The article focuses on the demand of oil, and how there is a natural increase of fracking due to this. Specifically, how there has been an increase of people working by about 5%, and how the demand for oil has caused the price to increase to over 80$! 

I think that there needs to be an alternative source of energy besides fracking because the increase of oil causing for an increase of price hurts both our economy and our environment. Many people are not aware of the hidden factors behind the overuse of oil such as the water usage/water pollution, the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, and soil pollution. Additionally, the increase demand causes the price to increase which mainly affects us when it comes to the gas prices, which are already nearing an all time high in the US. When it comes to possible solutions, we are already working towards alternate sources of energy such as solar, nuclear, wind, etc, and even have electric cars to stop the necessity of gas cars. These alternate sources of energy is a start towards a decrease in fracking, but begs the question of wether or not there is anything more that we can do.

People who live close to active fracking sites are dying prematurely because they are being exposed to toxins in the air and poor water quality. It also has affected lower income families and people of color. Researchers from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health studied the health records of 15 million people on Medicare. They saw that the closer people lived to oil and gas operations they were more likely to die prematurely. Those who also lived downwind from the air pollution had higher premature deaths.

I think that this should be a problem brought to residents that surround these areas. They should be aware of the dangers they are being exposed to. Without transparency from the government or these companies they can get away with a lot of inhuman things. Also the residents that are living downwind are being affected and they don’t even live near these fracking sites. This is a huge problem if people who aren’t even living near the fracking sites are being affected because where do the boundaries of the pollution end? If it can travel through the wind and affect those downwind how will we control people from being exposed to the toxins and prematurely dying. These studies also get very little recognition. I feel like they make very little impact because the government is in favor of fracking because they believe it is a solution for climate change. Protecting citizens should be a main priority for the government and in this scenario I don’t see that being the case. I seems as though the government is prioritizing fracking and oil over the health of the people.

In Texas due to the large amount of fracking wells it causes earthquakes that are continually getting worse and worse. The cause of the earthquakes are when the wastewater is injected into the wells. Oil production has increased five fold since 2012 causing more injections of wastewater. In smaller towns there is a reluctance to raise awareness about these earthquakes.

I think that if there is a lack of awareness to stop the earthquakes caused by fracking then there could be a big problem. One of these earthquakes could lead to much bigger earthquakes by hitting a fault line. Even if these smaller earthquakes don’t have much effect, a big earthquake could have major impacts on Texas. Especially with the increase in production there will only be more earthquakes at an increasing rate. If these oil companies are not met with some resistance then not a lot of good will happen in Texas. Even if these smaller towns don’t have much care about what could happen it could affect the whole state of Texas in the long term. I think that greed may win over the safety of others. Texas has a reputation for not having much care for the environment or others.

If Australia allows lake Eyre to be this will push them over their emissions target by a lot. WIthout even burning the natural gas they will still release an eminess amount of carbon because of the high amount of carbon concentration that is in the gas alone.  With Australia’s plan to reach zero emissions by 2050 having this go through will hurt their plan because it accounts for 60% of their yearly emissions budget. This means they would have to find other places to cut back on their emissions if they want to allow fracking. Ellie Smith, a spokesperson for Lock the Gate Alliance Queensland, “ It feels like the fossil fuel  industry is pushing to get as much gas out of the ground in the dying days of the industry.

I think there should be a huge fight to stop fracking from entering Australia if they are serious about keeping to their emission goals. This one fracking alone will increase emissions in Queensland. I think that this push by fossil fuel companies needs to be met with resistance. Without being met with any form of resistance these companies will try to dig for as much oil as possible in a short amount of time to max their profits while they still can. These companies care for nothing but themselves. They only run off greed so if met with resistance for long enough legislation will in time come and prevent these companies from furthering climate change further. Australia’s goal to be carbon neutral is totally contradicted by allowing fracking in Queensland where there is an extreme abundance of carbon in the ground. Not only does this get rid of a carbon sink it also hurts Australia’s push to become carbon neutral. I feel like if they fight off the fracking rights here it could be one of the last stands for fossil fuel companies in Australia .

