Even though something has advantages, it still needs to be regulated due to hazards that are caused by it. Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing, is indeed one of these things. Fracking has many advantages, but it is still a huge disadvantage to environmental grown which is why it should be regulated.

Arguments in the negation stated many good qualities of fracking. Fracking can reach oil that is just about impossible to retrieve through any other method. (What is fracking). Another advantage to fracking is that it in the US it has significantly boosted domestic oil production and driven down gas prices. It is estimated to have offered gas security to the US and Canada for about 100 years, and has presented an opportunity to generate electricity at half the CO2 emissions of coal. (What is fracking). All this is true, however, the effects on the environment clearly out way the benefits to society.

With the regulation of fracking will come a decrease in air pollution. In 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) studied fracking and came up with a surprising result. Fracking was creating a high rate of methane leakage. According to the Catskills Mountainkeeper, out west, where the drilling is taking place, the ozone levels in rural areas have increased. Wyoming's gas drilling areas have reported ozone levels higher than LA.

The Catskills Mountainkeeper also states that there are 4 different areas of fracking that produce air pollution. First is Venting. that releases gas into the atmosphere during well, pipeline, and tank maintenance and when the well is cleaned after fracking operations are complete. Another area of fracking is flaring, which burns gas that is a safety hazard or uneconomical to collect and sell. Flaring emits a host of air pollutants, which vary depending on the chemical composition of the gas and fracking fluids. When a well is “flared” huge flames jump into the sky and are accompanied by noise that is comparable to a jet engine. The resulting light and noise are so powerful that they can cause sleep deprivation. Heavy construction activity goes along with setting up and maintaining well sites is another component. It generates particulate matter and stirs up dust, which reacts with volatile organic compounds to increase ground-level concentrations of ozone and create dense smog. Lastly, diesel exhaust from the huge quantity of vehicles traveling to and from drilling sites contains carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide. Truck and heavy vehicle traffic also stirs up dust, which increases smog. (Catskills). Obviously the cons are far more detrimental then the pros in fracking's case.

Stopping ground water contamination is another benefit from regulating fracking. According to BBC News, shale rock is the rock that fracking uses to produce oil. When the shale rock is fracked, it releases a gas known as shale gas. That gas has gone into the groundwater. That ground watter then travels to various different places such as drinking water which is then polluted and the water that supplies plantlife, which is also now polluted, therefore killing plants. (What is Fracking). Duke University states, in the austerely titled “Increased stray gas abundance in a subset of drinking water wells near Marcellus shale gas extraction,” according to Robert B. Jacksona, Avner Vengosha, Thomas H. Darraha, Nathaniel R. Warnera, Adrian Downa,b, Robert J. Poredac, Stephen G. Osbornd, Kaiguang Zhaoa and Jonathan D. Karra, they lay out their evidence that households within a kilometer of shale gas fracking wells could be at higher risk of having their drinking water contaminated by flammable gases. The researchers studied 141 drinking water samples from bore holes in Pennsylvania and found higher levels of methane, ethane and propane in those within a kilometer of shale gas fracking sites. (Duke University). The ability to regulate fracking will not only help us live healthier lives, but the increase plant life as well.

Although some might be eager to claim that fracking's benefits are unbeatable, which they are great, the negative impact they have on our environment are far worse. As they say, sometimes things are just too good to be true, and fracking seems to be one of those things. If we don't regulate fracking, and leave it to be a free-for-all, we will only be taking away from our future on a healthy, happy, and enriched planet.