Driving across Lumberton, North Carolina and being in the presence of the warm humid air, tall green grass, bright sun light, and the endless blue sky is an overwhelmingly wonderful experience. However, among this beauty and nature, stands a metallic fortress that seems to strip all of the life around it. The thought of future generations not being able to experience nature on earth the same way that we do today is an unsettling thought. Fossil fuel usage, global warming and alternatives to foreign oil have been the centers of controversy, debate and division in the United States. The question being, how do we quickly fix our environmental issues without dispensing a large amount of our economy? The answer to this question is slowly leaning towards hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing or also known as "fracking" is a process in which high-pressure water with additives is used to increase fissures in a rock to extract oil or gas (Howarth). Even though fracking is becoming a very common practice around the United States, it is the least researched, in terms of its public health effects and environmental effects. If we are going to solve our environmental problems without causing detriments to public health and environment, we need to invest more time and financial support to research what could potentially improve and perfect hydraulic fracturing. .
According to the carbon dioxide information analysis center (CDIAC), the United States ranks second in fossil fuel related carbon dioxide emissions with 1.55 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted per year (Boden). This much emission of greenhouse gases cannot benefit the environment; and regardless of whether one thinks global warming is a sizable threat to our future or that is mere conspiracy, there is no rational justification to claiming that the amount of waste products we eject into our environment is not causing any harm.
