ARE 3440W: The Need to Avoid Exploitation of All Underground Natural Gas

Sadie Pan
ARE 3434W
03/11/18
The Need to Avoid Exploitation of All Underground Natural Gas
America has adequately adopted the use of natural gas as fuel for the future. The United States has gone past Russia to become the largest producer of natural gas and the expectation is that it is going to be the biggest exporter within the next decade. There has been development of technological advancement in the area of horizontal drilling that has made it possible to access gases that were previously inaccessible (Carrington). Even though the United States has succeeded in having access to more natural gas, questions still linger on the safety of the whole process. In this paper, I argue that the United States should not exploit all underground natural gas. I will also propose that research be done on the levels of underground natural gas to ensure that only the recommended levels are extracted and that the guideline of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is fully adhered to.
Large deposits of underground natural gas will need to be left unexploited in order to prevent the harmful effects of climate change. According to a new study, the companies that deal on the extraction of underground natural gas will have to look for alternative sources of fuel if climate change is to be prevented (Orr and Dominguez). In a study done by the United Nations, all nations should try to ensure that they do not produce ozone gases as they lead to rise of temperatures (Carrington). Nations cannot however succeed in checking the temperatures if the companies that are responsible for the extraction of shale gas are allowed to continue with their activities without any hindrance (Carrington).
Ideally, the journey to minimizing the extraction of underground natural gas is not an easy one. This is because underground natural gas plays a major role in the country’s clean energy future. The United States has huge underground gas deposits that are commercially feasible due to advancements in horizontal drilling as well as emerging hydraulic fracturing technologies. These new technologies make it possible to have access to natural gas deposits that were inaccessible in the past (Carrington). The extraction of natural gas resources plays a big role in the development of the American economy and as such, it will be challenging to dissuade people from fully exploiting all the underground natural gas deposits (Carrington).
The extraction of shale gas has been found to cause stress to water usage levels due to the high amount of water that is used in the drilling and hydraulic fracturing. In recent days, water levels have reduced significantly and governments have been trying to come up with measures to reduce water wastage (Environmental Protection Agency). As the exploitation of natural gas has gone unabated, the level of water in most places has reduced significantly thus creating a near crisis. In order to preserve water, companies involved in the extraction of underground natural gas should be dissuaded from engaging in the exercise due to the enormous strain put on surface water and ground water supplies (Environmental Protection Agency).
Even though the emerging technologies have prevented a large section of the traditional water contamination, the drilling of underground gas still presents a challenge in this area. In nearly every region, contamination of underground sources of drinking water has become rampant due to recurrent spills as well as faulty well construction. Due to the health effect that is associated with the drilling of underground natural gas, the process should be halted all together until a more viable solution to the problem has been established (Environmental Protection Agency). Even though governments have concentrated in ensuring that they minimize contamination of the atmosphere, there is still a challenge since natural gas drilling releases unstable organic compounds as well as harmful air pollutants that negatively affect the health of those living near the wells. Even more importantly, drilling of natural gas produces greenhouse gases that lead to the disappearance of the ozone layer (Orr and Dominguez). Greenhouse gases are known to lead to global warming that has greatly affected human life due to the high temperatures. Stopping the drilling and extraction of underground natural gas is one way through which the United States can contribute towards reducing global warming. While the boost to the economy that the drilling of natural gas presents is important, the prevention of global warming is more important and hence the need to minimize the extraction process (Orr and Dominguez).
In order to ensure that the world has safe drinking water, there have been attempts by various regulatory measures to put in place mechanisms that reduce the threats to underground sources of drinking water. One of the measures that have been put in place is to ensure that fracturing using diesel fuel is prohibited. The main challenge with this policy is that fracturing companies are still using diesel fuels since they are cheap (Environmental Protection Agency). This means that the contamination o...