Hydraulic fracturing can be compared and contrasted in sharply different manners; rhetoric on both sides can go over the edge, and oftentimes such extreme rhetoric ensures that any type of sane or rational discussion is rendered virtually impossible. Opponents have gone so far as to call hydraulic fracturing an "abnormally dangerous activity" (Rinaldi, 2015, p. 388) while proponents often argue that additional "EPA controls would cause energy prices to skyrocket, slow the development of natural-gas fields, and block enormous economic benefits" (Hobson, 2009, p. 19).
Both sides of the issue seem to make strong points in order to support their positions. Few and far between are the calls for objective and trustworthy research such as the one in America (the magazine) that asks for opponents and proponents to at least agree on the fact that the science behind fracking should take into effect the complexity of the situation as well as the repercussions for the future (Fracturing, 2014). Ironically enough, the call for objective research is rendered almost completely farcical when the call goes on to pretend that having the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conduct the research would result in anything but a strong bias towards the halting of any type of fracking even if (by some small miracle) the agency took into consideration the enormous economic benefits provided by hydraulic fracturing. What this paper seeks to determine is whether there is bias on both sides as determined by the individual or group affiliation with either the Democrat or Republican political parties. Additionally, the paper will look at both the negative and the positive effects of fracking and may even attempt to analyze how fracking can be beneficial and at the same time result in less negative effects on the environment.
Political bias?
Allowing for the rhetoric that comes from both sides of the issues, it is interesting to note that many of the Democrats in both state and national roles seem to naturally fall into the anti-fracking crowd, while the Republicans seem more likely to allow for fracking in one form or the other. Many of the large fracking areas currently under production in Texas and Pennsylvania seem to be well-managed by Republican majorities. Areas adjacent to these prosperous fracturing productions do not fare as well, and many of the adjacent areas are not experiencing the same level of prosperity. Christopherson & Rightor (2012) writes that there have been a significant amount of media and scholarly attention paid to the environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing, but effects of fracking on urban planning, transportation and economies has received far less attention. This may be a valid point, in that most of today's current literature seems to be written from the Left's point-of-view (that only makes sense since many of the researchers writing the reports are life-long members of academia, a culture that is far more Democratic than Republican in nature). It's not just academia that seems to be flaunting the liberal bias of many of academia however, there are also plenty of hacks for big business competing with the fracking companies who publish negative reports as well. Assuming therefore that many of the reports touting the negative effects of fracking are somewhat biased against fracking to begin with, leads true researchers to disdain many such reports right from the start. Disdain should not be a starting point for any research, on any subject. Instead, unbiased replicable research that is both valid and reliable should be put forth as a foundation for making decisions, especially in an area such as fracking that has as many potential benefits as it does potential pitfalls.
Negative Impacts
Fracturing (2011) writes that the public can put aside moral obligations based on economic booms provided by fracturing, but the long-term negative impacts of fracturing (at some point) will have to be addressed once the boom subsides and even though ethical issues can be ignored during one generation, the following generations would likely suffer unless those issues are addressed in a substantive manner.
The negative issues and concerns include such items as the inherent danger involved in fracking, necessary road improvements and expenses related to transporting the oil, and the long-term environmental effects of the chemicals used during the fracking process. An area of big concern includes the disposal of wastewater that is always a result of fracking. One report (Rahm, Fields, Farmer, 2015) shows that recovered fracking fluids range from 15 to 100% of the volume initially injected into the fracking well based upon the site, and since the EPA estimates that the needed volume of water per well is between...
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