Joe Biden’s Fracking Plan
Keiko Tani
As fracking has become more prevalent in the media, President Joe Biden’s plans around the subject have become a topic of discussion among Democrats and Republicans alike.
Fracking, the process of extracting oil or gas from the Earth by injecting high pressure, has become a heavily debated topic as it encompasses bipartisan issues like climate change, pollution, sustainability, and more.
Biden has expressed multiple times that he doesn’t plan to ban fracking, but the question arises- is that an effective stance to take with the increasingly substantial threat of climate change?
In order to break down this matter more considerably, we must understand what goes into the oil and gas extraction method, how it affects certain aspects of the Earth, and society’s efforts to combat climate change.
One of the larger Earth-related issues around fracking is the specific chemicals that go into the process that can be dumped into bodies of water and harm ecosystems. Municipal water treating facilities aren’t properly equipped to treat this wastewater, so the natural balance between ecosystems can become disrupted by the intentional or accidental addition of wastewater from fracking.
Not only can fracking spoil water, but it requires excessive amounts of water, between 2–10 million gallons, that causes river flows to become disturbed.
Air pollution is yet another problem arising from fracking. Air pollution from chemicals like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene used in fracking are known to locally cause breathing problems, cancer, heart issues, and more. Additionally, methane, the greenhouse gas, has been linked to fracking. Methane, which is 84% more potent than carbon dioxide, can trap the sun’s heat and warm the Earth, leading to global warming.
In a 2015 study, a fracking region in Texas leaked 544,000 tons of methane a year, which is equivalent to 46 million tons of CO2. A common argument in support of fracking is that it is actively combating global warming, however, while fracking has mitigated the prevalence of coal, which emits heaping amounts of carbon dioxide, it’s still a fossil fuel that isn’t “green” or sustainable.
Biden has claimed he plans to ban all new fracking permits on federal land and stop drilling on federal land, but is that going to make a substantial dent in combating climate change?
Despite these seemingly promising claims, only 6.5% of fracking is done on federal land, so Biden’s fracking plans likely won’t be effective in reducing fracking’s shadow over climate change.
Another question is whether Biden even has the authority to completely ban fracking. A 2005 law has restricted a president’s power to ban fracking on private land without congress’s consensus, so it is probable that Biden is doing what is safest in terms of legal proceedings. Nevertheless, all hope isn’t lost for the 46th president. Joe Biden plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 by investing in climate research, funding green innovation, incentivize clean energy, and more.
Fracking has many harmful effects, from damaging ecosystems and polluting the air to contributing to global warming. Although Biden’s plans around fracking aren’t very promising in terms of effectively eliminating and lessening the damaging effects of fracking, the president-elect has pledged to take efforts to reduce carbon emissions and work towards clean energy and a sustainable future.
Keiko Tani is a writer for VAYCC’s press team.
