Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Example for Free

Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Over the past few decades, the United States has become heavily reliant on using nonrenewable resources. The excessive uses of these resources, such as coal, are extremely harmful to the environment and can be considered responsible for global climate change and the destruction of a once healthy atmosphere. Some companies have claimed to find a â€Å"clean† source of energy called natural gas, found deep within the Earth’s crust. Commercials created by these companies state that natural gas is easy retrieve, cheap and clean burning. However, these commercials fail to explain that one of the processes of retrieving natural gas, or hydraulic fracturing, is extremely harmful to the environment. Hydraulic fracturing, or â€Å"fracking†, is the process of injecting millions of gallons of water into the ground to crack shale rock around a gas well. When the shale rocks around the wells are cracked, it allows natural gas, specifically methane, to flow into the wells. To fracture the shale rock, the water injected into the ground has to be at a very high pressure and is loaded with sand and about 40,000 gallons of 600 different dangerous chemicals. Once the natural gas has flown into the underground well, it can be extracted and stored in tanks above ground to later be used as an energy source. Fracking for a source of energy is occurring all over the United States. Several masses of shale rock are all over the county, such as the Mancos shale in Utah and Colorado; the New Albany shale in Illinois and Kentucky; and the largest shale in the country, the Marcellus Shale. The Marcellus Shale stretches over Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. Large portions of the Marcellus Shale are in New York and Pennsylvania, and the shale rock in these areas have started to be fractured to allow natural gas to flow into freshly drilled wells. These sites have had an extremely negative effect on the biosphere in these surrounding areas. People living near these fracturing sites have been experiencing several grievances and have been having severe problems with their well water. Many adults have been suffering from terrible headaches, a loss of smell, and have lost their ability to taste foods or drinks. Some children living near fracturing sites have even developed asthma, and can barely go outside without getting ill or struggling to breathe due to air pollution. Some people living near fracturing sites have been forced to buy bottled water or water by the gallon because their well water has become so contaminated. Water coming out of the sink is often tinted brown or yellow colors, and can even be lit on fire. Farm animals and pets drinking this water have been getting sick and have suffered hair loss. The harms that are occurring in the biosphere are due to the problems fracking has caused in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The lithosphere, or the Earth’s crust, has been significantly impacted by fracking. Once a fracturing job is completed, retainment ponds are dug and the contaminated water is poured into them. Often times, the toxic water in these bases are able to seep into the ground due to a lack of proper lining. Horizontal drilling in the ground to build wells leaves giant holes in the Earth’s surface, which have to be filled once a project is completed. Very specific instructions are given to workers so that the holes can be filled properly, but often only surface is covered. These giant, unfilled holes create unnatural fractures thousands of feet in the ground, allowing toxic fluids to rise up into the surface into aquifers or even distances up to a mile away from the well. Because of the retainment ponds and the unnatural fractures in the ground, the hydrosphere (or water sources) can become contaminated. These contaminated water sources harm the plants, animals and people that relied on it while it was still clean. Not only does fracking have a negative impact on the lithosphere and hydrosphere, but it also has a negative impact on the atmosphere. A common natural gas that is extracted from the ground is methane, which is often emitted into the atmosphere from the wells or from piping leaks. Also, high temperatures cause contaminated water to evaporate and disperse into the atmosphere. The chemicals released into the atmosphere hurt the animals and plants that are breathing in all of the toxins, causing illnesses such as asthma or problems such as headaches. Despite all the issues that fracking inflicts on the environment, companies are quick to say that the use of natural gas is both economically and environmentally friendly. Companies such as ConocoPhillips claim that the  use of natural gas will stimulate the US economy and help to meet the energy needs of our growing population. In some ways, these companies are correct. Hydraulic fracturing can help the US economy because it allows the US to rely on its own resources, rather than resources from other countries, such as oil in the Middle East. Also, several workers and truck drivers are needed to carry out fracking projects, creating job opportunities for people who were previously unemployed. Also, companies state that fracking and horizontal drilling combined create a relatively cheap and productive way of retrieving shale resources. An apparent environmental benefit to fracking is that it â€Å"burns cleaner† than other natural resources such as coal. Coal is used for 44% of the United States’ electricity, and it is the main cause of air pollution in the US. When coal is burned, it emits toxic materials into the air. These toxic materials contribute to global warming, and cause acid rain and smog. The natural gases that are commonly retrieved from fracking and horizontal drilling burn much cleaner than coal, but the process of retrieving natural gas is very environmentally unfriendly. The water contamination and the methane that is emitted into the atmosphere due to fracking make it equally as harmful as coal burning. Companies have also been claiming that there is an abundance of natural gases available in the masses of shale rock across the country. Although there may be an abundance of this resource, these companies have not been using natural gases sustainably. If the United States continues to use natural gases at the rate that it does now, every recoverable source of natural gas will have been used up within the next 80 years. Some even believe that the amount of natural gas the US has right now is only enough to last for 10 years, because there are only about 237,746 billion cubic feet of â€Å"proved reserves†. Proved reserves are areas that guarantee that natural gases will be retrieved if that area is drilled. The 80 year theory is much more optimistic, stating that there are other sources of natural gases readily available other than just the â€Å"proved reserves†. Although natural gas may be another nonrenewable resource that is available, it takes away from the drive that people have to find a renewable resource. Many may think that they can feel comfortable with the amount of energy that they have now, and are not concerned that the nonrenewable resources available at  the moment will run out. It is important to search for a renewable resource now, because the nonrenewable resources are not being used sustainably and will eventually run out. If we continue to expand fracking operations, the conditions in the environment will continue to worsen. Water contamination will most likely spread beyond just where the fracking is occurring, because of the unnatural fracturing in the ground and retainable basins. The conditions of the atmosphere will also continue to worsen because toxins will continue to disperse into the air, and methane will continue to leak from pipes and the wells. Many people who live near fracking sites may be forced to leave their homes on account of high levels of water and air contamination. Also, the masses of shale that are currently being used could eventually run out of natural gas, so companies will be forced to move onto another shale, creating more health hazards in other areas. As the number of fracking sites that are developed and abandoned increases, the aesthetic value of rural areas will decrease. Rather than views of trees, rivers and countrysides, there will be views of abandoned wells and trucks transporting massive amounts of chemicals. Hydraulic fracturing is undeniably a Tragedy of the Commons. It is practically impossible for the Environmental Protection Agency to place any kind of regulation on fracking. In 1975, industries managed to prevent the EPA from regulating or testing 70,000 different chemicals, including many of the chemicals that are used for fracking. For large industries, keeping the public’s health in mind is a burden and it minimizes the potential to make massive profits. Industries are able to move onto land near people’s homes and contaminate their air and water without any regulations whatsoever. In Pennsylvania, unregulated fracking is running rampant. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has done nothing with the evidence of illnesses caused by fracking, leaving the industries able to contaminate clean sources with any chemical they need. Politics are leaning towards supporting the industries rather than the public’s health because they are much more interested in stimulating the economy than they are in protecting public safety. Hydraulic fracturing is presented as an environmentally friendly way to retrieve energy, but it is has been causing contamination in previously clean air and water. Hydraulic Fracturing is even more dangerous because the EPA can’t place regulations on it, leaving innocent people at the expense of the dangerous chemicals. Overall, the negative effects that fracking has on the environment are extremely significant, and it either needs to be stopped or heavily regulated.

