Fracking is a common practice in many countries. But it also has a tremendous impact on human health and climate change.
FREMONT, CA: For many of the activities we perform daily, we need oil and gas. Many people depend on transportation methods like cars, trains, and airplanes because they all need gasoline. People also use fuel and gas to heat their homes during the winter.
The economy is still reliant on oil despite the existence of renewable energy sources like solar panels and windmills and mobility alternatives like electric automobiles.
However, many worry about the oil industry's detrimental environmental effects and its role in climate change. Knowing where oil and gas come from and why fracking is essential to comprehend the effects of oil and gas on the environment and even human health.
According to National Geographic, fracking is a technique used to extract natural gas and oil from under the Earth's surface. Fracking involves injecting chemicals, water, and sand under high pressure to open and expand fissures in the Earth's crust.
Fracking occurs throughout the country, especially in the northern Appalachian Basin's Marcellus shale deposit. According to National Geographic, this comprises regions in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Fracking has many harmful repercussions on the environment and human health.
The Natural Resources Defense Council claims that the health effects of fracking's hazardous air pollution include headaches, leukemia in children, cardiac issues, asthma symptoms, and birth deformities. Over 1,000 dangerous chemicals are used in fracking, some of which have even been linked to cancer.
People frequently need to learn what is being injected into their towns since there are no federal standards for drillers to report the chemicals they employ. According to the NRDC, state rules are also ineffectively enforced, and there needs to be more testing information on air and water quality.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, nurses and doctors often have difficulty determining what chemicals a patient has been exposed to because there are so many unknowns.
According to Yale University, fracking has also been connected to a loss of plant and animal species because of greenhouse gases, harmful air pollution, water waste, and noise. Additionally, fracking is occasionally linked to issues in areas with few resources, adding to their burden.
On its website, the Independent Petroleum Association of America claims fracking has significantly enhanced air quality in recent years, enhancing public health. However, the corpus of research on this topic indicates that there are controllable hazards.
