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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking)'
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1
Nduka, Uzoma C. "Hydraulic Fracturing and Cause-Specific Mortality| A Multicity Comparative Epidemiological Study." Thesis, Walden University, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13428593.
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Cause-specific mortality (CSM), among other global health estimates, has garnered prominence in the contemporary public health field. CSM has been associated with several factors, however, research comparing CSM for prefracking versus postfracking periods is sparse. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a technique of extracting oil and gas from deep underground. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference among mean CSM scores from 1975 through 2015 in the available cities and counties of residence in Colorado and to determine the impact of gender, marital status, county of residence, and city of residence on CSM scores (prefracking period 1975-1977 versus postfracking period 1999-2015) among adults aged 45-70 years. In this retrospective quantitative study, the socioecological model of health was used to analyze 73,251 cases obtained from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. One-way analysis of variance and multiple regression were used to analyze data. Results showed that Denver County had a higher mean CSM score compared to other counties in Colorado. Regression results revealed a significant but weak association between CSM scores and gender, marital status, city of residence, and county of residence. If gender, marital status, and county of residence can be significant predictors of CSM, this information could have social change implications by influencing decisions regarding CSM and fracking.
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Willems, Mieke. "Health risk perception of Karoo residents related to fracking, South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15700.
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Shale gas exploration by means of Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) has been on the South African (SA) energy agenda since 2010 as a potential alternative energy source to coalmining. Internationally, the desirability of fracking is debated due to increasing evidence of the environmental and health risks fracking poses. However, experts favouring fracking propose this technology as a greener alternative to conventional energy sources such as coal. Limited scientific evidence is available internationally related to knowledge and risk perceptions of fracking and evidence is limited to studies conducted in the United States (US). South African risk perception studies relates to mining, farming, travelling in SA as a foreigner and sexual behaviour. The president of SA called fracking a 'Game-Changer' using industry jargon in the 2014 presidential address. However, SA has failed to produce exploration regulations to date despite oil and gas companies pushing their agendas. Public participation in the process thus far has been limited. This cross sectional study explored the knowledge, health risk perceptions and information sources related to fracking amongst 102 Central Karoo residents through a household survey. Beaufort West municipality was selected as the study site as this is one of the closestareas to Cape Town demarcated for fracking exploration. This study found that 40% of Central Karoo residents do not know what fracking is or the potential risks and benefits thereof. Media is the main information source of 59% of participants. Only half of participants trust their information sources. Those with more trust in their information sources perceived fracking as posing a greater risk. In contrast those believing fracking to pose a low risk were more likely to trust the government and oil and gas companies. More than half of participants (53%) believe that fracking poses an extreme health risk and 78% thought fracking will harm their health. Most commonly listed causes why fracking will make Karoo residents sick includes water pollution (47.4%) and air pollution (19.6%). Higher education was found to have an inverse relationship with trust in the national government A limitation of this study was that farms could not be randomly selected, affecting the representativeness of the sample. There is a major lack of knowledge pertaining to fracking among those living in the Central Karoo which has important implications for managing the process of public participation in the approval of shale gas exploration.
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Lawson, Cara Raeschelle. "Fracking frames: A framing analysis and comparative study of hydraulic fracturing coverage in American newspapers." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397153132.
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Hollstein, Matthew S. "Teaching About Hydraulic Fracturing in Ohio High School American GovernmentClassrooms." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1426807930.
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Migliore, Elizabeth M. "A Case Study of Hydraulic Fracturing in Wetzel County, West Virginia." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1375175273.
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Ahmadi, Mahdi. "Expertise Revisited: Reflecting on the Intersection of Science and Democracy in the Case of Fracking." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2015. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc822786/.
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This dissertation aims to explain the conditions under which expertise can undermine democratic decision making. I argue that the root of the conflict between expertise and democracy lies in what I call insufficiently “representative” expertise – that is forms of scientific research that are not relevant to the policy questions at hand and that fail to make visible their hidden values dimensions. I claim that the scholarly literature on the problem of expertise fails to recognize and address the issue correctly, because it does not open the black box of scientific methodologies. I maintain that only by making sense of the methodological choices of experts in the context of policy making can we determine the relevance of research and reveal the hidden socio-political values and consequences. Using the case of natural gas fracking, I demonstrate how expert contributions – even though epistemically sound – can muddle democratic policy processes. I present four case studies from controversies about fracking to show how to contextualize scientific methodologies in the pertinent political process. I argue that the common problem across all case studies is the failure of expertise to sufficiently represent stakeholders’ problems and concerns. In this context, “representation” has three criteria: (1) the operational research questions on which the qualified experts work are relevant to stakeholders’ problems and concerns; (2) the non-epistemic values and consequences of epistemic choices of experts are compatible with social and political values and priorities; and (3) hidden values attached to facts are fully transparent and openly debated. In the conclusion, I propose a normative version of this representation theory that can be used to evaluate the appropriateness of expertise for democratic policy making. Instead of the value-free science ideal, I propose a new ideal to legitimately allow non-epistemic values in scientific reasoning without compromising the soundness of research.
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Frumkin, Alexandra M. "Understanding the Political, Economic, and Environmental Factors that Influenced New York’s Decision to Ban Hydraulic Fracturing." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/690.
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Hydraulic fracturing has become increasingly popular in the United States during the last ten years. It is a process that is used for the majority of new oil and gas wells, and is used to access the abundance of natural gas in the US. The largest shale bed is the Marcellus Shale which spans the area underneath many states in the Northeast, primarily New York and Pennsylvania. Policy and science have failed to keep up with the boom in fracking that has occurred across the US, which has led the process to be regulated at varying levels of stringency and a lack of understanding of the potential risks associated with fracking. New York decided that the potential adverse effects of fracking outweighed the economic benefits of job creation and increased tax revenue. New York was the 2nd state in the US that banned fracking, and the decision can be attributed to the unique environmental and political factors present. There were six major environmental reasons that New York decided to ban fracking: decreased respiratory health, drinking water contamination, soil contamination, seismic activity, climate change, and boomtown economic effects. Drinking water contamination is especially important in New York because New York’s reservoirs provide water for over 17 million people. These six environmental factors are not unique to New York, but their impact would be more widely felt than in many other states where fracking occurs. The political factors in New York are also critical to understand. New York is a blue state that is being governed by Governor Cuomo who after his re-election desperately needed to re-align with the left wing of New York’s democratic party. The analysis completed in this paper demonstrates that New York is unique in many ways and the decision to ban hydraulic fracturing there may not be easily replicable in other states.
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Uzunian, Adrian B. "Interpreting Risk: Variations and Explanations of Resident Perceptions of Hydraulic Fracturing Impacts." DigitalCommons@USU, 2016. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4745.
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Hydraulic fracturing is a novel technological development that has pushed the extraction of energy resources forward. As technology improves and world oil and gas markets shift, more shale formations are being uncovered, and new drilling activities are seen as economically viable. I examine the ways in which residents perceive environmental and health risks of hydraulic fracturing in the Eagle Ford Shale region of Texas, and how these perceptions differ depending on social position and where the resident is receiving their information. To understand how residents perceive the environmental and health risks associated with the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas boom, or if these perceptions differ by social status and information sources, I conducted a qualitative analysis of key informant and focus group interview data, coding for major themes found in interview transcripts. I found that groups in lower social positions had increased concern regarding environmental and health risk perceptions than those in higher social positions. Additionally, respondents in lower social positions discussed all environmental and health risk perceptions with a relatively higher breadth and depth than those in higher social positions. Regarding information sources, those in higher social positions tend to receive more of their information on hydraulic fracturing from government officials and industry. Those in lower social positions receive more information from interpersonal networks, although they generally discussed a general lack of information concerning oil and gas development. These findings contribute to a relatively small field of growing research on resident perceptions in a hydraulic fracturing context. This research also brings attention to rural populations who are being uniquely impacted by hydraulic fracturing and provides insight into a region, the Eagle Ford Shale, where there is a need for more scholarly research.
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Heyob, Katelyn M. "The Biodegradability of Polypropylene Glycols and Ethoxylated Surfactants within Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids." The Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1440415027.
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Hirsch, Jameson K., K. Bryant Smalley, Emily M. Selby-Nelson, Jane M. Hamel-Lambert, Michael R. Rosmann, Tammy A. Barnes, Daniel Abrahamson, et al. "Psychosocial Impact of Fracking: a Review of the Literature on the Mental Health Consequences of Hydraulic Fracturing." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/2749.
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The process of natural gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a controversial energy acquisition technique often viewed with disdain by the public, due to its potential for environmental harm. However, the mental health and psychological well-being of fracking communities, including potential benefits and detriments, are often overlooked. We reviewed the literature on the association between fracking and psychological functioning, finding that although persons living in fracking communities may experience some minimal, initial benefits such as land lease income or infrastructure development, they may also experience worry, anxiety, and depression about lifestyle, health, safety, and financial security, as well as exposure to neurotoxins and changes to the physical landscape. Indeed, entire communities can experience collective trauma as a result of the “boom/bust” cycle that often occurs when industries impinge on community life. Impacted communities are often already vulnerable, including poor, rural, or indigenous persons, who may continue to experience the deleterious effects of fracking for generations. An influx of workers to fracking communities often stokes fears about outsiders and crime; yet, it must be recognized that this population of mobile workers is also vulnerable, often ostracized, and without social support. Practitioners, researchers, and policy makers alike should continue to investigate the potential psychological ramifications of fracking, so that effective and targeted intervention strategies can be developed, disseminated, and implemented to improve mental health in fracking communities.
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Leap, Shannon J. "Roots Versus Wells: Grassroots Activism Against Fracking in New York and California." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/64.
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The reliance upon and depletion of fossil fuels as an energy source puts pressure on individuals, communities, energy companies, and policy-makers. Hydraulic fracturing – known colloquially as fracking – as a method of drilling for oil and natural gas temporarily alleviates this pressure since it allows for the extraction previously inaccessible fossil fuels in shale rock deposits deep beneath the Earth’s surface. This has resulted in a nationwide “fracking boom,” which has come with its share of economic benefits. However, the process of fracking can be detrimental to human and environmental health. In reaction to the increasing development of this practice, many communities across the country are mobilizing against fracking. This thesis will focus on the grassroots activism against fracking in New York, where fracking was banned in December 2014, and in California, which is largely slated as the next frontier for the expansion of fracking and thus battleground for the fight against fracking. Using grassroots academic literature, media coverage of fracking and activism in each state, and interviews from organizers working in each state, this thesis will examine the motivations, frameworks, strategies, and tactics used in each grassroots campaign in order to offer lessons in successes and opportunities for improvement within these anti-fracking efforts and others across the country.
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Solis, Alyssa M. "The Political Landscape of Hydraulic Fracturing: Methods of Community Response in Central Arkansas." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2013. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/42.
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This thesis looks at the current fracking debate on a national scale, before focusing specifically on how this debate is playing out in the landscape of Central Arkansas. Focusing on the lack of national regulation, the unique array of state regulations that have popped up are assessed in their effectiveness on the ground through speaking with residents of the area. The demographics of these residents are analyzed within an assessment of environmental injustice vulnerability. This ethnographic approach also compares the de jure v. de facto outcomes of these regulations through the narratives of residents working with organizations across the political spectrum, and specifically seeks to gauge their own personal stories and experiences with regulators and the fracking industry. Other key actors are identified. This thesis concludes that agency capture is a reality for these residents, and their perceived powerlessness drastically increases the power of the gas companies that monopolize the political agenda in the region.
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Planting, Mollaoglu Emil. "“The Living Cow” : A frame analysis of support for and opposition to hydraulic fracturing in Argentina." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-392190.
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Johnson, Deborah A. "New Energy Landscapes of Pennsylvania: Forests to Farms to Fracking." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1417784068.
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Waggoner, Sarah Elizabeth. "Effects of repetitive, small magnitude earthquakes on groundwater chemistry in Faulkner County, Arkansas." OpenSIUC, 2011. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/586.
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The drive to find reliable sources of fuel that follow our green concerns and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels has pushed exploration and recovery of natural gas from within the United States to a top priority. Earthquakes generated from the use of hydraulic fracturing techniques and/or use of high pressure injection wells are occurring at an alarming rate due to increases in hydrocarbon exploration and recovery. While the link between earthquakes and hydrocarbon production is still uncertain, earthquake induced changes to groundwater chemistry are clear. Yet it has not been determined if repetitive, smaller earthquakes, i.e. earthquakes with magnitudes less than Mw<4.5, can result in similar disturbances to water chemistry as the more significant events have been proven to cause. Two known earthquake swarms, each having repetitive, small earthquake events, occurred in an intraplate setting in Faulkner County, Arkansas. Testing for groundwater chemical changes related to the timing of earthquake events and total energy released show that small earthquakes indeed create changes to groundwater chemistry most probably due to fluid intrusion from deep, chloride, calcium, and magnesium rich waters. The reduction of the United States dependence on foreign sources or finding green sources of fuel should not be the only mitigating factor for our decisions concerning our natural resources.
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Neupane, Kamal. "Bacterial Inhibition in Waste-Water/Fracking Water Using Copper Ion Solution." Youngstown State University / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1463931102.
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Liberati, Blake P. "Removal of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material From Flowback/Produced Water From the Hydraulic Fracturing Process." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438968751.
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Stark, Aimee Lizabeth. "Characterization of sand processed for use in hydraulic fracture mining." Thesis, University of Iowa, 2016. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3195.
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Each hydraulic fracturing well uses up to 5,000 tons of silica-containing sand, or proppant, during its operational lifetime. Over one million wells are currently in operation across the continental United States. The resulting increase in demand resulted in the production of 54 million metric tons of sand for use as hydraulic fracturing proppant in 2015.
The goal of this study was to determine the relative risk of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica to workers performing tasks associated with mining, processing, and transport of proppant. Sand samples were aerosolized in an enclosed chamber. Bulk and respirable samples were submitted to a commercial lab for silica analysis. A risk ratio was calculated by comparing respirable dust concentrations to the current occupational safety regulations.
Raw sand produced higher concentrations of respirable dust and a higher risk ratio (3.2), while processed dust contained higher percentages of respirable crystalline silica but a lower risk ratio (0.5). When vibration was introduced prior to aerosolization, concentrations tended to increase as vibration times increased, resulting in an increase of the associated risk ratio (2.3). Results of the study indicate that workers in sand mines and workers exposed to proppant that has undergone low-frequency vibration are at increased risk of exposure to respirable crystalline silica compared to workers who are exposed to proppant that has not undergone vibration.
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Yahn, Jacqueline J. "Fracking for Funding in Appalachian Ohio: Power and Powerlessness." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1489747635762163.
