Posted on 11/25/2015 4:08:17 PM PST by Kaslin
Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, and many of us will spend time with our families eating too much food and strategically waiting for couch spots to open up so we can sneak in a quick catnap when our unsuspecting relatives abandon their posts for another slice of pie. It's a time when we are thankful for the friends, family, and food. We should also be thankful for fracking. Although many people may not know it, fracking has lowered the cost of energy and other goods and services, makes America more energy-independent, and it is done in an environmentally responsible way.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as "fracking," has greatly increased the amount of oil produced in the United States. As a result, oil prices have fallen from more than $105 per barrel in the summer of 2014 to about $45 per barrel today, leading to savings at the pump we can all be thankful for.
The American Auto Association (AAA) reports gas prices are about one dollar lower today than at this time in 2014, saving consumers between $10 and $35 dollars per fill-up, and an AAA spokesperson says in 2015 drivers will find the cheapest gas prices at Thanksgiving and Christmas in seven years.
The average American family may save more than $700 at the pump in 2015 compared to 2014 because of lower gas prices. Although this may seem like pocket change for some people, lower energy prices help lower-income households and young people the most because these groups spend a higher percentage of their income on fuel. As someone who grew up in a home where money was always tight, I appreciate and am thankful for low gas prices, because I understand how important every dollar saved can be for many U.S. families.
Fracking also saves time. Compared to higher-income earners, young people and lower-income people are more likely to earn the minimum wage. The national minimum wage is $7.50 per hour, meaning the $700 saved on gasoline in 2015 is equivalent to a minimum-wage earner working an additional 93 hours. For college students trying to pay for school or parents who want to spend a few more hours at home, the savings from gas prices allow people to pay off their student loans faster or simply spend more time with their kids.
Thanks to fracking, these savings are more likely to stick around for the next few years. Before fracking, the United States was vulnerable to high oil prices because the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel was able to keep global oil supplies low, artificially keeping the prices high. In fact, many people may remember when we thought $4 per gallon gasoline was here to stay. Fracking has given the United States a trump card, allowing us to produce large amounts of our own oil when OPEC wants to raise prices and gouge American consumers.
Of course, most of us don't think saving money is worth it if comes at the expense of the environment. Fortunately, fracking is a safe and effective way to produce energy without causing significant harm to the environment or to people. For instance, in a recent study the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found no evidence fracking has had a widespread, systemic impact on groundwater supplies. Accidents have happened, but they are rare and containable.
Every single thing humans do on this planet has an environmental impact. This is the rule, and there are no exceptions. Even so-called "green" energy has large impacts on the landscape because it requires mining metals required to make wind turbines and solar panels and causes the death of birds and other wildlife. There is no such thing as consequence-free energy.
Fracking does impose some risks, but they are manageable, and the benefits of having affordable energy, and lots of it, far outweigh the potential negative impacts of fracking. That is something to be thankful for.
I’m definitely thankful for fracking. Could you imagine the Obola economy as bad as it is, plus $4-$5 a gallon gas. And home heating oil just as high.
I don't know what these "groundwater accidents" could possibly be. 99 percent of all groundwater is no deeper than about 500 feet. Most of your fracked wells are around a mile deep, give or take.
Gas was $2.01 a gallon today. Thank you frackers!
It’s .25 cents higher in PA, but that is due to gas taxes over the years.
A decimated oil industry does not help the economy.
True, but if the price of oil is so high that people can’t afford it, the people will suffer. And if the people can’t afford it, they won’t buy it, so the oil industry will still suffer.
Primarily surface spills of frac fluid or salt water due to a line bursting under pressure, a fitting failing, or a vehicle accident.
Keep in mind that no one working near equipment with 5-6000 psi on the inside wants that to get out in an uncontrolled fashion, and if the release of that pressure is controlled, it is going where you want it.
Surface spills are commonly contained by the construction of the well pad (impermeable layers, dikes), but when that is not the case, wells are sunk around the pad to flush the water table and recover the contaminants.
The most common spill involves salt water from production, and that is usually contained.
I'm not including pipeline damage or leaks in this, because that is a transportation matter and doesn't have anything to do with the hydraulic fracturing process.
No, it doesn't. It just sets up the next price spike and oil boom.
Most of the oil wells are between 7,000 and 11,000’. Most gas wells are between 9,000 and 14,000’. The Haynesville Shale wells between Nacogdoches and Shreveport are 11,000 to 14,000’.
$1.68 in East Texas.
Frac fluid tends to be rather benign. The thing that worries the green crowd is the idea of the oil itself getting into the water table. Which I have never heard of happening ever.
No oil in the water table from fraccing, no. On occasion, from other causes (primarily transportation accidents).
Yes, I mean from a frac well. The frac fluids, as pointed out, will flush readily if they leak. I’d heard you could drink frac fluid without harm if it had been handled in a sanitary manner.
IIRC, there was some one from one of the companies who did at a press conference. It is mostly fresh water.
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