Fracking Issues in Pavillion, Wyoming

Fracking and Water Contamination

Fracking is becoming a common practice in the United States as energy companies strive to increase gas and petroleum extraction. Hydraulic fracking involves pumping mass amounts of water and chemicals underground to cause fractures in source rocks, thus resulting in the expulsion of gases. Environmental researchers have linked fracking with underground contamination and water pollution, leaving toxic wastewater for citizens in their water sources. Evidently, this issue has risen in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming as this past December the Environmental Protection Agency announced that gas leakage from wells have contaminated the area. The EPA was able to make such claims as ten compounds known to be used in frack fluids were found in Pavillion’s contaminated water.

Heated debates are rising over whether fracking is a more efficient way to extract natural gases for energy usage, or if it is unsafe and causes too much damage. Representatives for EnCana, the company owning Pavillion’s wells, deny that their activities are the source for contaminated water in the area. Other drilling companies argue that fracking is safe as the hydrolic pressure naturally forces fluids down, not up, thus preventing the movement of chemicals towards the surface. However, findings by the EPA contradict with such claims as they have performed extended research, confirming high levels of carcinogenic chemicals, known to be found in fracking.

Fracking is not safe and I am opposed to it, as the idea of mixing chemicals with water and pumping it into the ground alone seems questionable. It has been proven that hydraulic fracturing opens pathways for fluids or gases from neighboring geological layers to migrate when not intended, among other issues. Fracturing also leads to the depletion and degradation of surface freshwater. As shown in the article, problems with fracking have already occurred in Wyoming and may also be an issue in other regions we have not yet heard of.

Artifact from Environmental History

 

The map above illustrates the rate of deforestation from 1990-2000. Lighter pink/beige colors represent areas that have had little logging, whereas the darker red/maroon shaded areas embody terrains that have undergone heavy deforestation. This clearing of land is wiping Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land, as well as a contributor to habitat loss. Although forests cover 30% of the earth, large areas are being destroyed primarily in Brazil, as the map illustrates.

The United States, Canada, and eastern Europe are right behind Brazil in high rates of deforestation. Habitat loss is the #1 consequence from removing large forests, but other factors come into play as well. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun’s rays during the day and holds in heat at night. This disruption leads to more extreme temperatures swings that can be harmful to plants and animals.

"A more workable solution is to carefully manage forest resources by eliminating clear-cutting to make sure that forest environments remain intact. The cutting that does occur should be balanced by the planting of enough young trees to replace the older ones felled in any given forest. The number of new tree plantations is growing each year, but their total still equals a tiny fraction of the Earth’s forested land" (www.enviornment.nationalgeographic.com).

Map from: http://www.theclimatehub.com/world-deforestation-map-1990-2000

Info from: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview/