Tim Weir 5/23/14
Mrs. McClellan Current Event #2
Mrs. McClellan Current Event #2
Onishi, Norimitsu. "California's Thirst Shapes Debate
Over Fracking." The New York Times
[New York, New York] 14 May 2014: n. page. Print.
Fracking is
a debate which has racked the nation for the past couple of years. Fracking is
the drilling of holes into oil wells then pumping water through so that the oil
will come out and then be replaced by water. This practice has been main stream
in all oil companies because of the ease. fracking is simply a nickname for Hydraulic
Fracturing. One of the most debated areas of fracking use is in California.
Currently, California is in a very heavy drought fracking one oil well takes
87% of the water one family of four uses in a year. Brackish Water can be used
but fresh water is more cost effective so most oil executives decide to use
fresh water. Many county legislators are taking steps against fracking and
everyone expects there to be a statewide ban relatively soon. The ban will most
likely last long enough for the state to run tests to see if there are any
major effects on the population and environment. The ban will help reduce the
use of fresh water so that citizens can have enough drinking water.
This is
relevant to the population because it affects the whole of the United States if
California’s drought persist and fracking continues people may not even have
enough water for everyone to drink. Thus they will have to import water from
other states. Also, when fracking is banned that will take away a significant
production of jobs and oil which means we will have to outsource to the middle
east and thus lose jobs and money. Also, many people are worried about the
environmental effects and longer term effects of fracking. No information will
be conclusive until the tests from the Government come in. However pumping that
much water with chemicals in it cannot be good. If all of the fracking water somehow
got joined with the drinking water through an underground river that could be
very dangerous to the populous.
I thought
the article was well written and provided both perspectives of the debate.
Also, at the end it let you decide which side you liked better. It provided
information from a completely arbitrary view. One of the problems I ad with it
was that I wanted to know more about fracking and its effect on the environment.
It talked little bit about the practice of fracking. It did not go into depth
about the possible environmental effects. Even if the effects are not
conclusive it would be nice to know what effects scientists hypothesize. Other
than that I thought is was a well written article.
This was a very interesting article Tim. I really like how you presented your information, as it was very clear and well described. I also liked how you provided both sides of the article because it made me think if the government would care more about the citizens of the United States, or about the money and jobs they would be loosing if they stopped fracking. I also liked how you tied this in with the drought that is occurring in California, as this is a very prevalent crisis right now. Some things that I found that were interesting about your report was that fracking uses 87% of water one family of four uses a year. I also thought that it was interesting how the process of fracking actually saves the US money and provides more jobs even though it is harmful for the people that are affected by it. One thing that I think you could have added was a story or a statistic of people that were affected by fracking because I remember watching the news and seeing a piece on how fracking actually contaminated a family's water supply and they couldn't use their tap water, and when they stuck a lighter next to the water coming from the faucet the water would light on fire because of the oil that contaminated their water.
ReplyDeleteGood write-up and article. I have heard a lot about fracking recently, but never really knew what it was. Therefore, I liked how you presented information about what fracking is and made it easy to understand and learn from. Also, I liked how you presented both sides of the argument, as it seems like it is difficult to find a non-biased article. You presented the many effects of fracking, and their possible impacts in the near future. It was nice to see different opinions about such a controversial topic. I also liked how you stated the possible outcomes of the fracking ban. As you said, there are pros and cons of fracking now, and if it were to be banned, it could have a serious influence on our country’s environment, oil, and economy.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that California was in such a big drought, and how fracking could hurt it even more. Having to import water from other states could also cause other states to have a significant reduction in water, seeing that California is such a big state. Also, I didn’t know how big the fracking industry was, and how big of an impact on jobs the ban could have.
One thing I thought you could’ve done was, since you said that the article didn’t go into depth about the possible environmental effects of fracking, was to do some research yourself and incorporate it in your write-up. Also, there were a few sloppily-written sentences. However, these were very small, minute problems. Overall, it was well-written and very informative.