Finding ways to power our homes and businesses has become quite a problem as of late. Hostility in the Middle East has made their coveted oil unreliable, while other oil refineries are starting to question just how much longer they can support our energy needs. In addition, CO2 emissions continue to pollute our atmosphere and increasing the severity of climate change. For this reason authorities are calling for "cleaner" fuel, thus limiting coals usage. A few years ago, it was discovered that natural gas could be mined from gas and oil that has been built up and stuck in between rock layers. This process is called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" and it uses highly pressurized fluid to break the rock layer, thus releasing the stored natural gas. This gas is then collected, sold, and used for energy. Recently, natural gas was found to be an abundant resource in central Pennsylvania, just hours from my home. All of this sounds terrific; mining the area would offer jobs for community members, it is in abundance so we could use it for as a source of power for a long period of time. Finally, its found right here in our backyard so we would not have to import as much foreign oil. However, this process is beginning to ruin both the environment and the well being of the people who occupy lands surrounding the areas of fracking. In numerous accounts, faulty equipment and suspicious precautionary measures have caused natural gas to contaminate the water table of those who live near mines. Drinking this water has obvious health consequences, and it is noted that it can lead to cancer and death. Here is a video which give insight into the pain which fracking has caused some families throughout the country:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8
However, in relation to authors I have read, fracking has made me address this issue in a different way. After reading the book
Solar Storms by Linda Hogan, I tend to look at this as just a quick fix. It doesn't matter if it ruins the lives and homes of humans and wildlife, this new way of extracting gas will be an energy source for privileged individuals who wish to power and heat their lavish and often wasteful homes. This issue is similar to one which Hogan's fictional characters face as a river, which runs through their Native American reservation, has been ordered to be dammed, ruining the landscape and way of life for its inhabitants. One wise man on the reservation critiques the men who planned to dam the river for energy and is documented saying "That such men could not see all they way to the end of their actions. They were shortsighted. They had no vision."(Hogan 289) This quote can be used analogous to they way Shale miners have begun to invade communities by which some of its inhabitants are unwilling to have such acts take place. However, in the end, both the reservation in Hogan's book and the land nearby natural gas mines has been forever tarnished. It is yet another example of humans commodifying aspects of the environment and ruining the livelihoods of everything which calls that place home.
Finding ways to power our homes and businesses has become quite a problem as of late. Hostility in the Middle East has made their coveted oil unreliable, while other oil refineries are starting to question just how much longer they can support our energy needs. In addition, CO2 emissions continue to pollute our atmosphere and increasing the severity of climate change. For this reason authorities are calling for "cleaner" fuel, thus limiting coals usage. A few years ago, it was discovered that natural gas could be mined from gas and oil that has been built up and stuck in between rock layers. This process is called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" and it uses highly pressurized fluid to break the rock layer, thus releasing the stored natural gas. This gas is then collected, sold, and used for energy. Recently, natural gas was found to be an abundant resource in central Pennsylvania, just hours from my home. All of this sounds terrific; mining the area would offer jobs for community members, it is in abundance so we could use it for as a source of power for a long period of time. Finally, its found right here in our backyard so we would not have to import as much foreign oil. However, this process is beginning to ruin both the environment and the well being of the people who occupy lands surrounding the areas of fracking. In numerous accounts, faulty equipment and suspicious precautionary measures have caused natural gas to contaminate the water table of those who live near mines. Drinking this water has obvious health consequences, and it is noted that it can lead to cancer and death. Here is a video which give insight into the pain which fracking has caused some families throughout the country: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8
However, in relation to authors I have read, fracking has made me address this issue in a different way. After reading the book Solar Storms by Linda Hogan, I tend to look at this as just a quick fix. It doesn't matter if it ruins the lives and homes of humans and wildlife, this new way of extracting gas will be an energy source for privileged individuals who wish to power and heat their lavish and often wasteful homes. This issue is similar to one which Hogan's fictional characters face as a river, which runs through their Native American reservation, has been ordered to be dammed, ruining the landscape and way of life for its inhabitants. One wise man on the reservation critiques the men who planned to dam the river for energy and is documented saying "That such men could not see all they way to the end of their actions. They were shortsighted. They had no vision."(Hogan 289) This quote can be used analogous to they way Shale miners have begun to invade communities by which some of its inhabitants are unwilling to have such acts take place. However, in the end, both the reservation in Hogan's book and the land nearby natural gas mines has been forever tarnished. It is yet another example of humans commodifying aspects of the environment and ruining the livelihoods of everything which calls that place home.
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