Fracking is one of those topics that has it’s benefits, but that also has its harmful effects. Fracking is a new way of drilling for oil, that is extremely efficient. It works by digging a horizontal hole into the earth, and pumping water into pipes that go through the hole. This opens up and widens cracks that have natural gases inside of them. Then, sand is pumped into the pipes to keep the cracks open, while the natural gases and oil hiding inside, escapes. Fracking is improving our oil intake and gas prices, but at what cost? Fracking is extremely horrible, for a couple reasons. First, it is very bad for the environment, and second, it is very bad for our overall health. But we could stop all of the negative effects, by just raising awareness.

One reason that fracking isn’t worth the oil, is because it’s negative effects on the environment. According to SERC at Carleton College, “...each well can require up to 8 million gallons of water, and up to 40,000 gallons of chemicals...” With tons of fracking wells all over the USA, imagine the amount of chemicals that we are dumping into the ground. Some people think that it’s worth it for the amount of oil we get out of it, but would you really ruin your home for oil? Also, SERC states, “Storage for the waste water can take place either on site, in an injection well, or in open air ponds in the surrounding areas.” Not only are people putting tons of chemicals in the ground, but all the waste water that can’t be used is dumped into surrounding areas, and left to sit. This is extremely bad for the environment, and if it continues, could corrupt our world. BBC states, “Fracking uses huge amounts of water, which must be transported to the fracking site, at significant environmental cost.” This means that people are putting tons of water into the drilling, and then just getting rid of it. This is extremely wasteful, and harmful to the environment. But the earth isn’t the only thing getting harmed because of fracking.
Fracking is also harming the health of animals, including humans. “Their research found that 75% of the chemicals could affect the skin, eyes,and other sensory organs, and the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. According to SERC  “Approximately 40–50% could affect the brain/nervous system, immune and cardiovascular systems, and the kidneys; 37% could affect the endocrine system; and 25% could cause cancer and mutations.” When we take into consideration how much chemicals they pump in, this is a lot of chemicals that could harm us and our fellow animals. 

Air pollution impacts, Exposure to toxic chemicals, Blowouts due to gas explosion, Waste disposal, Large volume water use in water-deficient regions, Fracking-induced earthquakes, Workplace safety, Infrastructure degradation” One of these risks was exposure to toxic chemicals. This means that just being exposed to toxic chemicals from fracking could be a concern by itself. Lastly, According to bbc.com, “In 2011, energy company Cuadrilla suspended test fracking operations near Blackpool, in Lancashire, after two earthquakes of 1.5 and 2.2 magnitude hit the area” This could affect our homes and our health, if we were struck with earthquakes because of fracking. This would potentially happen because of the wide cracks in the ground

Fracking is obviously a big problem, that still needs to be solved. There are a couple of ways that you can help get rid of this horrible activity. Firstly, there is a group trying to pass a law to ban fracking. Also, we should try to educate children on the environment, and what can harm it. Whether this education was in school or out, it  would raise awareness for activities like this, and encourage people to save their home and their planet, because we only have one.