Communication in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

Communication in The Joy Luck Club Sadly, the characters revealed in The Joy Luck Club have personal histories so complicated by cultural and emotional misunderstandings that their lives are spent in failed attempts to cross the chasms created by these circumstances. Lindo Jong provides the reader with a summary of her difficulty in passing along the Chinese culture to her daughter: â€Å"I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix? I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it's no lasting shame . . . You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head . . . In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you. . . . but I couldn't teach her about Chinese character . . . How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best†(Tan 289). Each of the Chinese mothers attempted to guide her daughters, yet they were ill equipped to translate their life experiences in China to the alien environment they found in America. It was their lives, not their language, that they were unable to translate. Like her friend Lindo, An Mei Hsu was raised the Chinese way, as she describes: " . . . taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat my own bitterness. And even though I taught my daughter the opposite, still she came out the same way! Maybe it is because she was born to me and she was born a girl. And I was born to my mother and I was born a girl. All of us are like stairs, one step after another, going up and down, but all going the same way"(Tan 289). As the story unfolds, both mothers and daughters are forced to face "truths" that their own private histories had previously blinded them to. Yet, as readers, we must ask "what is truth?" When a person lives their life according to that which they believe to be true, does their belief not become the truth itself, with the conventional "truth" then becoming a lie? As the characters begin to face their past demons, in order to resolve their personal conflicts (both internal and external), the reader begins to hope that their might be resolution.

