fracking

Fracking is the injection of a fluid at high pressure into an underground rock formation to open fissures and allow trapped gas or crude oil to flow through a pipe to a wellhead at the surface. This technique is used in natural gas and petroleum production.

The environmental concerns with fracking are freshwater contamination through the liberation of contaminated liquids and shale gas into the water table, wastewater pollution that occurs when large quantities of freshwater are consumed by the process and returns highly polluted water, and human-induced seismic activity that occurs due to the injection of fracking water into underground disposal wells.

The technology of fracking has been in use since the 1940s, when liquids such as gasoline and crude oil were injected into poorly performing gas and oil wells in the central and southern United States to increase their flow rate.

Whether the United States should continue fracking is hotly debated. Some say that fracking is safe and produces a necessary bridge fuel to get from coal to clean energy while allowing the U.S. to become energy independent. Others argue the U.S. needs to move immediately away from all fossil fuels, fracking is dangerous, and the U.S. should not stake national security on a market-dependent resource. For more on the fracking debate, visit ProCon.org.