fracking. It shows in great detail how each step of fracking is done and shows where the issues occur. 

Blog 1

Blog Post 1

Do we not love being able to drink our water at home and have no worries about our personal safety? Well soon you’re your water could be contaminated with hundreds of harmful chemicals. Fracking is on the move in the United States and could be coming to your backyard. Fracking has been in the United States since the 1950’s, but just recently has it began making big headlines. With the way people live in America today there is an extremely high demand for oil and gas. With tensions in the Middle-East the United States is trying to rely less on foreign countries for oil. This has led to an increase in interest for hydraulic fracking. Although hydraulic fracking could help relieve the high demand for energy in the U.S., it could also have major repercussions such as water contamination, polluting our air, and wastes huge amounts of water. If it is proven that fracking does this to our environment, why are we doing it? Because people just are not aware.

                Fracking seems like an easy solution to our energy crisis right? At first this sounds like a great idea, but once you look further into it there are major issues. A major problem with Fracking is water pollution. According to DangersOfFracking.com methane concentrations are 17 times higher in drinking-water wells near fracturing sites than in normal wells. If fracking is such a danger to our water supply then it seems absolutely crazy to do it. Another fact on DangersOfFracking.com is that there have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas of gas drilling as well as cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water. If it harms people then it is insane to keep building fracking sites, especially around homes. With hundreds of chemicals being pumped into the ground to extract the natural gas from the rock it is easy for these chemicals to leak into water supplies and be pumped directly into households. If most people knew the danger that could be coming to their backyards then they would be irate.

                If fracking causes such issues with the water we drink then we are just killing ourselves. Gas and oil companies need to make people aware of the possible dangers before they start fracking in an area. New laws also could be passed for people’s safety, or even researching new ways of finding oil and gas could be researched now before more people are harmed. With the rapid expansion fracking in the United States many grassroots organizations are fighting back. According to foodandwaterwatch.org there are about 400 state wide efforts to stop fracking across the United States. These organizations are trying to have anti-fracking laws passed within their states. Once people in future fracking areas realize the danger of fracking they will not want it in their local communities, but the important part is making everyone aware of the danger before it is too late. Although fracking can take some of the demand of oil from foreign countries, it is just not worth the risks.

Works Cited

Dong, L. What Goes In and Out of Hydraulic Fracking. Dangers of fracking. Web. 13 Nov 2013.                 <http://www.dangersoffracking.com/>.

                This site gives a detailed information on the steps that go into fracking. It gives information on where pollution in fracking originates and how the fracking process works.

 Mapping the Movement. Food & Water Watch. Web. 13 Nov 2013.                            <http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/fracking/fracking-action-center/map/>.

This page maps anti-fracking movements across the country. This shows how grass roots organizations are fighting back against the spread of fracking and its dangers.