Natural Gas and Hydraulic Fracturing: The whole picture
It’s not just about hydraulic fracturing; it’s the process before and after the drilling.
The message has been clear: natural gas is the cleaner burning fossil fuel and should therefore be used as a “bridge fuel” to lessens the United States dependency on coal. The media has sung this statement as if the new anthem for natural gas due to its lower carbon dioxide emission. By prioritizing renewable energy and energy efficiency through natural gas, the United States would be right on track for reducing its global warming emission from electricity production. The idea would be to use natural gas as a crutch to lean away from coal and to aim towards aggressive developments of renewable energy sources. Such that over time, the United States will be able to eliminate coal as a provider for electricity.
But, carbon dioxide is not the only concern; there’s also the greenhouse gas emission of methane, which natural gas releases more of than any other fossil fuel. So, let’s talk methane. Methane is an odorless, colorless, but flammable greenhouse gas. Methane has a lifetime of about a decade, which is to say that the methane that is being currently released will have decayed completely from the atmosphere in a timespan of 12 years. Which, compared to methane’s counterpart, carbon dioxide, is not destroyed over time and can remain in the atmosphere for over thousands of years until the ocean absorbs it. Methane gas becomes a more threatening greenhouse gas with its ability to be 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide; methane can trap heat more efficiently in the atmosphere within the decade of its existence than carbon dioxide.
In an inventory of U.S greenhouse gas emissions and sinks performed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it was reported that the leading contributor to methane gas was leakages from natural gas and petroleum systems, primarily through the production, processing, storage, transmission, and distribution of natural gas. Immediately following would be the emission of methane from livestock farms that results from the digestive process of ruminant animals such as cows and sheep. Although human activities have been the largest input of methane into the atmosphere, methane forms naturally as natural materials decay and is commonly emitted by natural sources such as wetlands and marshes.
Aside from the methane component of natural gas, the extraction of natural gas through hydraulic fracturing also has environmental risks, particularly as a result from the disposal and handling of the unknown concoction of hydrofracking fluid, the destruction of natural habitats, and the increased traffic and air pollution.
Anthony Ingraffea, a professor of Engineering at Cornell University, says, “fracking per se presents little risk to air quality, it’s the spatial intensity.” Professor Ingraffea refers to the intense development of preparing for a drilling operation, including the formation of clustered drilling sites that each consist of drilling rigs, trucks, and storage ponds for wastewater. When the media discusses the practice of hydraulic fracturing, the focus is typically on the drilling operation at the moment not on the events that occur before or after. What is commonly overlooked in the debate is that there occurs an intense industrial development of roads, retention ponds, and pipelines along with the related hydrofracking infrastructures. Each site being able to house up to 20 wells constructed within a one-mile radius from each other, requiring the devastation of forest or fields. When asked what concerned him the most about hydraulic fracturing, Dr. Ingraffea replied with concern, “using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, that’s the problem.”
The high-volume of well development demands for an alarming large quantity of fresh water, anywhere from 2 to 10 million gallons for a single well. This fresh potentially potable water is infused with chemical additives and sand to increase the efficiency of natural gas extraction, becoming polluted and unsafe for public consumption. Around one-fifth of the toxic fracking water flows back up to the surface within the first two weeks after drilling; the rest continues to flow out over time or remains trapped within the shale rock. The fracking water that does return to the surface returns with added natural salts, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and even radioactive materials from the shale rock formation. From fresh to poisonous water, the fracking fluid becomes a threat to ecosystems and to public health, as it is typically poorly treated and sits in open pits or large tanks until disposed of.
A closer look into a site also uncovers a spewing concoction of volatile air toxins that are originating from on site machinery, as well as chemical spills, leaking pipes and valves, and air emissions. Each site mass traffic to the local communities of roughly 56 trucks coming in and out of each well site for fresh or wastewater transportation, averaging to about 1,400 trips by truck per site, required to sustain each well. Not only are supplies of fresh water being depleted, air quality decreases as a result of hydraulic fracturing operations. Energy demands will continue to rise, but as a nation we must not continue to meet demands at the expense of the environment in the pursuit of fossil fuels. The current energy tactic is not working; it is simply too risky.
