Fracking Or Shale Exploration

There is much being said both ways on the benefit or lack of benefit of fracking.  Fracking is the drilling deep into the ground and then going horizontally and by injecting various chemicals and unidentified products into the shale it releases natural gas and trapped oil. Sometimes it goes as planned but sometimes the chemicals leach into the water sources we use for drinking.  When that happens it is a major disaster but is rarely reported on as that would cast a bad light on a method of producing fuel that could cause problems for the oil industry.

There are very well produced advertisements on television usually with children playing happily with the process going on below them. These advertisements are so well done and disguised that you would think that there was never a problem with this process. They are forward looking and proclaim that this progress into the future. Our political system is actually pretty silent on the subject and hence you either see these clever advertisements and lower prices at the pump or protester's trying to bring public attention to the hazard.

Colorado is one of the areas that is apparently good for fracking to produce this fuel of the future. We have one fracking operation not far from our home. Apparently this is a good way to produce the fuel we need until alternative sources can be developed and tested but when these toxic chemicals leach into the water system you have something like in the photo above.

Whether you may be for the process or against it, I question if there are the occasional accidents which is claimed to be several a week are we getting the full story either way? The greatest objection to fracking seems to be the contamination of our water source. In addition I question what will happen in years to come from removing material far underground. I know when I lived in Florida that the Navy dropped some 500# bombs at a test range and cracked the sub strata and a fault line occurred running down the middle of the State. You can follow the fault line by seeing all the small lakes that formed along the line as the material gave way and collapsed. Will the same thing happen in the future caused by fracking?  We could have farms, parts of cities and sub divisions suddenly sink into the earth without warning. I don't know  but would like to know the potential impact.

Whether you are in favor of cheap gas at any environmental risk or whether you are in favor of preserving the 1% of fresh water on earth for future generations is an individual choice.  Much like the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the potential  long term effects it will have on our environment I personally believe that we members of the public need more information on a questionable process. If our freshwater resources are contaminated then we will ultimately die and what we will have done by fracking will be the facilitator of that death. We always think that we can use up resources and they will be replenished but we are wrong in thinking that I believe. It was on the network news last night that 51 other planets have been discovered that would sustain life but the nearest one is 12 light years away. A light year is a way of measuring distance not time. Hence a light second is 186,000 miles so you can figure what a light year is. It is like the old saying that you can see it from here but you can't get there from here. Perhaps technology will provide ways to travel such great distances in the future but it will be far into the future and in the meantime we are destroying our current world. Technology is amazing but that would be putting it to the ultimate test.

I would like to know the current process of fracking is safe and what the potential future and immediate dangers are. Drug companies have to openly post the side effects to their product.  I think the same should be true for oil companies who are fracking  so we will be able to decide if the risk is worth the result or not.

I don't normally post topics like this on our blog site but this is so much in the news and on my mind I thought it might be worth while to address regarding my concerns.  Maybe my concerns are the same as someone else's concerns too.  If I am for or against it I would like to have quality facts to make that decision. When it comes to our life sources and environment I believe we should err on the side of caution to preserve our planet for future generations.