Fracking is single handedly keeping the oil business afloat with its cheaper and more efficient method of literally sucking the earth dry of its precious oil. It comes as no surprise that this practice can have horrible consequences for the local forests, fisheries, and wildlife. Ohio is one of the main fracking hotspots with the Utica Shale occupying the north eastern quadrant of Ohio.
Fracking uses harsh chemicals to extract oil from deep within the earth. After doing their job, these chemicals as well as radioactive materials brought up from the fracking process sit in waste water tanks next to the well. Spills happen, and when they do, even the smallest of them can cause catastrophic harm to the population. A spill in Kentucky had lasting effects on the creek. “Fracking wastewater that was being stored in open air pits overflowed into Kentucky’s Acorn Fork Creek and left an orange-red substance, contaminating the creek with hydrochloric acid, dissolved minerals and metals, and other contaminants” (Dalessandro). The chemicals spilled into this creek killed almost all of the aquatic life. This is ironic, because before the spill, the creek was designated an Outstanding State Resource Water and was therefore home to many protected species of aquatic life.
A fracking site is a large scale operation and that has a large negative effect on the surrounding ecosystems. “A single drilling station can affect 30 acres of forest. Birds and nocturnal species are highly sensitive to disruption” (Good). The trucks that transport the chemicals and fracking products, as well as, the heavy machinery used to extract materials all cause a major disruption to the ecosystem in the area. “Since 2005, over 360,00 acres of land across the United States have been damaged by fracking.
Oil and gas companies are even looking to expand fracking activities into national parks” (Good). Throw into the mix the danger of ground pollution and water contamination and fracking just doesn’t seem worth the consequences, seeing that alternative greener forms of energy are rising in popularity and decreasing in prices.
Resources:
Dalessandro, Nicole. “How Fracking Hurts Animals.” EcoWatch, EcoWatch, 27 June 2016,
www.ecowatch.com/how-fracking-hurts-animals-1881858641.html.
Good, Kate. “No Fraccident: How Animals Are Hurt By Fracking.” One Green Planet, One
Green Planet, 17 Dec. 2014,
www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/no-fraccident-how-animals-are-hurt-by-fracing/.
Resources for Media:
Kuhlman, Mary. “Report: Who Pays for the Cost of Fracking in Ohio?” Not Just an Ocean
Problem Microplastics Found in MT Watershed / Public News Service, Public News
Service, 22 June 2013,
Policy Matters Ohio. “Fracking in Carroll County, Ohio: An Impact Assessment.” Policy Matters
Ohio, Policy Matters Ohio, 10 Apr. 2014,
www.policymattersohio.org/research-policy/sustainable-communities/energy/fracking-in
carroll-county-ohio-an-impact-assessment.