Three dozen groups backed by Mark Ruffulo are campaigning in newspapers to help block licenses for fracking in northern Ireland.  These groups believe that if these permits are allowed it will open up fracking in northern ireland. The political party Sinn Féin is against fracking and has supported the ban on petroleum. There has also been a lack of transparency from the economy minister on what the impacts of fracking would be on northern Ireland even though the reports have been completed since july last year.

I think what Mark Ruffulo is trying to do is a great thing.Trying to hold the line in Europe on fracking is a huge battle. Many of these companies that make money off of fossil fuels are trying to make a huge final push to get as much profit out of their remaining years. By holding the line and not letting these companies get into Ireland and gain momentum it is a huge win. I think that Europe has done a much better job at pushing for a cleaner planet and this shows that they are willing to prioritize the planet over profit. It is sad to see how there is some corruption with the economy minister not releasing the reports. It’s strange that he won’t post the results of the reports which have been out for a year. This is where the USA has failed by letting their politicians be corrupted by lobbyists who dump money into getting their way. It’s a broken system that supports greed and the rich. I think that Mark Ruffulo has made big steps with these groups to stop the spread of fracking into Europe and fight for the better of our earth.

“California Takes Steps to Ban Fracking by 2024 and Will Halt Oil Extraction by 2045.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 Apr. 2021, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/23/california-fracking-ban-oil-extraction. 

California, one of the higher end states in terms of consumption of electricity and gas, has finally decided to put laws down to control the amount of fracking set for 2024. Taking steps such as banning high end computers that consume high energy, and by now taking actions to set strict permits on fracking will benefit the environment and climate change because the reduction in gas production can lower the global warming issue and can give habitats towards animals in need of one once the environment is better.

Im in favor of cutting the production rate of gasses because this way the world can remain in a healthy state and less habitats will be lost. Because mining for gasses and fracking is harmful towards our world, Im excited to see the world take a step forward in attempts to help the environment. The only issue I can currently see is the change of gas prices. Many people of california will be angered on the price of gas increasing exponentially.

Egan, Matt. “No, Joe Biden Didn’t Just Ban Fracking.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 Jan. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/01/27/business/fracking-ban-biden-federal-leasing/index.html. 

Joe Biden is taking slight measures to lower the oil and and gas production and many people are upset that he is not upholding the promise of doing everything in his power to drastically lower the production rate. As Biden attempts to slow the rate of the gas and fracking production, many companies whom which produce gasses are attempting to retaliate and fight back so they can continue making large profits. Biden is also putting restrictions to help limit the fracking production rate which can drastically help the environment if the limits are strict and efficient. The issue with the restrictions is the fracking factories fighting back in attempts to exploit their business and profits that they can produce.

I agree with Biden on the limits as long as all companies uphold their part. I somehow doubt that all companies will agree to limitations, and will likely lead into a debate on wether or not limitations should be set. Limitations will also put gas prices high which will likely put many people in sour moods, but overall, the world and ecosystems will continue to improve and some of the damage caused  by humans may be reversible.

“U.S. Energy Information Administration – Eia – Independent Statistics and Analysis.” U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Production to Fall in 2021, Then Rise in 2022 – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), January. 2021, www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=46476. 

As the increase of years passes, the increase of production within the natural gases is produced, the increase of climate change also occurs. Statistics show that nearly 100 billion marketed natural gas was produced in 2021. Most people are blinded by the statistics and downsides to producing so much natural gas, and only see the benefits for example lower gas prices. Based off of the knowledge of the previous years of gas production, it is only reasonable to estimate that the numbers will go up unless laws are put into place controlling these numbers. It is also dangerous in terms of climate change and groundwater as it is harmful towards both. 

As I’m surprised with the high numbers with the natural gas production, Im also concerned with a solution that can help both the environment and the human civilizations. The most efficient way I believe that would help both would be to set laws in place to control the numbers, or to increase the price of gasses. The issues with both methods is that to put a law into place would mean many people have to agree which would be hard considering the selfishness of humans, and increasing the prices of gasses would make people upset and would eventually be changed. After seeing the statistics, I am at a loss of how we can fix our world while making everyone happy or if it is even possible.