Why is fracking for natural gas important?

It’s local, it’s affordable, and it’s abundant.  Today, with the high unemployment rate nationwide and an unpredictable economy, it’s important to have affordable and local fuel sources.  Expensive oil keeps the cost of natural gas appealing and decreases our dependency on foreign fuel sources.  American fuel, “coast to coast and together with supplies from Canada [provides] more than 99% of our domestic needs.”  According to a recent study North America has at least a 100-year supply of natural gas.

Fracking is essential for the production of natural gas and oil from shale formations, and with advances in fracking technology, it is becoming easier and more accessible to access natural gas.  Natural gas is by far the cleanest burning fossil fuel and releases the least amount of carbon emissions into the air compared to other fossil fuels, coal and oil.

Natural gas has many residential, commercial and industrial uses.  See below:

• Residential uses: Stove cooktops, dryers and home heating
• Commercial uses: Heating and cooling offices, schools and hospitals
• Industrial uses: Preheating metals, glass melting and food processing
• Power generation: Operation of gas turbines to create electricity
• Transportation fuel: Transit buses, trucks, vans and passenger cars

There are many uses for natural gas, and new technologies are being developed to discover more ways to benefit from its abundance. Increased production of natural gas creates economies and could potentially create new economies in previously devastated domestic cities.

Source:
Chesapeake Energy