Understanding Hydraulic Fracturing

     Hydro-fracking, the process of mining or extracting natural gases from rock formations, is a popular topic among the scientific and environmental world. This process has been around since the 1940s but has recently received large amounts of attention due to the major environmentally devastating side effects that this process creates. The entire process occurs underground as powerful water is used to get gas collections out of rocks. These sedimentary gas composites are formally know as shale gas. In 2009, fourteen percent of the natural gas production came from shale collection (Palliser 20).

     While the fracking process has helped to contribute to natural gas collection, the costs and the benefits create turmoil among the public. Natural gas is a prized resource due to a significant decrease is carbon dioxide levels during the combustion process. Also the fracking process creates more jobs for the working class, helping to stimulate the economy. Even though natural gas has a cleaner combustion process, the process of actually obtaining the natural gas is far from clean and earth-friendly. Hydrofracking requires water to be used to get the gas from the sediment but the ground water is the main source of drinking water for humans and animals. Being that the fracking process occurs under water, the water used in the process sometimes gets mixed into the ground water supply and then the water supply becomes contaminated. Recently in a small town in Wyoming, the drinking water was tested and high levels of methane gas were found. Not only does this pose a threat to the lives of all organisms that drink it but the gas fumes are highly flammable. Along with the health risks, comes environmental risk. The high-powered water breaks up rock formations under the Earth’s surface therefore creating a vulnerable area in Earth’s tectonic plates. A rise in Earthquakes has occurred in areas where fracking occurs.

      Even with all of the risk factors of hydrofracking, the government is still condoning the process to continue. Loopholes have been found and pursued in governmental regulations including the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. This environmental issue creates a serious moral dilemma forcing politicians to ultimately pick the lesser of two evils, pollution caused by fossil fuels, not purely natural gases, or the safety and health of humans and animals due to water contamination and environmental disruptions.

Citation:

Palliser, Janna. "Fracking Fury." Science Scope 35.7 (2012): 20. Science Reference Center. Web. 30 Sept. 2012.

The Link between Natural Gas Fracking and Water Contamination

The Link between Natural Gas Fracking and Water Contamination

     The environmental woes of the world have been debated since the beginning of man. As the human population has gotten immensely larger, the environment has begun to suffer greatly. In the article “EPA: Natural Gas Fracking Linked to Water Contamination”, the pressure applied to the Earth to help combat the large population have created a negative feedback loop in the environment. As of now, the world revolves around natural gases to operate all major machinery and technology, creating an unhealthy dependency on a resource that is not easily renewable. The process to obtain this precious source is also very harsh on the planet as it takes several stages of pollution-causing processes to get the gas up to the surface for humans to use. The process of fracking is harmful to the earth but necessary. The oversized oil and gas companies have overpowered the environmental laws in order to reach maximum profit and reap ample benefits.

     While humans were once oblivious to this gruesome process, the population is slowly starting to grasp the sheer danger associated with the mining and refining processes linked to obtaining these resources. In the Wyoming area, the public has been directly harmed from the fracking process and it is only common knowledge because the clean drinking water sources are being put in danger. The well water supplies are starting to be contaminated by harmful compounds that have risen to the surface layers of the Earth and are now slipping into the cement wells. This has led to a panic among the public as water is one resource that people take for granted yet it is the one resource that people are scared to lose.

     The EPA has been researching the harmful effects and potential issues that come from the fracking since the 1990s when the problems started arising. Instead of stopping this potentially fatal process, the companies have continued to pump natural gas from the Earth, insisting that the water problems and the fracking process have no correlation. Since the several cases have been under investigation, more issues have occurred in society and because of that, the public is becoming more bothered and worried about the situation. The cement well foundations have been tested and flaws have been found as well as changes in directions of flowing gases and compounds, which have also occurred. Both sides, the EPA and the big gas businesses, insist they are in the right. The investigations are still on going but the evidence is becoming more difficult to find as the results are inconsistent and therefore the power of the evidence is slowly fading.

