Frack it

wired.com

Water. It is a natural resource that continues to be, in effect, taken for granted. Oil and gas industries treat water like that of New Yorkers in the summer where they turn on the fire hydrants to 'cool off' the neighborhood kids. Waste.

Although treated as a resource like the sun - it is there day after day and not likely to vanish for billions of years - water for drinking and irrigation may not be there tomorrow - it is in danger of over consumption and contamination.

Energy needs in the form of oil and gas are threatening the water supply in the US and elsewhere. In the US it appears that if we ignore the detriments and risks there is an abundance of gas and oil that might in fact give the US energy independence. [Shale oil and gas will help make western hemisphere self-sufficient].

Fracking is the oil and gas industry's methods of extraction that maximizes their profits to the detriment of the environment under the guise of job production and economic growth. Fracking "uses high-pressure injection of water, sand, and chemicals to release the trapped gas [and oil]" Ignoring for the moment the other items and looking at the water consumption it is arguably excessive; e.g.,  its use in oil, shale and tar sands, is several more barrels of water than barrels of oil. [See Oil Shale/Tar Sands Guide.]

But even assuming that the water usage isn't excessive, and that it is much like the water used for most any purpose - except it isn't reclaimable. The water used becomes unusable waste water contaminated prohibiting its use for drinking and irrigation. Interesting enough water becomes another toxic waste product much like nuclear waste raising issues of disposal.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, "waste water associated with shale gas extraction can contain high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS), fracturing fluid additives (which include a number of toxic constituents, including Benzene—which is known to cause cancer— Ethylbenzene, Toulene, Xylene, and diesel fuel), metals, and naturally occurring radioactive materials (including uranium, thorium, radium, and lead-210)."

So it is more than just the use of the water it is the chemicals and the like that is used in conjunction with the water that contaminates not only the waste water but the - as the argument goes - the water sources: rivers, wells and aquifers.

Earth Justice has this interesting interactive map Fracking and Fraccidents worth the peek. And added to the risk contamination risk to the water supply is now the prospect of fracking causing earthquakes. See the Ohio story in Ohio quakes raise fracking questions and in What is Fracking? Also see Bulgaria's booting of Chevron - Bulgaria Bans Gas Fracking, Thwarting Chevron Drilling Plan.

But there are those that dispute the risk as in this Reuters article Fracking no more risky than other oil, gas wells. The major point is that "[f]racking poses no more risk to the environment than production from conventional wells, which the industry and regulators have learned to manage successfully in recent decades to minimise the impact on local communities."

It seems to some like the author of the Reuters' story that it is merely an issue of risk management. For the author "drilling is not impossible even in highly urbanised areas." And he points to the fact that "[t]he Beverly Hills High School has 19 oil wells on campus pumping several hundred barrels of oil per day."

But isn't what is being missed by the 'risks outweigh the detriments' proponents of 'drill baby drill' is that while there may have been no 'damage' in the past - we live in much more crowded world drawing down on natural resources than ever before. And it isn't just fracking anymore it is super fracking. It seems as though our consumption has already outgrown the availability of those resources. Even water - a resource once seen as renewable - appears to becoming a non-renewable resource.

There has to be a recognition of the detriments as well as the benefits of oil and gas exploration so to find a  balance that leaves something for future generations. Economic growth is fast becoming an oxymoron. "Leadership" is irony.

Resources:

Natural Gas Extraction - Hydraulic Fracturing
Ohio quakes raise fracking questions
Peak Water: Aquifers and Rivers Are Running Dry. How Three Regions Are Coping :
peakwater.org
Fracking no more risky than other oil, gas wells
Fracking: Pollution finding could hurt gas drilling
Super fracking push for more oil, gas production
Fracking Gone Wrong: Finding a Better Way
Bulgaria Bans Gas Fracking, Thwarting Chevron Drilling Plan
What is Fracking?
American Rivers : Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing and Our Rivers