Devoted and Helpful Essay

We all have that one person whom we regard highly of. That person we look up to as a role model. But what is a role model? A role model would be someone who is devoted in most aspects of life to achieve success in the future and always willing to be help usually not caring what the task is. We do not necessarily see this person as particularly perfect but just a good goal of whom we hope to become someday. My sister Priscinda is my role model and she has these traits that I find admirable: being devoted and helpful. Why is being devoted and helpful qualities seen in someone whom we should regard highly of? The reason being is that being devoted is someone who is very loyal and loving that one person who has dedicated there time to another. Being devoted means commitment, putting others needs before oneself, trusting one another. Can we imagine a life without devotion? No commitment, no follow-through, no grounding in what really matters. Maybe that’s how most people live – losing their center in the face of compelling people and situations, not taking the time to reflect on what is important to themselves. Along with devotion you must also be helpful, we were all taught to help others when we were young. Helpful is being able to help others without expecting anything in return and just doing it out of the kindness of a person’s heart. It is a value that parents and teachers have been sharing for ages. Yet, sometimes we get so focused in our own world that we do not always go out of our way to help others— we just have too much on our minds and too much on our plates to even bother what others are doing. Being devoted and helpful is of such importance in a person because without these people we would not have anyone to look up to and we would live in a selfish world. Moreover,  one person whom I know that exemplifies these traits best is my older sister Priscinda. She is one person that I know best at being devoted whether its  school, work, family she is the one to stay committed to be able to succeed.

Essay about Health Care Reform in the United States

Health Care Reform Health care has been an area of discussion for some time now. In the United States, the current health care system is a private system that allows individuals to choose their own method of care. Despite the freedom that comes with the independent nature of this type of health care system, the true disposition creates more problems than it solves. The privacy of the health care institutions has caused affordability and access to become serious issues with this system. Additionally, those with lower socioeconomic status fall short of the ability to access the same pool of resources as everyone else. Due to the issues with affordability, access, and the poor infrastructure of the health care system, a universal health†¦show more content†¦These facts point out that the system currently at play is rather ineffective and therefore ought to be changed. Money plays a huge role in access, therefore it is a vital issue to discuss. Within the current system, lack of money results in lack of health care, which leaves thousands of people without any health care coverage. Between 2001 and 2005, the number of people paying for health insurance increased 30%, however income only raised 3% (Health Care Problems). Adequate income is a necessity and unfortunately that is not present. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average annual premium across the country is $16,000. Currently, the average annual income in the United States is $51,107. Mint Money Management suggests that about 4-6% of one’s total income should be spent on insurance, including life, disability, and health insurance. However, the averages in the United States show that the average person spends about 31% of their income on health insurance, which is not financially beneficial. When this rise in health insurance is not parallel to the inflation of income, innocent people are left without a method to achieve health care. There is a program for those who can’t afford health insurance out of pocket nor have access to it, and that is called Medicaid. Issues still exist with the program. There is only so much funding, which leaves many still uninsured. Additionally, people with Medicaid have difficultyShow MoreRelatedHealth Care Reform : The United States Essay1087 Words   |  5 Pagesfeel heath care reform was necessary, health care costs affect the economy, the federal budget, and virtually every American’s family’s financial well-being. According to Obama, â€Å"In 2008, the United States devoted 16% of the economy to health care, an increase of almost one-quarter since 1998 (when 13% of the economy was spent on health care), yet much of that spending did not translate into better outcomes for patients† (Obama, 2016, p.526). 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