Once You Frack, You Can't Go Back.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking is extremely harmful to the environment. Once the chemicals, and other substances are pumped into the ground, they remain there for some time. Unfortunately, these chemicals are also able to make their way back to the surface. These chemicals, including- hydrochloric acid, and ethylene glycol- are seriously harmful to the environment. Runoff containing these chemicals can affect not only local vegetation, but also, the already contaminated, Chesapeake Bay.
A fracking rig pumps water, sand, and other chemicals into the ground to extract natural gas.
In the picture above, a landscape was devastated just so fracking could occur.
A fluid waste spill.
Fracking removes millions of gallons of water from the water cycle. Between 2 and 5 million gallons of locally-sourced freshwater are contaminated by ground contamination, and the chemicals used for fracking. Almost half of the amount of injected water makes its way back to the surface. This contaminated water is stored in steel containers until it can be injected back underground, into oil and gas waste wells. Is fracking truly worth all of the risks?
Many forests in Pennsylvania are being destroyed due to fracking. According to the United States Geographical Survey, "Numerous secondary roads and pipeline networks crisscross and subdivide habitat structure. Landscape disturbance associated with shale-gas development infrastructure directly alters habitat through loss, fragmentation, and edge effects, which in turn alters the flora and fauna dependent on that habitat. The fragmentation of habitat is expected to amplify the problem of total habitat area reduction for wildlife species, as well as contribute towards habitat degradation." In addition, many areas that have been fracked show a trend in a decrease of plant life, and animal survival rate. Fracking affects more than just the environment, it affects the wildlife as well.