Final Project Proposal: Fracking. Definition, Environmental Concerns, & Facts Final Project Proposal: Fracking. Definition, Environmental Concerns, & Facts Introduction to the Problem Problem to be addressed. Everyone knows that the use of fossil fuels is the origin of a wide range of problems that plague the future of our society, its economy, and the environment. Not only have we built practically almost our entire economic system on a fossil pillar that is seeing its reserves diminish every second. This type of energy is damaging the environment in many ways —global warming, air pollution…— and causing numerous social conflicts. However, consuming it is not the only source of harmful effects for our planet, the mere fact of extracting these fossil fuels can sometimes cause irreparable damage to Mother Nature herself. A perfect piece of evidence is fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, an exploitation system that leaves its mark on our earth's crust. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, mounting evidence shows that it poses serious threats to our health, environment, and climate future. (Denchak, 2019) Problem subtopic. Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a fuel harvesting process in which sand, water, and chemicals are pumped underground through drilled wells. This high-pressure fluid fractures shale rock formations, allowing drilling companies to access large amounts of oil and gas trapped within the rock. (Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), n.d.) Although the extraction of these raw materials has meant an economic boom for the countries that apply this technique, it has had an environmental cost. In countries such as the United States and Great Britain, the controversy between defenders (who exalt its advantages as an economic-productive procedure) and detractors (who point to the environmental toll and the effects on the health of the local and territorial population of the geographical areas involved) is permanent and sometimes involve national governments. (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2022) Possible Causes and Maintaining Forces Cause. The first of the consequences of fracking has to do with water. The hydraulic fracturing process requires large amounts of water. A 2015 US Geological Survey estimated that a single well can use between 2,600 m³ and 36,000 m³ of water per well. Wells that employ horizontal drilling in shale gas zones use the largest amounts of water to operate. Once the water is used for fracturing, it becomes contaminated with the chemicals used for this process. Some fracking companies send this wastewater deep underground, where they believe it is too far away to affect drinking water quality. Other companies send the water to treatment plants for purification and reuse. Unfortunately, fracturing fluids contain some known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, and treatment plants do not always remove them succ.

1. Final Project Proposal: Fracking. Definition, Environmental
Concerns, & Facts
Final Project Proposal: Fracking. Definition, Environmental
Concerns, & Facts
Introduction to the Problem
Problem to be addressed. Everyone knows that the use of fossil
fuels is the origin of a wide range of problems that plague the
future of our society, its economy, and the environment. Not
only have we built practically almost our entire economic
system on a fossil pillar that is seeing its reserves diminish
every second. This type of energy is damaging the environment
in many ways —global warming, air pollution…— and causing
numerous social conflicts. However, consuming it is not the
only source of harmful effects for our planet, the mere fact of
extracting these fossil fuels can sometimes cause irreparable
damage to Mother Nature herself. A perfect piece of evidence is
fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, an exploitation
system that leaves its mark on our earth's crust.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, mounting
evidence shows that it poses serious threats to our health,
environment, and climate future. (Denchak, 2019)
Problem subtopic. Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing,
is a fuel harvesting process in which sand, water, and chemicals
are pumped underground through drilled wells. This high-
pressure fluid fractures shale rock formations, allowing drilling
companies to access large amounts of oil and gas trapped within
the rock. (Independent Petroleum Association of America
(IPAA), n.d.)

2. Although the extraction of these raw materials has meant an
economic boom for the countries that apply this technique, it
has had an environmental cost. In countries such as the United
States and Great Britain, the controversy between defenders
(who exalt its advantages as an economic-productive procedure)
and detractors (who point to the environmental toll and the
effects on the health of the local and territorial population of
the geographical areas
involved) is permanent and sometimes involve national
governments. (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2022)
Possible Causes and Maintaining Forces
Cause. The first of the consequences of fracking has to do with
water. The hydraulic fracturing process requires large amounts
of water. A 2015 US Geological Survey estimated that a single
well can use between 2,600 m³ and 36,000 m³ of water per well.
Wells that employ horizontal drilling in shale gas zones use the
largest amounts of water to operate.
Once the water is used for fracturing, it becomes contaminated
with the chemicals used for this process. Some fracking
companies send this wastewater deep underground, where they
believe it is too far away to affect drinking water quality. Other
companies send the water to treatment plants for purification
and reuse.
Unfortunately, fracturing fluids contain some known
carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, and treatment plants do
not always remove them successfully. Some studies also suggest
that wastewater affects the quality of drinking water over time.
Although some of the water contamination could be the result of
human error, there is concern that the problem is more
widespread.
Due to trade secret laws, fracking companies are not required to