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Salzman-Gubbay, Gideon J. "Earth, Air, Water, Oil: Regulating Fracking in the Monterey Shale with Health and Environment in Mind." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/112.
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“Earth, Air, Water, Oil: Regulating Fracking in the Monterey Shale with Health and Environment in Mind,” explores how hydraulic fracturing regulation in California’s oil-rich Monterey Shale will impact regional public health, including groundwater and air quality. This is achieved through a combination of case study and policy analysis on both the state and national level.
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Zafar, Rezwana. "Influence of Mission, Audience, and Policy Context on Issue Framing: A Case Study of Mobilization Against Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2016. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/595.
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The case of mobilization against hydraulic fracturing by interest groups provided an opportunity to examine the influence of three factors (mission, audience, and policy context) on diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing. A comparative analysis was conducted of the mobilization activities of five national environmental organizations with a local presence in the Pennsylvania and New York Marcellus Shale regions. The organizations varied with respect to organizational mission, the audiences they were targeting (urban and rural), and the policy context in which they worked (pro and anti-hydraulic fracturing). Data came from eleven semi-structured in-depth interviews with organization personnel, and from the organizations' websites and published documents.
The results of this research show how the organizations use diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing to mobilize citizens against hydraulic fracturing. They illustrate the influence of organizational mission, audience (urban versus rural), and policy context in how the groups take on these framing tasks. Overall, the findings provide insights into the variation in frames and framing that can occur at the organizational level inside a movement. They illustrate the explanatory value of investigating multiple factors as they affect diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing.
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Thaxton, Christopher T. "Gasland: The Rhetoric of Images in the New Media Landscape." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2012. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1487.
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Josh Fox's film Gasland, released in 2010, started the national debate concerning the process of hydraulic fracturing and launched the term "fracking" into the public consciousness. Gasland, nominated for four Emmy Awards, was the winner of the 2010 Environmental Media Award for Best Documentary, the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize, and the Yale Environmental Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. Using the momentum from the film's popular reception, Fox and the Gasland team successfully established a grassroots movement that was responsible for helping create the Frack Act and a moratorium of fracking in the Delaware River Shed.
This thesis intends to determine what made Gasland so influential. Through a rhetorical criticism and media analysis, I will show how Fox's film ignited the debate on domestic natural gas production and has created a multi-public literacy that enables social change.
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Fitzgerald, Jenrose D. "SCIENCE WARS AS CULTURE WARS: FRACKING AND THE BATTLE FOR THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF WOMEN." UKnowledge, 2014. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/sociology_etds/18.
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In this thesis, I examine how claims regarding the environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” are constructed by industry advocates who promote the practice and environmental and social justice groups who reject it. More specifically, I examine the cultural underpinnings of the debate over fracking, and the prominence of gender as a central framing device in that debate. While the controversy over fracking is often presented as scientific or technical in nature, I maintain that it is as much a culture war as it is a science war. I demonstrate this by showing how both pro-fracking and anti-fracking groups mobilize cultural symbols and identities—motherhood, environmentalism, family farming, family values, individualism, and patriotism among them—in order to persuade the public and advocate for their positions. I contend that engagement with the cultural and ideological dimensions of those debates, including their gendered dimensions, is as important as engagement with its scientific and technical dimensions. Ultimately, I argue that a greater focus on gender contributes to our understanding of environmental risk more broadly, and to the field of environmental sociology as a whole. As such, gender deserves more scholarly attention within the field than it is currently receiving.
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Hensley, Colton Dwayne. "Maximal Proposition, Environmental Melodrama, and the Rhetoric of Local Movements: A Study of The Anti-Fracking Movement in Denton, Texas." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2017. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1062840/.
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The environmental problems associated with the boom in hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," such as anthropogenic earthquakes and groundwater contamination, have motivated some citizens living in affected areas such as Denton, Texas to form movements with the goal of imposing greater regulation on the industry. As responses to an environmental threat that is localized and yet mobile, these anti-fracking movements must construct rhetorical appeals with complicated relationships to place. In this thesis, I examine the anti-fracking movement in Denton, Texas in a series of three rhetorical analyses. In the first, I compared fracking bans used by Frack Free Denton and State College, Pennsylvania to distinguish the argumentative claims that are dependent on the politics of place, and affect strategies localities must use in resisting natural gas extraction. In the second, I compare campaign strategies that use local identity as a way of invoking legitimacy, which reinforces narrative frameworks of environmental risk. In the third, I conduct and analyze interviews with anti-fracking leaders who described the narrative of their movement, which highlighted tensions in the rhetorical construction of a movement as local. Altogether, this thesis traces the rhetorical conception of place across the rhetoric of the anti-fracking movement in Denton, Texas, while seeking to demonstrate the value of combining rhetorical criticism with rhetorical field methods.
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Fuchs, Grace Frances. "How Community Concerns about Hydraulic Fracturing and Injection Wells can be Addressed Through the Application of Environmental Monitoring Technology." Ohio University Honors Tutorial College / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1556136264849063.
