2) Title: What is the World is Fracking?
Purpose: To teach the class about the relatively new process of hydraulic fracturing. This is when a well is drilled about 8,000 feet under the earths surface, through aquifers and into shale (seminary rock). Then, a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals (for example benzene and formaldehyde) are pumped at high pressure into the well in order to create fissures in the shale. This releases natural gas (methane), which is collected mainly for use in our homes. There is much controversy in the news today about the damage the leaked toxic chemicals and methane cause to our water supply and air. I first learned about this topic from the link (i) and used its visuals to show the class at the very beginning of the presentation. Then I used a catchy, and informative music video to teach about a wide range of issues involved with facking (ii).
3)Discussion Question:
1) Considering the positive and negative aspects of fracking, what is your opinion on it?
2) Fracking was banned in France in 2011 because of public pressure. Why do you think that the United States not only still allows fracking, but it also is not heavily regulated?
3) How can this relate to Tragedy of the Commons?
4) Out of the world views described in "Living in the Environment," which do you think President Bush has when he signed the Halliburton Loophole, which allowed Fracking companies to be exempt form the Safe Drinking Water Act?
4)Additional Research: I really wanted to learn more about both sides of the debate on the issue of fracking. My main source talked mostly about the negatives (pollution, dangerous drinking water, etc.), so I researched about the positives. I learned that it keeps jobs local, as opposed to offshore oil drilling, which also makes us less dependent on imports. Also, natural gas emits 1/2 the carbon emission of oil. Some people say that because only about 1% of the water solution used to create the fissures consists of toxic chemicals, that it shouldn't have that much of an impact. However, a lot of tests are still being done to see the full effects of fracking. I also learned that at the moment, Obama strongly supports natural gas drilling. Some of the websites I used for this, and more, research are:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_11/b4219025777026.htm
http://www.hydraulicfracturing.com/Pages/information.aspx
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fracking
5)Links to resources used during presentation
(i) http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking
(ii) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=timfvNgr_Q4
This image shows a man, living in a town near a fracking site, lighting his tap water on fire. He is able to do this because of the natural gas leaking into the water. This is huge controversy. Many of the people who are effects by fracking pollution are underprivileged, and therefore have trouble fighting the big Natural Gas companies.
No comments:
Post a Comment