Hydraulic fracturing in the USA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hydraulic fracturing in the USA - Assignment Example Rather, it is their opinion that the US should proceed towards renewable sources of energy, such as biomass, solar, and wind (Hillstrom 24). The potential for energy held by shale gas cannot be denied, and it is the single swiftest emerging source of energy in the US, representing 30% of natural gas supplies today, up from 1% in 2000. One benefit of fracking is that carbon emissions are said to be falling due to the amount of natural gas extracted through the process. This has resulted from the replacement of burning coal fuel with the use of shale gas during the production of electric power (Hillstrom 44). Therefore, it seems that there is a chance shale gas may replace fossil fuels in majority of US power plants. Another benefit is that the use of fracking will reduce the United States’ dependency on the Middle East for its energy needs, while it is also expected that increased development of the sector will result in additional jobs, already having provided 600,000 jobs in the year 2012. In addition, availability of cheaper gas in the United States will result in the increase of the country’s manufacturing capabilities in the face of increased competition from countries with cheaper labour (Hillstrom 45). It is also possible that the US will become a net exporter of energy as its production incre ases. Finally, fracking offers promise as the bridge between energy systems based on carbon from the past and a future that is greener and cleaner. However, the practice also carries various disadvantages, especially with regards to the environment. First, the process requires the use of a lot of water, which could be regarded as the inefficient use of a precious commodity, while it also leads to the production of a lot of wastewater that could contaminate the ground water and flow into streams and rivers (Hillstrom 56). There