When does protecting your own well-being and that of others for the sake of using natural gas become a priority? This is just one of the questions asked as hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, gained notoriety here in the United States. The United States should stop using this form of drilling if it truly wants to protect its citizens. It must be stopped because it is putting our health at risk by poisoning the water we drink, wasting billions of liters of fresh water and polluting the air we breathe. our energy consumption has increased dramatically since the start of the industrial revolution. Fracking has made headlines in recent years, but not for particularly good reasons. This method has been around since the 1940s, but in recent years it has gained popularity as a way to exploit natural gas, partly due to the oil crisis and tensions in the Middle East. Given that the United States has an abundance of natural gas trapped under the ground (Daniel 2), you might think that this is a great direction we are heading in to support our energy needs and not depend on foreign oil. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of extracting natural gas from deep within the ground. This method requires a company, usually an oil company, to drill deep into the Earth's crust and shale beds, then drill horizontally. Water, along with sand and other toxic chemicals, is then pumped into the shale rock to fracture it and allow all the natural gas trapped in the rock to flow to the surface where most can be collected (McGlynn 1055). One of the biggest problems with fracking... middle of the paper......l "green". In summary, fracking is not as good as everyone thought it would be. By poisoning the water, as well as wasting perfectly good fresh water and polluting the air, it is far from an adequate alternative to oil and coal. It needs to be stopped and we need to focus on better alternatives. As technology advances, we have come up with new ways to create energy to support our needs, such as using cleaner alternatives in the form of solar and wind energy to help keep the world moving. Therefore, Congress should pass a federal law to prevent this form of natural gas extraction. People need to contact their state representatives and demand that they pass a bill to put an end to these harmful events. They must listen to our voices and represent us, not big oil companies. We must put pressure on the governors and the President before it is too late.