Since the beginning of the year, Colorado has been in the news because it has implemented groundbreaking legislation. Colorado was the first state (with Washington State following close behind) to legalize recreational marijuana use. Now, Colorado is focusing on another first: It is the first state to regulate and reduce emissions that occur during the drilling of a well. The legislation mandates that drilling companies repair pipe leaks that cause methane to escape into the atmosphere and to install scrubbers that capture the emissions from a well that occur during drilling. Since the release of documentaries like Frack Nation, the country has taken sides on whether the benefits of fracking outweigh the potential costs to the environment. In particular, opponents have focused on the potential for water contamination during drilling and when the used water is disposed of. But how grave are these concerns? In this post, I will address the issues surrounding water pollution and fracking, and whether fracking can be done in an environmentally responsible manner. Continue reading
Category Archives: Economic Impact
Can Oil and Water Mix? The Challenge of Fracking in Drought Parched States
As I write this article from Boston (where the snow has covered the grass in front of my school and apartment for weeks), I wish that I could easily transport some of this snow to parts of the country that need it. Other parts of the west, particularly in California are facing some of the worst drought conditions ever recorded. As Rod Smith pointed out in his Post earlier this week, the California State Water Project has announced a zero percent allocation, casting serious doubt over the reliability of one of California’s most important water resources. In times like these where there is much more demand for water than supply, what groups should receive water?
Well, the answer to that depends on whom you ask. In the midst of this debate, interest groups in California and across the Western United States have rallied to put a stop to hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” in areas that face extreme droughts. These groups argue that even barring the environmental concerns that fracking could cause, giving water to drilling companies in times of drought will put even further strains on our water resources in these drought stricken areas. In this piece I will discuss both sides of the issue, and address whether the potential positives of fracking can outweigh the negative ramifications of over-using water resources in times of drought. Continue reading
Drilling and North Dakota’s Energy Boom: Is Fracking Sustainable for the State’s Water Supply in the Long-Term?
This week, I was looking at a curious set of pictures of the United States at night from space (see the pictures here). The pictures show heavy concentrations of lights around the places you would expect – New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles – and in a place where you would not expect. There is a mass of lights up near the Canadian border, in a place where you would not expect large populations. In fact these lights do not mainly come from people’s houses but rather from the huge numbers of oil rigs that now dot the Bakken Shale Formation in Western North Dakota.
Proponents of drilling in the Bakken Shale cite the economic growth that oil drilling has brought this once quiet region. They also point to the fact that an increase in drilling in the United States reduces our dependence on foreign oil and increases our national security. However, while the pluses are certainly tangible, there are some real tradeoffs to the practice. In this article, I would like to look at the critical role that water plays in drilling in North Dakota, and if there is a way to keep the drilling sustainable without depleting the state’s water resources. Continue reading
China’s new Water Infrastructure: The Boost its Economy Needs, or an Environmental Nightmare?
In many parts of the United States, there is a disconnect between where water is plentiful and where the end users of the water live. Projects like the Lake Sardis Pipeline in Oklahoma (see Oklahoma Water Battle) or the Bay Delta Conservation Plan in California move water from its source to urban and agriculture users hundreds of miles away. But the United States is not alone in creating projects that move large amounts of water from one region to another. China currently is undertaking one if its most ambitious engineering projects to move water resources from the relatively plentiful areas in the south to the drier and more populous areas of the north. Proponents of the so-called South-North Water Transfer Project say that the project will allow China to continue its rapid economic expansion more sustainably. Opponents argue that the project will create even further environmental damage to the water systems that over a billion people rely upon every day. Where does the truth lie? Likely somewhere in between. Let’s explore both of these issues further, with a bit of background on the project to start. Continue reading