Hydraulic fracturing is defined as the act of drilling deep into the ground and injecting water, sand and chemicals under high pressure to break the rock formation in order to recover hydrocarbons.1 This deep drilling (horizontal drilling) can result in thousands and thousands of feet of pipes beneath the earth's surface which then inject millions of gallons of water, sand and high pressure chemicals. This pressure is directed toward the formations of shale, a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of mud mixed with clay minerals and fragments of other minerals.4 Under this extreme pressure, the shales crack and fracture, releasing gas natural which is pushed upwards through the pipes. and down to a recovery well.2 Some argue that hydraulic fracturing is both cheaper and a cleaner method to use compared to other fuels such as oil and coal. While such claims may have some truth, electricity generated from natural gas releases a third to half as much carbon as coal3, but natural gas recovery methods can be catastrophic for the environment. Natural gas is abundant in sedimentary rock formations. . These rock formations are important to the United States and may be the answer to America's energy independence problem.6 The Marcellas Shale, a massive bed of sedimentary rocks that extends from upstate New York to West Virginia, contain some 516 trillion cubic feet of gas. 6 That's enough gas to power every natural gas-burning appliance in the country for 20 years7 and, from a business perspective, represents a net worth of more than $1 trillion in state energy resources -Unis.6 According to EIA data, the Marcellas Shale Formation was increasingly productive from January 2007 to January 2014, increasing from 1.00...... middle of paper .. ...., we will need more energy. My personal opinion is that natural gas has too many costs relative to the benefits. Gas companies easily sweep the environmental impact of fracking under the rug and we, the consumers of their products, let it happen. I would like to believe that all environmental costs were considered before making the decision to use natural gas as a fuel. I also hope that our country's energy problem can be solved through renewable energy methods. We need to be realistic and understand that natural gas can be a transition to more renewable energy methods.7 Right now, we can impose stricter regulations on gas companies and their drilling methods. By regulating water conservation and monitoring groundwater, air quality, and chemicals used, we can help make energy processing in the United States as clean as possible..1