Activity 4.2.1 – Applying My Environmental Policy Frameworks
Problem Statement Hydraulic fracturing, or commonly known as fracking, is a method of extracting natural gas and oil that has led to debates over environmental risks, energy independence and public health. Fracking is continuing to rapidly expand in the United States because of its technological advancements it's now unlocking vest reserves of natural gas. Though there has been significant economic growth with gas industry jobs hiring and greater energy independence have resulted from this, there are also now major environmental and public health issues. These include increased methane emissions which is a powerful greenhouse gas along with excessive water use in drought prone areas like Texas, and it is possible for hazardous chemicals used in the process can contaminate drinking water.(US EPA 2013) It is crazy to me that there isn't yet a unified federal regulatory framework to handle these hazards, which has increased public discussion and policy ambiguity regarding the ene...