Author: Evan

Brandon Ellingson (NRC)

Abigial Nash (Sustainable Food and Farming)

Irina Polunia (Environmental Science)

12/5/16

For the people of Aztec, New Mexico, the introduction of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, brings promises of job creation and lower energy prices (Barbee, 2015). Hydraulic fracturing is the process of extracting oil and natural gas from rocks in tight geological formations through high pressure pumping of water and various chemicals (McJeon et al., 2014). The resulting so-called ‘transitional fuel’ obtained via fracking is arguably cleaner than coal, emitting 45% less carbon dioxide per energy unit than coal production (Lomborg, 2012). For the United States, fracking provides an opportunity to achieve energy self-sufficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, hydraulic fracturing is cheaper than coal production (Schneising et al., 2014). Despite the idealistic promises of the fossil fuel industry, fracking instead exceeds the threshold where it would contribute less greenhouse gas emissions than coal production (Heath et al., 2013, Sanchez et al., 2015) and leads to substantial air pollution due to natural gas leakage around extraction sites. This is the case for Aztec, New Mexico, where fracking is a hazard to human health and puts the climate and community benefit of fracking into question (Barbee, 2015).       Continue Reading →

Arctic oil drilling poses a serious threat to wildlife and ecosystem health

Abigail Thomas: Environmental Science

Benjamin Sharaf: Natural Resource Conservation

Mike Piper: Turfgrass Management

The spill occurred about 5,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, where it spread devastation and chaos across the area’s ecosystem. Wildlife of all kinds washed up to shore covered in black muck (Frost, 2016).  They were overcome by the foreign liquid that seemed to consume them.  The day was April 20, 2010, when the worst oil spill in our nation’s history occurred (Frost, 2016).  After over 3 million barrels of oil leaked across the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida hundreds of thousands of animals and even 11 human beings had been killed (Frost, 2016). This event crippled the ecosystem and created lasting effects across every trophic level that will be felt for many more years to come (Frost, 2016). The sad part is we may never learn from our mistakes. After we watch something like the Gulf oil spill happen, we are still considering allowing more oil companies to spread their territory (in other words by drilling in more frequently and in different areas).  More specifically oil companies are trying to lay claim to the Arctic, one of the last untapped resource of oil (“Arctic Oil Drilling,” (n.d.)). If we care about our planet and the creatures that reside here, we can not let this happen. The Arctic is home to millions of organisms that pose amazing benefits to our earth (Whelan, 2016). If something happened in the Arctic like it did in the Gulf of Mexico, there’s no telling if the area would ever recover. The risk is far too great just to make money, even if an oil spill is unlikely. The only way to make sure this never happens is to create a treaty. This would entail all the countries that will stake claim to the Arctic, to never allow any drilling. The Arctic is a extremely fragile ecosystem that needs to stay the way it is in order to preserve the vast beauty and creatures it protects. Oil drilling in the Arctic will negatively impact the health of nearby wildlife and creation of a treaty to leave the arctic alone, is the most reasonable solution. Continue Reading →