“Fracking for Bad Gas”
April
11, 2013
Out of breath and sweating, I flashed
my student ID card and stepped onto a bus branded with the slur: “powered by
clean, natural gas.” Looks like the work of a clever magician revealing only the point of combustion, rather
than exposing the pollution lurking in every step of extraction of “natural”
gas.
As a student at UC Berkeley, I’ve realized natural gas is a complex,
politicized issue, and the media often provides the public with misinformation.
The media frames fracking as a “clean burning” “bridge fuel” which will make
America “energy independent.” Advertisements, talk about gas as an abundant source
of domestic energy, which will “free” us from dependence on foreign oil and
coal.
When I first heard the term “fracking,” I did not understand
the reference, unless of course they were talking about Battle Star Galactica. After staring open mouthed at a documentary or three, and obsessively
researching at UC Berkeley, the sweet smell of controversy still lingers in the
wake of pressing political priorities—energy and GDP.
“Fracking” is short for hydraulic fracturing, or the
controversial technique used to extract oil or natural gas, located thousands
of feet underground, using millions of gallons of water, sand, and thousands of
gallons of chemicals. So what’s the fracking problem?
TV and multimedia narratives persuade people to believe that
natural gas extraction is not a risky business. The truth is, when you hear “unconventional gas” mentioned
in commercials, they are not referring to simply tapping a giant underground
gas reservoir, but rather, shattering shale rock with high pressure chemical
water to release gas bubbles tightly contained within the rock.
You might have heard about Halliburton- an oil and gas company
from Texas, and BFF of George Bush- who “revolutionized” the industry in 1991
with technology to drill horizontally- in multiple directions, multiple times.
This meant they could drill beneath people’s homes without the owner’s consent! Second, they introduced liquid chemical
cocktails called “slick water.” This toxic lube maintains the intense pressure necessary
to physically fracture the rock at depths averaging 10,000 feet underground,
releasing the gas.
To make it worse, companies are not required to
disclose the chemical cocktail recipes to the public, because of protection
under Trade Secret Laws. The chemicals are claimed to be proprietary
information, essential to protecting their profit margins. Not only is the
slickwater riddled with ingredients that are known carcinogens (cancer
causing), or endocrine disrupters (hormone mimickers), but at depths of 10,000
feet below the surface, naturally occurring arsenic and often radioactive
materials join with the slickwater. Unfortunately, only about 50% of processed
water returns to the surface, and is considered hazardous waste.
This gas is none other than the gas that forms inside the
bellies of you and me! It is the same gas cows burp up all day, every day, at
factory farms. It is the same gas forming inside sealed landfills. It the same
powerful green house gas that scientists warn to be more potent than carbon
dioxide by contributing to global warming and climate change. The gas itself is
primarily, methane; a colorless, odorless gas that is flammable, thus, an
excellent source of energy.
Why are we targeting a potent green house gas as a source of
energy? Ode to the dollar bills, the only grease making the economic wheels
go-round. Flash back to 2005, when the Bush Administration’s Energy Policy Act
allowed companies- such as Halliburton- to remain exempt from critical laws
that protect social and environmental justice. Because of this legislation, oil
and gas drilling companies who frack, do not have to follow or pay for
violating the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act,
or the public’s Right to Know Act. This issue is not about a “bridge fuel” and
it’s not about “freedom.” The Energy Policy Act made “unconventional” gas, an artificially
profitable resource to increase GDP- BOOM.
Fracking needs some major policy reform to hold companies
accountable to federal regulations, which protect human health, such as the Clean Air Act and
the Safe Drinking Water Act. At the very least, the public should have the
Right to Know! The boom needs to slow while scientists carefully evaluate the
climate impact of fugitive methane “leaking” into the atmosphere from every
fracking drill site.
By: Shannon
Davis, a student at UC Berkeley and a Commissioner for the City of Berkley’s
Zero Waste Commission
