Fracking is a topic of controversy that most people with even the smallest amount of knowledge regarding environmental science know about. What I didn't know was that these techniques have been around since the 40's, and that fracking is only legal due to a loophole in regulations. Fracking is the process of drilling holes near previously unreachable oil deposits, and shooting high volumes of water into the areas to break up the earth an leaving oil vulnerable to extraction. The dangers of such activity include but are not limited to groundwater contamination, minor earthquakes, air pollution, gas explosions, and infrastructure degradation. In class we have discussed this topic and its many side effects.
My family's ranch has been a staple of me and my two sibling's childhood for all our lives. We all shot our first animals there, learned how to drive a car, and hosted numerous amounts of Thanksgiving dinners and New Years celebrations. It was our home away from home. When my family purchased it from the previous ones, they took it withe the promise that we would take good care of the land and use it as a tool to help raise future generations and allow us to develop an appreciation for nature. That ended up being a pile of cow shit.
The previous owners kept the mineral rights, which we had no issue with since there was no available oil beneath us. Fracking activity moving closer to our Pleasanton home proved otherwise. In just a few months our sanctuary turned into a well oiled machine with workers driving in and out building more and more noise makers to scare the animals and decimate any chance of a peaceful afternoon ever again. we were bullied into selling our land, all because the previous owners saw a chance to make a bit of cash on the side. So much for family values.
A question I have is about that loophole. Will the Safe water Drinking Act ever be updated or revisited in any way? I imagine not, but if people become more passionate about this issue, and spun this as a health crisis then some real change could happen. I don't expect it to, but maybe if people cared.
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