Caitlin Johnson
Have you ever heard of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking?” If you haven’t, you will soon. Fracking is a process of drilling thousands of feet into the earth and creating small explosions to “fracture” hard shale rocks, which then release natural gas. Extremely pressurized water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock. Gas then flows out into a well.
There are two major shale rock formations in our neck of the woods: the Marcellus Shale and the even deeper Utica Shale. Fracking is already happening in Carroll and Sandusky Counties According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Portage Counties (and many others!) sit atop the Utica Shale. Lake and Stark are above both the Marcellus and Utica.
Last month, Chesapeake Energy announced that there deposits of oil and gas in eastern Ohio's Utica Shale could be worth $15 billion to $20 billion. Governor John Kasich said this discovery could be a shot in the arm for Ohio’s economy. In Youngstown, more than 400 people have been put to work building a new $650 million blast furnace to build the steel tubes used in fracking. Considering what this region has been through over the last 30 years, it’s no wonder many people are enthusiastically embracing fracking.
But not everyone. Opponents say fracking releases methane into the atmosphere, which they say damages the ozone layer just as much as demonized greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. An award winning documentary “Gasland” tells cautionary tales of flammable tap water, sick and dead animals, unexplained repertory problems, headaches, and even cancer, gas clouds and toxic ponds of left-over fracking fluid. A study out of Cornell University has shown that fracking could spur a very fast economic boom followed by a harsh decline. Moreover, the equipment and manpower needed for fracking often overwhelm the small towns where natural gas wells are located, damaging infrastructure and even driving up rents for local residents.
People afflicted by these problems say fracking is the cause, but it’s very hard for to prove. Why? Because in 2005, President George W. Bush signed a law that exempted fracking from the Clean Air and Water Acts as well as the Safe Drinking Water Act. Also, fracking fluid is proprietary. Companies don’t have to say what’s in it. Although the federal government is conducting a study about fracking, in the short term, if it is going to be regulated, it will likely be done at the state level.
How do you think we should proceed with fracking here in Ohio? What are your concerns?
Check out this cool video:
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Posted Aug 18, 2011
Conversation text and related responses copyright © The Civic Commons and are available under the
Have you ever heard of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking?” If you haven’t, you will soon. Fracking is a process of drilling thousands of feet into the earth and creating small explosions to “fracture” hard shale rocks, which then release natural gas. Extremely pressurized water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock. Gas then flows out into a well.
There are two major shale rock formations in our neck of the woods: the Marcellus Shale and the even deeper Utica Shale. Fracking is already happening in Carroll and Sandusky Counties According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Portage Counties (and many others!) sit atop the Utica Shale. Lake and Stark are above both the Marcellus and Utica.
Last month, Chesapeake Energy announced that there deposits of oil and gas in eastern Ohio's Utica Shale could be worth $15 billion to $20 billion. Governor John Kasich said this discovery could be a shot in the arm for Ohio’s economy. In Youngstown, more than 400 people have been put to work building a new $650 million blast furnace to build the steel tubes used in fracking. Considering what this region has been through over the last 30 years, it’s no wonder many people are enthusiastically embracing fracking.
But not everyone. Opponents say fracking releases methane into the atmosphere, which they say damages the ozone layer just as much as demonized greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. An award winning documentary “Gasland” tells cautionary tales of flammable tap water, sick and dead animals, unexplained repertory problems, headaches, and even cancer, gas clouds and toxic ponds of left-over fracking fluid. A study out of Cornell University has shown that fracking could spur a very fast economic boom followed by a harsh decline. Moreover, the equipment and manpower needed for fracking often overwhelm the small towns where natural gas wells are located, damaging infrastructure and even driving up rents for local residents.
People afflicted by these problems say fracking is the cause, but it’s very hard for to prove. Why? Because in 2005, President George W. Bush signed a law that exempted fracking from the Clean Air and Water Acts as well as the Safe Drinking Water Act. Also, fracking fluid is proprietary. Companies don’t have to say what’s in it. Although the federal government is conducting a study about fracking, in the short term, if it is going to be regulated, it will likely be done at the state level.
How do you think we should proceed with fracking here in Ohio? What are your concerns?
Check out this cool video:
TogglePosted Aug 18, 2011