3. report all of the chemicals they use during the extraction
process. In addition, there is concern that the storage of sewage
in the subsoil is putting pressure on geological faults and
contributing to the increase in the number of earthquakes.
(Petruzzello, n.d.)
Cause. Another consequence of fracking is air pollution.
Although experts initially believed that natural gas was a
cleaner fossil fuel than coal and oil, they are beginning to worry
that it is worse. Fracking wells release large amounts of
methane into the atmosphere,
which warms the planet for a decade before breaking down into
carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas.
Fracking wells are also known to emit volatile organic
compounds. These compounds are toxic to humans and have
been linked to asthma, cancer, and other serious illnesses. Some
studies have also linked fracking pollution to birth defects,
nervous system damage, and skin problems.
Unlike contaminated water, which can affect distant
communities, air pollution is concentrated near drilling wells.
To protect their health, many people have chosen to move when
a fracking company drills nearby. Even with precautions, leaks
are always possible, and chemicals from fracking wells are too
well documented to be ignored.
Unfortunately, fracking companies often drill in low-income
communities. Although there may be many reasons for this, the
health hazards that come with the piercing process end up
affecting those who have the least resources to defend
themselves or change their circumstances. (Petruzzello, n.d.).
Cause. The third of the consequences of fracking has to do with
the soil itself. If fracking wastewater is accidentally spilled or
not properly purified, it can leach heavy metals and other toxic
compounds into the ground. These chemicals can make the land

4. less fertile and even poison the soil, affecting farmers.
Heavy soil is essential for a healthy environment as it filters
water and provides a fertile environment conducive to growing
healthy food. In any ecosystem, all other forms of life depend
on healthy soil and thriving, diversified vegetation.
However, soil contaminated by hydraulic fracturing does the
opposite of what healthy soil should do. It poisons the water
instead of filtering it and can transfer heavy metals and
other toxins to the food that grows there. Livestock that eat
these feeds can become ill or spread the toxins to consumers.
In some places, the treated wastewater is used to irrigate crops.
Unfortunately, studies suggest that typical water treatment
plants are not rigorous enough to remove the toxic chemicals
present in fracking wastewater. Salt used for fracking can also
destroy the fertility of farmland if it spills. (Petruzzello, n.d.).
Why the problem persists. The problem of fracking persists
because, despite the environmental and health problems that it
brings with it, it is defended for its purely economic and
technological benefits that earn it the support of a large
economic and financial sector that dilutes and hinders efforts to
eliminate its practice.
According to economists and analysts, the exploration and
exploitation of Unconventional Deposits would be essential to
increase the energy reserves of the countries that stand out in
their application. For this reason, they consider it vital to ensure
their energy sustainability and promote social and economic
development.
Among its national benefits can be cited the benefits for the

5. nations:
· These operations encourage foreign direct investment, which
has a positive impact on the dynamics of economic growth.
· As exploration confirms the potential of these nations, it is
predicted that the levels of energy reserves could multiply.
· Higher oil production means that nations will have more
money to finance social policies and development in their
national territories.
· The energy self-sufficiency of these countries could be
ensured for several more years, while consolidating their
profiles as energy exporters.
Why the problem persists. From the regional point of view, it
also brings substantial benefits, since once the production stage
begins, many jobs are generated in the regions and the goods
and services sector is spread out, which help to considerably
lower the rates of unemployment.
In North Dakota (considering the United States of America)
for example, the demand for employment has been so significant
that there are cities, such as Williston, where the unemployment
level is below 1%.
In addition, the development and production operations in
Unconventional Deposits require many inputs, which must be
provided by the local industries of goods and services.
(Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), n.d.)
Collusion between political and economic powers: under the
Bush Junior administration and after incessant lobbying by
transnational energy companies, several of the most important
environmental protection laws in the US have been repealed,
including the Drinking Water Law Safe, so that said law would

