It's A Fracking Disaster

Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as “fracking”, is the process of drilling far into the earth, and injecting a liquid mixture of water and toxic chemicals at a high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, and so forth, so as to force open existing fissures and extract shale gas.  Over the last century the exploitation of fossil fuels has developed from tunnel mining for coal and drilling shallow oil wells to tearing apart whole mountains and drilling in a mile or more deep of ocean.  These have inevitably led to many environmental disasters.  Yet fracking has been hailed as the “revolution of the energy industry”, and investors and corporations do not want the general public to be aware of the destruction and negative impact that this new “solution” has on the environment. 

Fracking is simply a symptom of a much wider problem.  As easier to extract energy resources are exhausted and drained by the unsustainable energy consumption and consumerism of our present system, we are resorting to ever more extreme methods of energy extraction.  But at what cost?

Hydraulic fracturing is associated with toxic and radioactive water contamination; severe air pollution from VOCs (volatile organic compounds); disruption to the local ecosystem; leaking wells; the amplification of climate change; carcinogenic hydrocarbon vapours; devastating the appearance of the landscape; earthquakes; and, undoubtedly, many other environmental catastrophes that are yet to be documented.  In short, fracking is unsafe.  And this is all just to produce expensive gas that will soon run out.  Are we really going to risk our property values, our water, our health, our air, the social fabric of our local communities, and exacerbate climate change, all for a few capitalists to make profit from fracking?  We should not be putting wealth before health.

In July 2014 the British government gave the hydraulic fracturing drive the go-ahead.  Ministers admitted that they were authorising the expansion of fracking across Britain that would allow drilling in national parks and other protected areas in “exceptional circumstances”.  Roughly half the country will be advertised for exploration by onshore oil and gas companies seeking to expand their profitability.  However, mainstream media channels controlled by the capitalist state did not discuss this.  This is another example of how the general public has been influenced by societal institutions and their expanse of ideological power and control.  The “positives” of fracking were highlighted and emphasised, such as:

1. Shale gas will help tackle climate change
2. Fracking wells will be almost unnoticeable
3. UK shale gas will lower bills

Conversely, these are all myths peddled by large corporations and governmental agencies in order to win over the approval of the public.  The truth of the situation is shocking:

1. The carbon footprint for shale gas is up to 100 times greater than wind and tidal energy (both offshore wind and tidal energy emit between 5-13g of carbon dioxide/kWh, whilst shale gas produces 423-535g)
2. In order to match North Sea gas production, up to 20,000 fracking wells will be needed
3. Bill savings will be tiny (approximately £19 a year for a medium sized house, compared to £125 saved a year on a house after solar panels are installed)
4. The International Energy Agency predicts that the price of gas will rise 40% by 2020

Concerning the water usage required for fracking to be “successful”, after Africa, America has some of the largest water shortages in the world, but their government is amicable towards using vast amounts of fresh water for fracking, yet defends switching off the water supply for hundreds of residents (in Detroit)?  How can this be a sustainable investment?  How can the government defend their actions?  By arguing that investment in shale gas will increase governmental profits, which will be reinvested in local communities.  But this is simply not true.  The track-record of the government is to maximise capitalisation, and reduce the knowledge and participation of its citizens.

Everyone deserves the basic necessities to survive, but shale gas is not, and never will be, one of them.

Fracking is merely distracting energy firms, companies and investors from financing and supporting renewable forms of energy, thus encouraging a continual reliance upon fossil fuels and the abusive destruction of our indigenous habitats.  There are a million potential jobs in renewables, but only several thousand in fracking, which is destructive, costly and would speed the poisoning of the planet, in land, water and air.

More people need to start taking an interest in environmental protection rather than taking it for granted and expecting it to always be here in pristine condition, ready for the next bout of capitalist ingenuity.  We do not have an infinite store of resources, but the capitalist economic system continues to view nature as an infinite input of assets.  It is viewed as a part of our consumer economy, which has no boundaries, can grow infinitely and can be exploited and degraded for monetary gain.  Environmental destruction is not caused by ignorance or mistaken policies.  It is the inevitable result of a socioeconomic system that has put profit before people and nature, and must constantly expand to survive.  We are abusing the natural system of our localities, in order that we may advance as a technologically “civilised” society.  We need to move into a new era where we live alongside nature, rather than exploiting it for our own personal gain.  Only by addressing global capitalism can we hope to avert further catastrophe.