The advantages and disadvantages of 'fracking'

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The search for sources of energy began when human beings first started to burn wood or other forms of biomass to generate heat for cooking and heating themselves (Bodansky, 2004 cited in Bailey, 2015, p.218). It was followed by hydropower and wind energy sources. By the second half of the nineteenth century, however, natural gas was gradually playing a significant part as an energy source. ‘Fracking’ is a new technology following the boom of natural gas, which uses high-pressure fluids to fracture shale formations deep below ground, and then releasing the natural gas trapped within (Thompsom, 2012). This essay firstly analyzes how ‘fracking’ is likely to benefit ecology and economy, and then followed by an examination of the safety and security outcomes it may cause, including human health, environmental damage and self-imperfection, namely disadvantages.

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‘Fracking’ has been presented frequently as an alternative to extract natural gas because it has considerable advantages. President Obama once addressed in public that ‘fracking’ would plunge the carbon footprint and stimulate the domestic economy. According to some statistics, it is estimated that in the U.S. carbon dioxide emission have been decreasing since 1994. Simultaneously, the employ of nuclear energy in France between 1980 and 1987 reduced CO2 emissions by 34 percent (Richard, 2004 cited in Bailey, 2015, p.219). In addition to a tremendous reduction in carbon emissions, the overall carbon footprint of natural gas extraction is also becoming smaller. ...

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