Once you go Frack, can you go back? Is fracking good for the environment?

fracking and environment

Shale gas fracking and shale oil fracking are in the news right now, but what should you believe? Is hydraulic fracking the solution to our energy woes or a whole new problem? Is fracking good for the environment?

Despite being around since the 1940s, fracking studies are still thin on the ground, and many of those that have been published have been criticised for holding either a pro fracking or anti fracking bias. The most unbiased fracking studies have been conducted in universities and by the EPA in america. For the EPA, fracking is considered relatively safe, with levels of methane air pollution well within safe levels.

Is fracking safe?

When it comes to the dangers of fracking, the most controversial issue is in the pollution of drinking water with fracking chemicals. While the EPA has yet to make a definitive statement on the pollution of drinking water by fracking wells, it has determined several cases of contamination where fracking is the likely source.

However, this does not mean that all fracking is dangerous. The EPA recommend that all fracking operations be hydraulically isolated from sources of drinking water, though in the US it is up to individual states to enforce this requirement. Where it has been enforced, fracking dangers have been considerably reduced. In Europe and the UK, fracking is mostly still in the planning phases, and issues of hydraulic isolation are currently in debate.

With powerful voices speaking both for and against fracking, rigorous study and open debate has never been more important. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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