How harmful is fracking?

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Fracking sites release a toxic stew of air pollution that includes chemicals that can cause severe headaches, asthma symptoms, childhood leukemia, cardiac problems, and birth defects. In addition, many of the 1,000-plus chemicals used in fracking are harmful to human health—some are known to cause cancer.

How much pollution is caused by fracking?

Air pollution: Fracking-related activities release thousands of tons of health-threatening air pollution. Nationally, fracking released 450,000 tons of pollutants into the air that can have immediate health impacts.

What are the alternatives to fracking?

Considering the increasing environmental cost, wind and solar power become more economic than fracking. Wind and solar power is renewable energy, which means it is clean, affordable and theoretically inexhaustible. Compared to fracking, wind and solar power produces no emission to our environmental.

Is fracking good for climate change?

Fracking accelerates climate change. This means that the greenhouse gas footprint of fracked natural gas is actually worse than coal and oil because methane traps more heat in the atmosphere. Scientists warn that if our planet heats up 2° Celsius more, it could cause irreversibly destructive climate change.

Does fracking lead to sinkholes?

So we can verify this as FALSE — fracking does not create sinkholes. However it could cause them to open.

What is a major negative outcome to fracking?

Air pollution and water contamination due to the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing are the greatest concerns within fracking sites, while the need for wastewater disposal and shrinking water supplies are also pressing issues directly related to the procedure.

Which states have the most fracking?

Data are cumulative impacts since 2005, except where noted.

Arkansas. 6,496.
California. 3,405.
Colorado. 22,615.
Louisiana. 2,883.
New Mexico. 4,318.
North Dakota. 8,224.
Ohio. 1,594.
Oklahoma. 7,421.