Brian Irwin’s blog Why Fracking Matters A Lot brings up the interesting point of corporate responsibility in the oil and gas industry. Brian’s blog talks about a new technique, hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping water into shale rock to withdraw the oil and natural gas within. Brian points out that this technique could make America self-sustainable with respect to the oil and gas industry by 2035.
Corporate responsibility is the theme of Brian’s second paragraph, as he goes on to say that this new technology is irresponsible and impactful to the environment. I would have to agree with Brian on this matter. Not only does the world need to look for substitutes to fossil fuels as the environment is deteriorating, the amount of water used per year in the USA for this technique would be equivalent to the water consumption of about 70-80 cities. And this water will become groundwater, with toxins and other chemicals mixed in. This new method has disastrous concequences for the environment. Technology needs to move towards cleaner and safer ways of fossil fuel extraction, with the hope that one day, fossil fuels will no longer be needed. Advances like this are really steps in the wrong direction if the best interests of our planet are to be kept in mind.