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Lary, Brent Alexander. "Utilizing noble gases to identify hydraulic fracturing “sweet spots” and evaluate the occurrence of carbon isotopic reversals of hydrocarbons within the Northern Appalachian Basin." The Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu15924000841796.
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Lim, Guo Quan. "Evaluation of the Influence of Non-Conventional Sources of Emissions on Ambient Air Pollutant Concentrations in North Texas." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2015. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc804841/.
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Emissions of air pollutants from non-conventional sources have been on the rise in the North Texas area over the past decade. These include primary pollutants such as volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) which also act as precursors in the formation of ozone. Most of these have been attributed to a significant increase in oil and gas production activities since 2000 within the Barnett Shale region adjacent to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex region. In this study, air quality concentrations measured at the Denton Airport and Dallas Hinton monitoring sites operated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) were evaluated. VOC concentration data from canister-based sampling along with continuous measurement of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5), and meteorological conditions at these two sites spanning from 2000 through 2014 were employed in this study. The Dallas site is located within the urban core of one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, while the Denton site is an exurban site with rural characteristics to it. The Denton Airport site was influenced by natural gas pads surrounding it while there are very few natural gas production facilities within close proximity to the Dallas Hinton site. As of 2013, there were 1362 gas pads within a 10 mile radius to the Denton Airport site but there were only 2 within a 10 mile radius to Dallas Hinton site. The Dallas site displayed higher concentrations of NOx and much lower concentrations of VOC than the Denton site. Extremely high levels of VOC measured at the Denton site corresponded with the increase in oil and gas production activities in close proximity to the monitoring site. Ethane and propane are two major contributors to the measured VOC concentration, suggesting the influence of fugitive emissions of natural gas. In Dallas, the mean and maximum values of ozone had decreased since 2000 by about 2% and 25%, respectively. Similarly NOx decreased by 50% and 18% in the mean and maximum values. However, the mean VOC value showed a 21% decrease while the maximum value increased by about 46%. In Denton, the change in percentage of ozone and NOx were similar to Dallas but the mean VOC concentration increased by about 620% while the max value increased 1960%. Source apportionment analysis confirmed the findings by identifying the production of natural gas to be the primary source of VOC emissions in Denton, while traffic sources were more influential near the Dallas site. In light of the recent proposal by EPA to revise the ozone standard, the influence of these new unconventional sources should be further evaluated.
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Clarkberg, Jasper W. "Regulatory Uncertainty and the Natural Gas Industry in the US." Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1495560884199246.
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Gorman, Mary Kathleen. "Social Consequence, Stakeholder Influence, and Resource Needs for Marcellus Shale Communities." ScholarWorks, 2014. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/103.
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The process of natural gas recovery by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, is a major scientific advance in unconventional energy development. Attention has largely been focused on its economic advantages and potential negative environmental repercussions, while less consideration given to its social dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore the social consequences of fracking for communities in the Appalachian Basin's Marcellus shale. Research questions focused on the role of stakeholders and the resource needs of localities in shaping public policy. This study was guided by the tenets of the Boomtown theory along with key issues in fracking research such as environmental impacts, water resources, public health and safety, economics, and ethical concerns. An embedded case study research design was employed, using a purposive sample of 8 economic and policy subject matter experts from the 3 most prolific drilling counties in Pennsylvania. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using open and axial coding with cross-case comparison. Results suggested that positive economic social consequences of fracking involved sustainability in providing generational and employment stability. Negative consequences, such as traffic, damaged infrastructure, and housing shortages, were temporary and manageable. Logistical and demographic information were valuable resources for community leadership, and stakeholders favored autonomy in decision making. The implications for social change include informing policy makers how to prepare the local workforce to be adaptable, establish sufficient infrastructure to support change, and educate communities to leverage opportunity in advance of new industry.
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Hasselbalch, Jacob. "The Contentious Politics of Disruptive Innovation: Vaping and Fracking in the European Union." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/246795.
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This thesis investigates what it means to view disruptive innovation as a political problem. I take my point of departure in the tendency for controversial disruptions in heavily regulated sectors, such as electronic cigarettes or hydraulic fracturing, to open regulatory spaces by challenging established expectations about how they ought to be governed. In the wake of such disruption, policy actors with a stake in the matter engage in sensemaking and discursive contests to control the meaning of the innovations in order to close the regulatory spaces by aligning them with one set of laws instead of another. I study these contests in two recent legislative initiatives of the European Union to address the disruptive potential of e-cigarettes and fracking: the 2014 revision of the Tobacco Products Directive and the 2014 Commission recommendations on unconventional fossil fuels. The research draws on 51 interviews carried out with key policy actors during and after the policy debates. I bolster this with an analysis of policy documents, press releases and scientific studies, as well as a content and network analysis of position statements in newspaper articles. I find that the strategic use of rhetoric and framing plays an important part in creating, maintaining, and entrenching opposed coalitions in both policy debates. In both case studies, the policy solution is accompanied by deteriorating levels of trust among participants, leading coalitions to engage in strategies of venue-shopping to circumvent their opponents. This underscores the significant challenges there are for policymakers to address disruptions while maintaining legitimacy. The original contribution of the thesis lies in its novel conceptualization of disruptive innovation as a political problem, its application of micro-sociological approaches to the politics of expertise and European public policy, and its practical and theoretical suggestions for how to better study periods of disruption and govern through them.Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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Hood, Rachael Lucille. "“Don't frack with us!” An analysis of two anti-pipeline movements." Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1594488329200428.
