The Impacts of Fracking on Climate Change

Abstract

In media, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) often refers to the two steps applied for extracting natural gas trapped in shale formations. The first step is to drill down to the sedimentary rocks and then drill sideways for a mile or more. This horizontal drilling has been widely practiced since the 1980s to extract conventional oil and gas. In the second step, the producers must deploy hydraulic fracturing; using high pressure, fracking pumps into open fractures in the rocks with millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals that allow oil and gas to flow. Fracking was introduced into gas mining as early as in 1940s and then was efficiently combined with horizontal drilling in 1990s. Fracking has resulted in significant economic hopes and opportunities such as employment, income, and tax revenue growth in shale play regions but with increasing public awareness and concerns about the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing. Many studies have talked about the processes of hydraulic fracturing and its environmental impacts including surface and ground water resources, air pollution, seismic activities, environmental and the population at risks of fracking, and landscape and ecosystem disturbance. However, there are still a lot of issues related to the impacts of fracking on the climate. In this chapter, the author summarizes a concise understanding of the conception and technological process of fracking, its development and worldwide extent, and then focus on methane emission issues related to fracking, and its consequences of climate changes.