Fracking
Essays

Our community faces a public health crisis of unprecedented proportions. My research leads me to believe that the cluster of unexplained illnesses that the people of this town have experienced over the years are the…

This paper is about Peak Oil, the theoretical limit to the amount of oil that can be consumed on Earth. This limit was first proposed in the 1950s, but has been gradually lifted since then due to new oil field discoveries, and advanced technology. This paper outlines five new technologies since the 1950s that have changed the perception of peak oil as an imminent global game changer.

'Peak oil:' When will we reach it? Does it matter?

This paper provides a proposal for a study to determine the accuracy of peak oil warnings from the world's energy industry. The paper includes sections for the explicit inclusion of one or more elements of the course, an elaboration of the peak oil scenario and a discussion concerning the cogency of the respective arguments about peak oil.

Regulating Oil and Gas Drilling and Transport Introduction. The American economy runs on energy produced from oil, coal, natural gas, hydroelectric power, nuclear power and renewable sources like solar and wind energies. In fact according to a report in the Congressional Research Service, oil provides the United States with 40% of its total energy needs. It is used in myriad ways, providing "…fuel for the transportation, industrial, and residential sectors" (Ramseur, 2012). Because of the great need for energy to fuel the American economy, oil in "vast quantities" enters the country and moves through the country by ships and by pipelines, Ramseur explains in the Congressional Research Service. Hence, it is inevitable that some spills will occur, and they certainly do occur, notwithstanding the attempts by the industry to conduct its business safely. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the U.S. consumed 6.87 billion barrels (about 18.83 million barrels a day) in 2011, and that was a slight reduction from the 7.0 billion barrels consumed in 2010 (www.eia.gov). As for the amount of natural gas consumed in the U.S. annually, the EIA reports that Americans used approximately 24.38 trillion cubic feet in 2011 (www.eia.gov). There is no doubt that until such time as renewable sources provide far more energy for the nation, oil and natural gas in particular will be in great demand. This paper reviews current environmental problems associated with oil and gas production and offers strategies for safer ways to regulate oil and gas production. Thesis: Because of the risky strategies energy corporations take in retrieving oil and natural gas – and due to the leaks, spills, blowouts, tankers running around and other errors and disasters associated with oil extraction and transport – major new environmental regulations must be put on place regarding the drilling for oil. Moreover, current tactics for producing natural gas from existing wells – a process known as "fracking" – are not safe, do not protect the environment, have the potentiality of bringing harm residents and communities, and should be strictly regulated.

Legal Issues in Fracturing Introduction Hydraulic Fracturing – also commonly referred to as "fracking" – is a technique for extracting natural gas and oil from the crust of the earth. It has become a controversial program because there are environmental impacts associated with fracking. This paper reports on existing laws and policies in states and at the federal level that have to do with fracking. What is Fracking? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains that hydraulic fracturing creates "fractures in the rock formation that stimulate the flow of natural gas or oil" – and by creating fractures, it makes it possible to recover volumes of oil and gas that might not otherwise be within reach of the energy companies that do the fracking. The process of fracking can be conducted by drilling vertically for "…hundreds to thousands of feet" beneath the surface of the earth, and once the drill has reached a certain point it can also drill horizontally (EPA, 2012).

Public relations can be a fairly basic task with a non-controversial company and/or in a non-controversial industry, but neither one of those is true with TransCanada. The publics of TransCanada as it pertains to the Keystone XL Pipeline will be discussed as well as a general definition of publics and public relations will also be discussed.

This is a four-page paper about ground water in Harper County, Kansas. The paper includes one diagram or image, which is cited properly. The paper is about the nature of ground water in Harper County, the geological issues in Harper County that might impact water, and the discharge of ground water via means like pumping and extraction from wells. The refilling of the water table and aquifers in Harper County is discussed, as is fracking.

Many countries around the world have different forms of government. The same is also true of legal systems. Some governments run via oppression and/or force (and for many different reasons) while some countries (e.g. Somalia) have no coherent government at all. For the most part, each country can do things their own way and the reasons for the differences are the results of people with different ideologies.

Energy is a mysterious force that appears to propel everyone and everything within the known constructs of the universe. All things both require and expend energy in all types of forms and systems.