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Graham, Garrett. ""Don't Frack with Denton"." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2017. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc984171/.
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Don't Frack With Denton chronicles the ground-breaking movement to ban hydraulic fracturing in the city of Denton, Texas by combining observational location shooting with extensive sit-down interviews and carefully negotiated subject-filmmaker relationships to create a safe and comfortable space for thoughtful reflection and criticism of a complex social movement who's activities span several years and many individuals. The result is a long-form documentary that is unapologetically in solidarity with this movement's goals while simultaneously maintaining enough editorial independence and critical distance to allow the activists themselves to honestly evaluate their decision-making, tactics and interpersonal relationships in ways that will provide insight and instruction to similar movements around the country and the world.
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Ahmadi, Mahdi. "Ozone Pollution of Shale Gas Activities in North Texas." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2016. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc849624/.
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The effect of shale gas activities on ground-level ozone pollution in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is studied in detail here. Ozone is a highly reactive species with harmful effects on human and environment. Shale gas development, or fracking, involves activities such as hydraulic fracturing, drilling, fluid mixing, and trucks idling that are sources of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), two of the most important precursors of ozone. In this study two independent approaches have been applied in evaluating the influences on ozone concentrations. In the first approach, the influence of meteorology were removed from ozone time series through the application of Kolmogorov-Zurbenko low-pass filter, logarithmic transformation, and subsequent multi-linear regression. Ozone measurement data were acquired from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) monitoring stations for 14 years. The comparison between ozone trends in non-shale gas region and shale gas region shows increasing ozone trends at the monitoring stations in close proximity to the Barnett Shale activities. In the second approach, the CAMx photochemical model was used to assess the sensitivity of ozone to the NOX and VOC sources associated with shale oil and gas activities. Brute force method was applied on Barnett Shale and Haynesville Shale emission sources to generate four hypothetical scenarios. Ozone sensitivity analysis was performed for a future year of 2018 and it was based on the photochemical simulation that TCEQ had developed for demonstrating ozone attainment under the State Implementation Plan (SIP). Results showed various level of ozone impact at different locations within the DFW region attributed to area and point sources of emissions in the shale region. Maximum ozone impact due to shale gas activities is expected to be in the order of several parts per billion, while lower impacts on design values were predicted. The results from the photochemical modeling can be used for health impact assessment and air quality management purposes. Both studies in this research show that the impact of shale gas development on local and regional level of ozone is significant, and therefore, it should be considered in the implementation of effective air quality strategies.
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Schlothmann, Daniel. "Kurz- und langfristige Angebotskurven für Rohöl und die Konsequenzen für den Markt." Doctoral thesis, Technische Universitaet Bergakademie Freiberg Universitaetsbibliothek "Georgius Agricola", 2016. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:105-qucosa-201396.
Full textAbstract:
In dieser Arbeit wurden Angebotskurven für 22 bedeutende Ölförderländer ermittelt und anschließend zu globalen Angebotskurven aggregiert. Gemäß den ermittelten Angebotskurven sind nahezu alle gegenwärtig in der Förderphase befindlichen Ölprojekte in den Untersuchungsländern auch beim aktuellen Ölpreis von 35 bis 40 US-$ je Barrel unter Berücksichtigung der kurzfristigen Grenzkosten rentabel. Sollte der Ölpreis jedoch in den kommenden Jahren auf diesem Niveau verharren, wird es bis zum Jahr 2024 zu einem Angebotsengpass auf dem globalen Ölmarkt kommen, da zur Deckung der zukünftigen Nachfrage die Erschließung kostenintensiver, unkonventioneller Lagerstätten und von Lagerstätten in tiefen und sehr tiefen Gewässern notwendig ist. Damit es bis zum Jahr 2024 nicht zu einem solchen Angebotsengpass kommt, ist gemäß des ermittelten langfristigen Marktgleichgewichts ein Ölpreis von mindestens 80 (2014er) US-$ je Barrel notwendig.
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Shrivastava, Bulbul. "USA’s policies on fracking." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24617.
Full textAbstract:
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts(International Relations), 2017In the past decade, the United States’ oil and gas industry experienced an extraordinary boom, due to shale gas. Shale gas accounted for only 1.6% of total US natural gas production in 2000, 4.1% by 2005, and an astonishing 23.1% by 2010. This remarkable growth has spurred interest in exploring for shale gas resources elsewhere. The purpose of the study is how the rise of fracking in the USA has impacted its foreign policy towards climate change. An exploratory qualitative method, known as process-tracing was used, with the aim of providing evidence-based literature in order to explore the change in the USA’s domestic energy and climate policies; as well to see the change in its stance on climate change on the international platform. Some of the key concluding findings relate to the Obama Administration’s championing of the Clean Energy Act.
