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Hydraulic Fracturing:
Stepping Stone to an Energy Efficient Future
Erik Baktis
Environment and Politics Sec 2
September 20, 2013
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Hydraulic fracturing is a strong topic of debate in recent times. It has been pushed by
both the Bush and Obama administrations, yet is controversial amongst many United States
citizens, especially those affected by the potential environmental hazards fracking poses.
Although the current methods of extracting shale gas from the earth have not yet been perfected,
natural gas can be used as a viable source of energy in the near future. Natural gas is an efficient,
carbon-friendly fossil fuel, and can be burned without doing nearly as much damage to the
environment as conventional oils and coal. Extracting natural gas is currently very cheap, and
there are vast resources under the United States and a good portion of the rest of the world.
Natural gas is a prevalent resource that has low emissions and can be harvested for relatively
cheaply, and with some improvements in well design can and will contribute greatly to our
energy supply in the future.
In 2011, MIT did a study to look into the future of natural gas. Research was done in four
main areas of energy usage, electricity, industrial, transportation and residential. They found
many uncertainties that could help or hurt the future of natural gas, such as laws regarding CO2
emissions, overall production, and international markets. They took all findings and a few
expected outcomes into consideration and concluded that “abundance of low-cost gas provides
an enormous potential benefit to the nation, providing a cost effective bridge to a secure and low
carbon future.”1
Overall the MIT article “The Future of Natural Gas” was well written, well researched
and well presented. It covered all of the main concerns of natural gas use and then some. Not
only did the researchers propose multiple scenarios for the future use of natural gas, they then
contemplated solutions to the problems that each possibility brought on. I liked the distinction
1
http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/NaturalGas_ExecutiveSummary.pdf
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made between all of the different uses of energy in the United States, Electricity, transportation,
industrial and residential. This shows us exactly how much natural gas would contribute to each
individual category compared to oil, nuclear power and renewables. Its delves deeper into the
uses, instead of simply stating that natural gas could be a good future provider, it is shown
exactly how it can be a provider. I also noted that they included uncertainties for the future,
instead of dismissing them because natural gas is popular now. Some uncertainties they
mentioned include “The evolution of international natural gas market” and “The extent and
nature of the greenhouse gas mitigation measures that will be adopted.”2 In each category of
research and predictions of possible futures for natural gas, researchers included
recommendations that could make each future a better one, whether it is on saving cost or
dedicating R&D to the processes to make them cleaner. The article concluded “It is critical that
the additional time created by this new resource is spent wisely, in creating lower cost
technology options for the longer term, and thereby ensuring that the natural gas bridge has a
safe landing place in a low carbon future.”3This statement wraps the article up, very clearly
advocating for a future use of natural gas as a temporary solution to the emissions, using it as a
stepping stone to a distant future of entire renewable energy.
The Harvard Magazine’s view on the future of natural gas fracking took a similar stance
as the MIT researchers; fracking for natural gas could be a major contributor of energy for the
United States in the future, as long as policies are set in place to ensure environmental protection.
They examined the price of natural gas and its supply and demand, the fracking process and
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3
http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/NaturalGas_ExecutiveSummary.pdf
http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/NaturalGas_ExecutiveSummary.pdf
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natural gas emissions and came to the conclusion that though natural gas in not perfect, it is a
good transition from our current fuels into a “truly carbon free sustainable energy society.”4
Harvard Magazine did not go as in depth into their research as the MIT article did, but
still managed to provide solid arguments for the use of natural gas. The article touched into the
problems or natural gas fracking to advocate it as a bridge to renewable power as well. They did
include a section about how careful drillers need to be. They said, “Careless drilling and
production from fracked wells can result in fugitive emissions of methane from the shale
below.”5 They admitted that there can be problems with the process if it is not done carefully.
“Even though natural gas is relatively “clean, the “fracking” process used to produce the new
supplies poses significant environmental risks. We must ensure that procedures and policies are
in place to minimize potential damage to local and regional air quality and to protect essential
water resources.”6 I happened to disagree with their supply and demand predictions, as they
focused mainly on transportation and international use and neglected to include domestic uses of
natural gas. Though the research was done very differently, the outcome of the findings was very
similar to the MIT findings, which I happen to agree with. The biggest standout about the
Harvard article was how the focus throughout most of it was on cost, money and profits. The
cost analysis does happen to be critical regarding to politics of natural gas use. If it is not
economical to harvest these resources in the future, with regulations that may possibly come,
then maybe natural gas fracking will not be as integral to energy as some think it will be.
However, the message is still the same, with proper environmental regulations in place, natural
gas can be a cost effective way to cross the gap into a renewable future.
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http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/frackings-future
http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/frackings-future
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http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/frackings-future
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Energy 101 was an article written by and for proponents of natural gas hydrofracking. It
details the benefits of hydrofracking, both economically and with energy productivity. In
summary, the article simply states that natural gas fracking is safe, it creates jobs and it makes
access to vast reserves of gas easy. It is solidly behind the use of fracking both right now and in
the future.
Energy 101: Hydraulic fracturing. The title of the article says more than enough. It is
written by energy company’s representatives and designed to teach us all of the good about
fracking. Studies of the environmental risk of hydraulic fracturing performed by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others concluded that “there were no significant
environmental risks as a result of proper hydraulic fracturing.”7 Honestly even though my
opinion gravitates towards the use of fracking, this report was irritating in the fact that not only
does it turn a blind eye towards any potential hazards; it even goes so far as to quote the EPA,
saying that “Studies of the environmental risk of hydraulic fracturing concluded that there were
no significant environmental risks as a result of proper hydraulic fracturing.”8 Though this
statement is true in and of itself, the poor handling of fracking chemicals and water at the surface
is where the problems lie, not in the fracking process itself. The site also claims that the fracking
industry is under close supervision by federal, state and local officials, yet fails to say exactly
which ones. Overall I can’t say that I agree with everything in the article, but I do believe that
fracking has its place in our future energy needs.
Even after reading through various articles that are both pro-fracking and against
fracking, my ideals still stand. Our future energy needs will not immediately be replaced by
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8
http://energytomorrow.org/energy-101/hydraulic-fracturing
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35056770/Hydraulic-Fracturing
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renewables, the technology simply is not there yet, Natural gas is a very good candidate as a
transition fuel, and it is relatively easy to extract form the ground. That being said, it does have
its problems, mainly environmental concerns. With proper regulation and oversight, and possibly
some advances in drilling technique and materials, there is no reason hydrofracking should not
be considered in the hunt for cleaner energy.
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Works Cited
Ruppel, Carolyn, and Gregory S. Mcrae. "The Future of Natural Gas." Massachusettes
Institute of Technology. N.p., 2011. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.
<http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/NaturalGas_ExecutiveSummary.pdf>.
McElroy, Michael, and Xi Lu. "Fracking’s Future Natural Gas, the Economy, and
America’s Energy Prospects." Harvard Magazine Jan. 2013: n. pag. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.
<http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/frackings-future>.
"Hydraulic Fracturing." Hydraulic Fracturing. Energy API, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.