6. not apply to fracking.
This provision has come to be called the "loophole" or the
"Halliburton amendment", since the multinational Halliburton is
one of the pioneers and one of the largest providers of hydraulic
fracturing services in the US, and whose previous executive
director was none other than that Dick Cheney, then Vice
President of the United States when this specific legal
exemption was approved.
Background and Justification
Prior attempts and previously proposed solutions.
Each country has developed its own mechanisms to control,
regulate and limit the environmental impact of fracking in their
territories.
In the United States, for example, we have the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), focused on working with states and
other key stakeholders to help ensure that economic prosperity
from unconventional oil and natural gas extraction does not
occur at the expense of public resources, health, and
environment.
According to their website, they have played a leading role in
convening stakeholders and outreach to communities, tribes,
individual citizens, trade associations, state and federal
partners, industry, and environmental organizations that have a
solid interest in their work and agency policies related to
unconventional oil and natural gas extraction. (United States
Environmental Protection Agency, 2022)
Although the practice of fracking dates to the late 1940s, it was
not until this century that true critical analyzes of the subject
were made.
Oil and natural gas companies must comply with the
requirements of various federal laws on environmental

7. protection and public safety, even considering that the main
regulatory authority on fracking within their borders is
generally held by state governments. ( Ballotpedia, n.d.)
These laws include the law that limits air pollution called the
Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(which regulates the disposal of hazardous waste). There is also
the Clean Water Law, in charge of regulating the discharge of
pollutants into navigable waters, and the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Responsibility
Law, which monitors the occurrence and cleanup of dangerous
spills. ( Ballotpedia, n.d.)
Deficiencies in the solution paradigm. At the federal level,
fracking regulations present too little pressure. In fact, in 2005,
Congress exempted most types of fracking from the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act, severely limiting protections for water
quality. In April
2012, the US Environmental Protection Agency finalized new
Clean Air Act rules called "New Source Performance Standards"
that will limit air pollutants from fracked gas wells...but the
rules did not cover oil wells, did not set limits on methane
release, and did not take effect until 2015.
Even oil and gas companies that frack wells on federally
managed public lands are rarely fined for violating
environmental and safety regulations, and the few fines that are
imposed are small compared to the profits from the company.
industry, according to a report. 2012 Congressional Report. As
a result, fracking regulation falls largely to the states.
Inadequate disclosure and poor protections are common features
of state fracking laws. In Texas, for example, companies
routinely exploit a trade secret loophole to avoid revealing what
chemicals they are using in fracking fluid. Companies used the
Texas trade secret exemption about 19,000 times in the first
eight months of 2012.

8. Despite state fracking regulations, more than 100 cases of
contamination have been confirmed by Pennsylvania state
agencies in the last five years. (Center for Biological Diversity,
n.d.)
Supplemental Material. It is necessary to consider the health
repercussions that the practice of fracking can bring to the
inhabitants and the community in general settled in territories
annexed to the extraction sites that apply this procedure.
For example, some studies have tied living near fracking and
unconventional natural gas development sites to higher chances
for conditions like:
· Fatigue
· Low birth weight
· Premature births
· Migraines
· Certain types of cancer, like lymphoma and childhood
leukemia
· Asthma
· Heart-related problems
· Elderly people dying sooner
· Birth defects (Starkman, 2022)
Newly Proposed Deliverable
Deliverable overview.
The primary objective of this activity is to create awareness
regarding the obvious effects that the practice of fracking brings
to nature, human beings, the planet and the forms of life in

