During tonight’s national coverage fracking was a topic brought up on multiple occasions. Can someone explain what it is and the pros and cons of it? Need it because a google search did not help :/
In: Biology
Fracking is a technique used to try to find oil and natural gas reserves under layers of shale. It involves drilling a hole into deep into the ground, and then drilling a horizontal shaft from the bottom of that hole, and then shooting water and sand at high pressure. This will crack layers of the rock, which if there is oil and gas, will release those and make those available to be collected.
The pros, it makes it a lot easier to find oil reserves. The cons, it is really bad for the environment. It pushes minerals and sometimes oil, into ground water reservoirs. It releases gases into the atmosphere. It’s loud. And it increases the likelihood of earthquakes happening.
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