     

Post Thoughts on the Kahn Class Discussion

“Undoubtedly, in the age of standardized everything, educational institutions stand in need of reconstruction and re-dreaming to be set a-right. Yet, education remains a primary institution towards affecting social and ecological change for the better, and so it deserves to be fought for, transformed by the needs of the day, and so wizened by lessons of the past.” –Kahn

     After reading this article, I had the initial impression that Kahn was a large supporter of environmental education. Throughout his essay, Kahn discusses different situations in which environmental education has been attempted and yet the results are nothing to brag about. Kahn’s analysis of the zoo school intrigued me during the class discussion as it was hard to distinguish Kahn’s opinion from his story.

     In the quote above, Kahn abrasively states the one thing that thousands of people are thinking in today’s world, yet will not say out loud: it is time for change. The education system is the foundation for which functional members of society are led through in efforts to help them be productive and successful in life. What the students are taught is what the students will follow throughout their lives. Many of the issues currently plaguing the world right now could have been resolved before the problems reached a large scale had there have been proper education for all parties involved. While it would be nice to educate children through the years of schooling in an earth-friendly, ecological footprint mindfulness setting, there are not enough funds to start the programs. On top of all of this, the education is so far beyond corrupt that the ultimate goal could never be accomplished due to the greedy, immoral politicians who make the final calls. All of this is softly highlighted throughout Kahn’s essay and his Marxist views. The major keypoint of this essay is not the importance of environmental education; rather, the urgent need for transformations in schools. Education is the foundation for everything in life but somehow education is always pushed to the bottom of the priority list and Kahn stands up against that. 

Further Theme Discovery in Turtle Island

     After reading more poems from Gary Snyder’s collection of poetry, Snyder emphasizes the theme of bioregionalism. After looking for the perfect description of bioregionalism, the dictionary’s definition focuses on the human impact on the whole process. In the poem entitled “Without”, the power to change the world and to help the environment is in the hands of the human race. It is not a matter of what to do to change the world but it is a matter of who will step up to do the task at hand. “The power within” the human race is an untapped source that Snyder recognizes and highlights (Snyder 6).

     In the poem entitled “The Uses of Light”, Snyder illuminates the need for humans to rise above the surface and take in a global prospective. The light is among the world; it is just a matter of being able to see it.  In classic Snyder style, the final lines of the majority of Snyder’s poems instill core pieces of advice for the readers. In the poem entitled “It Pleases”, the poem ends with “The world does what it pleases”, a line reinforcing the concept that the humans steer the world as the world has its own unique processes (Snyder 44). Snyder epitomizes the sheer importance of having human interaction and human intervention in the process of changing the direction that the world is travelling. 

Themes of Gary Snyder

Gary Snyder Poem Themes (Second Reading)

     As I continued to read poems out of Turtle Island by Gary Snyder, I have found a new theme that Snyder uses frequently in his writing. After a class discussion, I now have more background on Gary Snyder and his writing style. In his poems, Snyder describes world issues that need to be handled as soon as possible but he attacks these issues with a voice of calm reason, influenced by his affiliation with Buddhism. The poem entitled "For the Children", Snyder ends with a stanza of peaceful guidance and advice saying "...stay together...learn the flowers...go light..." (Snyder 86). Snyder emphasizes the need for unity and the necessity for a re-kindled bond between Wilderness and Civilization. Earlier in the book, Snyder talks of the incomparable beauty of nature and how all of the naturally occurring processes go on unnoticed. “All that moves, loves to sing…the roots are at work. Unseen” (Snyder 65).

     It is interesting to see that while Snyder acknowledges the faults of humans, he clearly depicts what the lives of humans is like. After reading “WHY LOG TRUCK DRIVERS RISE EARLIER THAN STUDENTS OF ZEN”, I was unsure of Snyder’s stance. These log truck drivers are partaking in environmental devastation and yet Snyder confesses that “There is no other life” (Snyder 63). It was unclear if Snyder is excusing the humans’ behavior by saying the actions of humans are pre-determined and therefore the humans have no control or if Snyder is saying that humans care or realize that other life forms exist.