XL2018
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Perkins, Adam Reed. "An examination of state regulations of hydraulic fracturing." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/26531.
Full textAbstract:
As hydraulic fracturing gains popularity in the energy industry, the state of Texas finds itself in a very advantageous position. With multiple regions which could have great potential for oil and natural gas extractable via the production technique, Texas has assumed a new importance for the energy industry. However, in order to fully utilize its advantages, the state of Texas should revise its oil and gas regulations, particularly with regard to groundwater use and contamination, air emissions, and discretion for municipal regulation of oil and gas operations, insofar as they may apply to hydraulic fracturing. This course of action only will this allow the state to efficiently utilize the production method while better balancing against the technique's risks.text
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Greiner, Lydia Hallacher. "To frack or not to frack: understanding community concerns about health and hydraulic fracturing." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/27160.
Full textAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Over the past decade hydraulic fracturing, the high-pressure injection of water and chemicals into an oil or gas well, has been widely adopted to maximize oil and gas recovery despite debate about potential health impacts. Often the debate is contentious and complicated by incomplete information. The purpose of this dissertation was to implement and assess the usefulness of a process for communities to identify, prioritize, and respond to potential health effects of hydraulic fracturing.
METHODS: The study was conducted in a community in Kern County, California, the epi-center of hydraulic fracturing in the state. Mixed methods were used to develop an inventory of known or potential health effects associated with exposure to hydraulic fracturing: a systematic review of literature published before April 1, 2017 to determine health outcomes reported in exposed communities; a Delphi study to elicit expert opinion; and focus groups to determine residents’ health concerns. The resulting inventory of 60 health effects derived from one or more of these sources was presented to community residents in ballot form and multi-voting was used to prioritize health effects. Focus group and multi-voting results were used to develop an action plan.
RESULTS: The Delphi panel endorsed 13 health outcomes associated with hydraulic fracturing for oil and/or gas; all but one were reported in the scientific literature. Focus groups generated 17 health effects; 13 of these were reported in the scientific literature and/or endorsed by the Delphi panel. Multi-voting results indicated that priority health effects were: problems with sleep; breathing; eyes, ears, nose, and throat; heart disease and hypertension; cancer; headache; nausea; and a group of symptoms known as “Shale Gas Syndrome”.
CONCLUSION: The process described in this dissertation could be used by communities across the US that are debating the potential health impacts of hydraulic fracturing. It engages community residents, requires few resources, and can be completed in a relatively short period of time. The results can inform a community-specific response to the priority health concerns identified.
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Friel, Katherine Dailey. "The drill down." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/26519.
Full textAbstract:
The town of Millerton, Pa., has always been a small, rural farming community. Settled atop of the famed Marcellus Shale in the foothills of the Appalachians, there have always been rumors of natural gas in the hills around town. In 2008, natural gas companies arrived and began drilling. For a select few lucky enough to have property around the gas wells, their arrival means big money. But not all residents will get so lucky. For many folks in Millerton, the arrival of the gas companies means more traffic, more pollution, more crime and more inconvenience without a monthly royalty check to buffer the pain. The sheer amount of natural gas scientists predict is in the Marcellus Shale will forever change how the U.S. and the rest of the world use energy. Politicians tout it as liberation from foreign oil. Scientists see it as an alternative to “dirty” coal. For this small town, natural gas means change. The money the natural gas companies are pumping into this local economy will change the lives of the townsfolk- and the town itself- forever.text
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Saliés, Natália Gastão. "Study on the feasibility of using electromagnetic methods for fracture diagnostics." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2012-08-6112.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores two ways of developing a fracture diagnostics tool capable of estimating hydraulic fracture propped length and orientation. Both approaches make use of an electrically conductive proppant. The fabrication of an electrically conductive proppant is believed to be possible and an option currently on the market is calcined petroleum coke. The first approach for tool development was based on principles of antenna resonance whereas the second approach was based on low frequency magnetic induction. The former approach had limited success due to the lack of resonant features at the stipulated operating conditions. Low frequency induction is a more promising approach as electromagnetic fields showed measurable changes that were dependent on fracture length in simulations. The operation of a logging tool was simulated and the data showed differences in the magnetic field magnitude ranging from 2% to 107% between fracture sizes of 20m, 50m, 80m, and 100m. Continuing research of the topic should focus not only on simulating more diverse fracture scenarios but also on developing an inversion scheme necessary for interpreting field data.text
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Chisebe, Khumbelo Britney. "Exploring potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on groundwater contamination in the Karoo: perspectives on institutional capabilities in water management in South Africa." Thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/23493.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Environmental Science.
