Hydraulic Fracturing-Natural Gas Rules our Lives

    

Every morning, every night, rain or shine, we cannot survive without natural gas. As a race, we have shaken hands with the devil. Natural gas is not only destroying our planet, but harming us as well in the process. Hydraulic Fracturing (or Fracking) has slowly become a widespread method for extracting natural gas from deep within the Earth. Fracking is the process in which water is mixed with chemicals and sand before being injected into a Fracking well at forceful pressures. The strong current shatters pieces of shale which release the natural gas. The very idea sparks controversy. Shooting chemicals into the ground, contaminating our water supply, and wasting thousands of gallons of water everyday has brought on uneasiness with many people, including myself. The disease is spreading.

In America alone, there are currently 82,000 (Ridlington, 4) active Fracking wells in use. It takes a staggering 8 million gallons of water each time a well is fracked (Doug, 3) and each well can be fracked up to 18 times (Doug, 3) ! This adds up to around 70 trillion gallons of water wasted. Hydraulic Fracturing usually takes place inland, far from the ocean, this means that salt water would be too expensive to truck into the Fracking site (as well as completely disrupt the local ecosystems). The water used in Fracking is freshwater. There are people desperately in need of water (including farmers in California). Droughts are happening around the country while we continue to guzzle natural gas fracked using water that could have been utilized by people in need.

Each part of Fracking has a problem that comes right along with it. Take 600 different chemicals that are used in the fracking fluid (Doug, 5) for example. Known carcinogens and toxins are added to the freshwater being used. These include mercury, radium, uranium, ethylene glycol, methanol, hydrochloric acid, and formaldehyde (Denney, 1). These are being used in extremely high doses; there are 360 billion gallons of various chemicals currently needed to run our Hydraulic Fracturing wells (Ridlington, 9). We know these include chemicals that can be toxic to life, so why do we continue to use them?

Chemicals don’t just disappear, only 30% to 50% of the original fracking fluid is recovered after the process is complete. This means there is a very large amount of chemicals that are still there, continueing to leach into our groundwater. There is a very high percentage of people who live off of water extracted from personal wells. There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas used for Fracking, as well as sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water (Doug, 4). Methane concentrations are proven to be 17 times higher in drinking water near Fracking wells. We are truly poisoning ourselves.

If Fracking is so detrimental, why do we persist to do it? Fracking produces around 300,000 barrels of natural gas every day as well as supplying adequate jobs. Because of this, the argument can be made that Fracking boosts our economy. There are other methods to make money, different ways to employ people. Natural gas is a finite source, at some point in our future, we will run out. Are we going to continually destroy each other and the environment until the very last drop is found? The exploration of renewable resources can provide the same jobs, power, and economy without the harmful effects to our planet and to ourselves.

Natural gas is extracted by many harmful methods, including Fracking. Hydraulic Fracturing is a dangerous process that uses excessive amounts of freshwater, pumps chemicals directly into the Earth, and contaminates the groundwater we use. When dealing with Fracking, the bad outweighs the good. As we continue our everyday lives, amidst a world running on natural gas, we continue to frack. As we continue to frack, we continue to poison ourselves, the Earth, and many generations to come. The time has come to shift our focus away from Hydraulic Fracturing, to renewable energies and in turn, towards a brighter future.

100% efficiency is possible! This is a truly great and inspiring story!

Link:
http://ecowatchttp://ecowatch.com/2013/12/06/3-islands-go-100-renewable-energy/

A Few Great Environmental Blogs:

The Dirt ----  http://dirt.asla.org/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog  

      The Dirt is a great blog that contains a wide variety of subject matter. They cover design, landscape, technology and architecture in a sustainable and green way. The Dirt talks about dealing with climate change while incorporating modern ideas. It has many environmentally based posts and topics that are interesting and up-to-date. ‘Green Buildings’ , ‘Green Roofs’. and ‘Sustainable Design’ all offer especially good information on recent occurrences dealing with how humans have come to interact with the environment.

