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Chad Adkins
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
9/28/2015
Topic Proposal: Fracking: Is it worth it?
Introduction/Overview
The most current topic I am interested in researching is Hydraulic Fracturing, or
Fracking, due to its various effects on/in the United States. Fracking is an arguable process for
extracting natural gas from shale rock layers one to two miles underground. The process uses
highly pressurized water filled with friction-reducing chemicals (some toxic) to blast the rocks
which, in return, releases the gas. Major amounts of natural gas are produced as a result and at
the price of numerous environmental, safety, and health hazards. The U.S. tends to ignore the
fallback of things like Fracking until the damage done to the environment is very high. I want to
know if the United States should, or will continue, using Fracking in the future when there are
many environmental risks associated with it. Fracking may not be a major concern right now,
but it may become a major issue to our environment later on. With that being said, I will be
exploring the mainly-economic benefits of Fracking in the United States, as well as the
environmental impact of Fracking to find out if it is really worth it.
Fracking may be highly controversial due to the heavy environmental fallback, but a
website article, Pros and Cons of Fracking: 5 Key Issues says that Fracking also has benefits
on the United States economy, increases natural gas energy production, and is unlikely to cause
some pollution. Scholarly articles such as that helps to show that Fracking is a profoundly
debatable topic. The book, Fracking: The Operations and Environmental Consequences of

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Hydraulic Fracturing by Michael Holloway, has been a great resource in helping me see facts
from both sides of the argument. Many people are only focusing on the economic benefits from
Fracking while others focus on the short and long-term effects on the environment. The online
article, Fracking: Do we have to choose between the world economy and environment? is
centered on weighing those focuses to help determine if it is worth it. The title of that article is
also the main question my research will be centered around. Food and Water Watch, an
organization dedicated to providing healthy food and clean water, has a whole section on their
website specifically for Fracking. They list the numerous negative fallbacks of Fracking and
even have a petition to ban it. There are many websites for or against Fracking, with each listing
specific reasons to side with them on this issue. I have done research using reliable sources to
give me real information and fact-based opinions on this issue. For example, I found an article
with solid facts against fracking on Readers Supported News website called 9 Good Reasons to
Ban Fracking Immediately. I have used articles, websites, books, and even my peers for further
opinions and facts about this controversy.
Initial Inquiry Question(s)
Will Fracking impact the Earths environment in a major way in the future? How does
Fracking affect the environment? How much damage can it potentially do? Do the primarilyeconomic benefits make the impact on the environment ok? Will the United States wait until it is
too late to regulate Fracking?

My Interest in this Topic

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science-oriented person and I like to learn about how we, humans, affect the environment and the
science behind it. The fallback from fracking could also affect me personally in the future,
therefore I would like to know more about it. Also, topics pertaining to the ignorance of people
by destroying Earth really interest me because people never think about the future. I have
always wondered why everyone on Earth will not worry about the environment until it is
completely destroyed. I am interested in the actual scientific process of Fracking and how the
process works.
I have heard of Fracking before, but the only thing I had ever heard was that it was bad. I
never knew why, or how it was bad. I am a very curious person so, of course, I wanted to learn
more about this. I hope to gather many varying opinions and facts on this topic so I will finally
understand why Fracking is or is not bad.

Next Steps

My next steps will involve me visiting many different organizations webpages in order
to gain more information on the pros and cons of Fracking. Some of the organizations against
Fracking include: Americans Against Fracking, Stop the Frack Attack, Some of the groups or
media propaganda that are pro-fracking include: FrackNation and Truthland which are profracking documentaries, Americas Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), and even American Clean
Skies Foundation (ACSF). I will also utilize the librarys endless resources to find out as much as
I can about these organizations, along with learning more about the benefits and disadvantages of
fracking. As I continue this research, I will look up incidents where the process of Fracking has
gone wrong and the environmental outcome of that. I will be sure to gain as much information

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from both sides throughout this semester. Along with gathering facts, I will also be using
numerous blogs such as, No Fracking Way to obtain the public view on Fracking.