with
Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa,
(School of Geography, Archaeological and Environmental Science within the
Faculty of Science)
2nd June 2017.Hydraulic fracturing in the Karoo is said to be a game changer of energy sector in South Africa, but it is said to pose potential groundwater contamination. Therefore the aim of the study was to investigate the extent to which current institutional set up in South Africa can deal and address potential environmental challenges that are associated to fracking. The study was particularly interested in investigating the institutional capabilities in the context of water management. The literature review of this study showed that water resource is a major environmental concern that revolves around hydraulic fracturing, including the water resources use and potential contamination. In addition, it should be considered that hydraulic fracturing is a new mining process in South Africa and Africa as a whole with controversial mining techniques and environmental impacts involved within this process. The review indicates that the biggest issue with proposed hydraulic fracking mining process in the Karoo is if the South African Government has taken into consideration the resources, infrastructures and skills to execute the process successfully. The literature asserts that even if proper enforcement of any regulations on this rapidly expanding industry will still be difficult as the regulation is insufficient due to certain explicit exemptions. In South Africa, the starting point for hydraulic fracturing and the associated regulations that governs fracking, is the recognition of an argument that South Africa does not possess any fracking specific laws, guidelines or even polices. Research participants were asked to give their views on the research topic by answering the semi structured interview questions. Data from the semi-structured interviews and literature review was analysed and discussed to address the research questions. The results of the investigation confirmed that there was no any legislation in place to govern this mining process in South Africa. Currently there are legislations which are under review and development to also address hydraulic fracking and the protection of water resources. The government should also involve other research institutes in the drafting and decision making of the legal institute governing hydraulic fracking to ensure that all gaps are identified before fracking can be permitted in the Karoo.
MT 2017
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Breiddal, Rosanna. "When consultation becomes a checkbox, what’s the fracking point?: Colonial constraints on social learning processes in Northeast BC and the Fort Nelson First Nation’s New Approach to resource governance." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/6698.
Full textAbstract:
This Master’s thesis seeks to develop a better understanding of how Indigenous voices can be included in water governance. As a starting point, social learning theory, collaborative governance and Indigenous and Canadian relations were carefully studied. Despite the large body of research on collaborative governance with First Nations and on social learning in water governance, little is known specifically about social learning processes in colonial contexts.
Using grounded theory and Indigenous methodologies, this research investigates how the current approach to implementing the Province’s legal constitutional, “duty to consult” affects social learning processes and the inclusion of Indigenous people in water governance. Findings indicate that the laws and policies that have been created based on the Crown’s interpretation of Treaty 8, an agreement signed between the Fort Nelson First Nation and Canada in 1899. This duty to consult constrains social learning, as it does not allow for the flexibility needed for a reframing process that might bring the actors to a common understanding of Treaty 8, the treaty relationship and its application as such today, as a basis for future collaboration. Without reframing processes, the consultation process is perceived by the Fort Nelson First Nation, a Treaty 8 nation, to lack legitimacy and neutral facilitation. Subsequently, consultation is seen as a checkbox that must be completed, but fails to include First Nations’ knowledge, interests and concerns about impacts from development and appropriate accommodation.
This research also investigates a new governance arrangement emerging in northeast BC, which changes the way Fort Nelson First Nation voices are included in decision-making. Processes of nation building and capacity building contribute to Fort Nelson First Nation’s New Approach to governance. The New Approach sees changes to the sites of authority, revenue and norms and beliefs, resulting in a governance innovation that circumvents the provincial government’s role in governance by creating a closer working relationship between industry and the Fort Nelson First Nation. The results are development planning and decisions that better reflect the Fort Nelson First Nation’s concerns and interests in the near future.Graduate
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Gaspar, Joana Henriques. "Os Estados Unidos da América e a Revolução do Shale." Master's thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/17708.
Full textAbstract:
Ao longo dos últimos anos, tem-se verificado grandes mudanças no mercado
energético global, sendo os Estados Unidos da América um dos grandes
protagonistas.
A presente investigação tem como principal objetivo compreender e clarificar o
conceito de independência energética/auto-suficiência energética e averiguar a
possibilidade e o alcance deste propósito por parte dos Estados Unidos da América,
desde a Revolução do Shale.
Ao longo desta investigação haverá oportunidade de estudar as políticas
energéticas assumidas durante aproximadamente os últimos 40 anos, obter
informações sobre a segurança energética dos Estados Unidos, bem como formas de
exploração energética americana, política para exportação de energia e impactos
geopolíticos.
Facilmente se observa ao longo deste trabalho que a auto-suficência não pode
ser vista numa perspetiva de criação de condições para o isolacionismo americano
mas sim numa perspetiva de instrumentalização e proteção dos seus aliados.Over the past few years, there has been great changes in the Global energy market, with the United States of America as one of the major protagonists. The main goal of the present investigation is to understand and clarify the notion of energy Independence or Self-sufficiency and verify the possibility to achieve this goal, by the United States. Throughtout this research, there will be opportunity to study the US energy policies of the last 40 years, obtain informations about US energy security, and learn about american energy exploration, exports policy and geopolitical impacts of the Shale Revolution. Lastly, in this research it is easily observed that self-sufficiency can not be seen in a perspective of creating conditions for American isolationism but rather in a perspective of instrumentalization and protection of their allies