Green Infrastructure (Deeproot)----http://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/category/green-infrastructure-2

          Deeproot is a blog that explores the different kinds of green infrastructure. It is very helpful because it shows you how you can invest in green infrastructure. It has a lot of good information on trees in suspended pavement. I found both ‘A Brief History of Trees in Suspended Pavement’ and ‘Effect of Pavement on Tree Soil Organic Matter’ very interesting and informing.  If you want to know more about how trees and soil are affected by growing in heavily paved areas, this is a great blog for you.

The Environmental Blog----http://www.theenvironmentalblog.org/

           The Environmental Blog covers everything “green” from eco-friendly wrapping paper to oil spill recovery to sustainable eating. It is a great blog to be aware of for lots of fascinating posts on anything “green”. It addresses climate change and proposes new ideas for anyone and everyone. I found  ‘UN-Habitat Classifies “Prosperous” Cities’ an interesting post examining the issues of population growth in cities. It’s another great blog that covers a vast amount of subject matter.

Inhabitat----http://inhabitat.com/

       Inhabitat is a blog that focuses on the future of design, innovations in technology, and architecture from a sustainable perspective. They explore recycled materials, sustainable design, and solar power to improve the world through environmentally conscious design. ‘Green Air Hotel Concept Wants to Upcycle China's Old Hotels into Lush, Pollution-Eating Environments’ and ‘Jun Aoki Hides Omiyamae Gymnasium Underground to Create a Green Oasis for Suginami, Tokyo’ are both extremely interesting and inspiring posts. Inhabitat is organized well and is easy for the reader to navigate through. Please check it out!

Sustainable living----http://sustliving.blogspot.com/

        Sustainable living is a greatly inspiring blog. If you are interested in living more sustainably, this blog has lots of great ideas. It’s simple but informative. Sometimes, it’s hard to know what you can do to help the environment. If this is you, then Sustainable Living is a great blog for you to check out. It’s amusing and informative.

I made this movie to help address the concern of ever increasing CO2 amounts in the atmosphere and how incorporating green infrastructure in cities is a key step in reducing Green House Gases...

A Few Types of Green Infrastructure and how they help 

Right-of-way Bioswales

      The word Bioswale is  used to describe a planted area that is used to collect rainwater. ROW Bioswales absorb storm water by the sandy soil in the top and stone layer on the bottom, and seeps into the ground through infiltration. The water is then taken up by the trees and plants and is then released into the air through the process of evapotranspiration. Bioswales help by collecting and managing stormwater, reducing CO2 into the atmosphere, and by controlling erosion. 

Storm water Greenstreets 

          Much like ROW bioswales, Storm water Greenstreets are planted areas designed to collect and manage stormwater runoff. They are generally constructed in the roadway and are bigger than ROW Bioswales with varying soil depths, lengths, and witdths.      

Permeable Paving 

        Not all green infrastructure has to involve plants. Permeable paving is made of a range of materials, such as porous concrete. This allows water to seep in between the paving materials and be absorbed into the ground. It can be used as a replacement for traditional impermeable concrete or asphalt. In addition to reducing runoff, this effectively traps suspended solids and filters pollutants from the water. 

 

Cisterns and Rain barrels 

        Cisterns and Rain barrels are a couple of the most basic types of green infrastructure. They Manage storm water run off and can help conserve fresh water by watering gardens. Cisterns are often larger than rain barrels and can be located underground, at ground level, or on an elevated stand. Rain barrels are connected to the downspout of a roof and capture the storm water for watering plants and other landscaping uses. 

Ecological Rooftops

                                                                  

Brenneisen, S. (2006, December). Space for Urban Wildlife: Designing Green Roofs as Habitats in Switzerland. Urban Habitats, Retrieved from http://www.urbanhabitats.org/

        Stephan Brenneisen’s research focusing on biodiversity of green roofs has led to a change in the construction law in Basel, Switzerland. Green roofs are required  on buildings with flat roofs and help is available to create different plant and animal habitats on green roofs. Studies done in Zurich, Switzerland have shown that natural soils can lead to a higher biodiversity through their sustainability for locally and regionally endangered species. For plant and animal species mobile enough to reach the roofs, extensive green roofs can provide a suitable habitat for them to live in. Green roofs can supply beneficial habitat functions such as a nesting location as well.

