Radon is a carcinogenic gas. Readings of radon levels have
been constantly increasing in areas like Pennsylvania, where fracking, a method
of acquiring natural gas, has become more common. Fracking involves bombarding
pressurized water onto shale and other solid fuel reserves to release natural
gas. But the water and rocks used in fracking give off radon, which is the
second leading cause of lung cancer in the US. Recently, fracking and other
methods of horizontal mining have increased in use. Although the industry
denies any sort of contamination to the environment or water supply, many
researchers say otherwise.
I believe that natural gas is a great alternative to dirty
coal use, but I think more risk comes from these mining methods than reward. In
the world today, many countries are facing drought conditions, including the
US. Even without our aquifers and rivers being contaminated, we are facing huge
numbers of cancer patients in the US. The radon level in houses in Pennsylvania
has been steadily increasing since 2004. Sacrificing the health and well-being
of people to harvest a better fuel is a bad deal, and as of now, cancer is an incurable
disease. Why would we contribute to the causes of cancer in times like these?
I think the pros and cons of fracking really need to be properly published because everyone seems to be pretty mixed up about it. Does it cause earthquakes? Are people being contaminated by Radon? Personally, I believe that the whole energy crisis can be rooted back to society and how wasteful we are. We should probably focus on teaching the world how to conserve energy, rather than trying to find new ways to get more.
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