9. general that surround these drilling sites. With this, it is desired
to build the necessary arguments to achieve the necessary
popular pressure that can achieve the development of legislation
that prohibits the continuity of this type of oil exploitation.
Through workshops and seminars, I intend to make visible the
many reasons why it is necessary not only to become aware of
this harmful process, but also the active participation of
students, attendees and the general public in the promotion and
dissemination of this content. , as well as achieving that as a
community we can put pressure on our legislators, congressmen
and representatives before governments at all levels with the
aim of enacting laws that reject not only this hydrocarbon
extraction procedure, but the redirection of national efforts
towards others renewable and sustainable energy issues that
replace the current energy matrix of the country.
Significance to the student.
The world (and in its greatest expression, the United States of
America) is choosing to continue squeezing every liter of
hydrocarbon out of the rocks while avoiding facing a problem
that lies before us and is inescapable: the transition from an
economy based on fossil fuels, towards societies with a low
ecological footprint (particularly energy) and renewable and
non-polluting technologies. It is necessary, finally, to assume
that current model is unsustainable, first because fossil fuel
reserves are increasingly scarce, and on the other hand because
of all the environmental problems associated with their
exploration, exploitation, production, and consumption.
Target audience.
Every living person regardless age, gender, spiritual beliefs, or
specific circumstance shall be compromised with such important
issue as the world we are leaving to future generations.
External dissemination platform.

10. Public and private spaces such as magazines, newspapers,
websites, universities, and platforms compromised with
community and nature welfare are excellent scenarios to address
those issues.
Proposed length and justification
Using several valuable sources of information, the activity will
be between 3 and 5 pages long.
Evaluation
Goal of new deliverable.
The creative and original use of the large number of sources of
information and analysis regarding the subject of fracking and
its detrimental influence will be essential in
achieving the audience's identification with the subject without
making it monotonous or boring.
Success outcome measures. If the level of encouragement and
rapport of the attendees with the given subject is reached, it will
be possible to achieve the conviction that active action on local,
regional, and national power and government instances is the
appropriate mechanism to reverse the current trends regarding
to the energy development of the nation.
Enhancement of global awareness
The current global demand for fossil fuels and the near
depletion of conventional deposits has pushed the hydrocarbon
industry to take advantage of new types of resources that have
not been exploited until now. New drilling techniques have
facilitated this movement, which has also had institutional
support in many countries, blinded by the discovery of a new El
Dorado. In this situation, the use of unconventional gas deposits
through hydraulic fracturing is currently receiving the most
attention. However, this technique entails serious environmental

11. and public health risks, which both the operating companies and
the institutions involved want to ignore. The institutional
propaganda campaigns simply ignore them and disqualifies
those who demand that the precautionary principle be applied.
The effort of this task is focused on counteracting these
campaigns.
Enhancement of global perspective-taking.
The dispute over the effects of fracking on health, climate
change and the environment has been going on for a long time.
However, it has been revitalized in the United States in recent
days following the simultaneous publication of two conflicting
reports. Both sides wield their powerful arguments each in favor
of their cause.
Despite its supposed advantages, the truth is that it has come to
demonstrate the fragility of ecosystems around the world, and
this task aims to highlight those dangers that threaten societies
regardless of where on the planet it is applied.References
Ballotpedia. (n.d.).
Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved from Fracking in the United
States:
https://ballotpedia.org/Fracking_in_the_United_States#Federal_
fracking_policies
British Broadcasting Corporation. (2022, April 7).
British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from What
is fracking and why is it controversial?:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401
Center for Biological Diversity. (n.d.).
Biologicaldiversity.org. Retrieved from Fracking in the
United States: 10 Key Questions:

12. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/fracking/10_que
stions.html
Denchak, M. (2019, April 19).
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Retrieved from
Fracking 101: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fracking-101
Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). (n.d.).
Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA).
Retrieved from Hydraulic Fracturing:
https://www.ipaa.org/fracking/
Petruzzello, M. (n.d.).
Britannica.com. Retrieved from Fracking:
https://www.britannica.com/technology/fracking
Starkman, E. (2022, August 18).
WebMD.com. Retrieved from What Are Fracking’s
Possible Health Effects?:
https://www.webmd.com/lung/fracking-health-effects
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2022, August
01).
United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Retrieved from Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas
Development: https://www.epa.gov/uog
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