The entire article can be found at :

http://www.urbanhabitats.org/v04n01/wildlife_full.html

Chao, J. (2014, January 21). White, Green or Black Roofs? Berkeley Lab Report Compares Economic Payoffs. Berkely Lab, Retrieved from http://newscenter.lbl.gov/

             Julie Chao uses research compiled from Julian Sproul, Benjamin Mandel, Arthur Rosenfeld, and Man Pun Wan to compare Green, White, and Black Flat roofs. Rooftop gardens provide storm water management, help cool roofs’ surfaces, and help cities that struggle with sewage overflow.  Both white and green roofs both cool the building they are on as well as cooling the air in the city. Black roofs can pose a major health risk in cities with high temperatures in the summer. Julie Chao uses Arthur Rosenfeld’s research to show that both white roofs and green roofs can be used as an effective way to reduce energy costs and to address global warming.

The entire article can be found at :

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2014/01/21/white-green-or-black-roofs-berkeley-lab-report-compares-economic-payoffs/

Green, J. (2013, April 2). New Research: Parks Alleviate Brain Fatigue. The Dirt , Retrieved from http://dirt.asla.org

            Jared Green uses research from Gretchen Reynolds, Dr. Michael Posner, and Dr. Marc Berman, to show that living near green space in an urban environment can lower levels of Cortisol (a stress hormone) in their saliva. A study from Scotland shows that “brain fatigue” can be helped by walking a half-mile through a park. Green rooftops can be maintained just like a park to help alleviate brain fatigue and stress. Jared Green shows that having green space in cities is not only beneficial to the environment, but is also very important and beneficial to human health.

The entire article can be found at :

http://dirt.asla.org/2013/04/02/new-research-nature-helps-with-brain-fatigue/

Green Roofs. (2008, June). EPA, Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/

            Using the research from Baskaran, Kuhn, Adriaens, Clark, and Talbot, EPA has determined that although green roofs cost around $129,000 more than a conventional roof, over a lifetime they can save over $200,000. They can reduce heat islands in urban areas. Conventional roofs can be up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit warmer. EPA talks about how green roofs can reduce energy use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve human health and comfort, and improve storm water management and water quality.

The entire article can be found at :

http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/mitigation/greenroofs.htm

Klinkenborg, V. (2009, May). Up on the Roof. National Geographic, (Ice Baby), Retrieved from www.nationalgeographic.com/

        The author, Verlyn Klinkenborg, uses data from Stephan Brenneisen, a swiss scientist studying biodiversity on green rooftops, and from Maureen Connelly, a researcher of green roofs at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, to expand upon how green roofs benefit humans living in urban areas. Although the cost of having a green roof is more than a conventional roof, it is cheaper in the long run due to its energy saving ability. Verlyn Klinkenborg finds that, overall, exposure to green rooftops makes people feel happier based on their small contribution to their environmental footprint as well as working as insulation to help lower the heating and cooling costs of a building by 20%.

The entire article can be found at : 

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/05/green-roofs/klinkenborg-text

     When walking around most cities, what do you see? An artificial landscape built from a lot of concrete and asphalt (among other things) but not much green. Having so many impermeable surfaces creates copious amounts of polluted runoff that flows directly into receiving waterways. The application of green infrastructure into a city's planning is extremely important because it helps prevent pollution while simultaneously adding natural processes to an urban environment. Highways, parking lots, and rooftops have created the problem of contaminated runoff when there are storms and big rains. 

      Green Infrastructure helps solve urban problems by using natural processes. A few main components include:

• Storm water management 
• Climate adaption
• Less heat stress
• Higher biodiversity 
• Better air quality 
• Sustainable Energy Production
• Clean water and healthy soils