Pro-Fracking View

          As the previous post describes, America and the world is in an Energy Crisis. America's turbulent relationships Iraq and Afghanistan, significant oil providers, has increased the appeal of "home grown" oil. In a way this is good, instead of relying on countries we don't have a healthy relationship (something about starting wars with them and terrorism), we can rely on more stable sources of energy. As the bar graph below shows, the U.S. has decreased it's dependence on foreign oil, not because we've decreased the amount of energy we're consuming, on the contrary the amount of energy we're consuming is increasing, bur rather because we have invested more in natural gas and renewable energy. Relying less on foreign oil boosts our national security and relationships because we're not as involved or controlling in other countries. The other big incentive for investing in fracking is the stimulus it gives to the economy. The fracking companies sometimes pay families more money than they make in a year. After the fracking companies have bought the land they employ drivers to transport the gas and workers to do manual labor. They also employ scientists to oversee the drill and make the process more efficient. In a Job Crisis (so many crises!) any increase in employment, an estimated 1.7 million jobs,
is important to help families and the economy recover.

Link to Debate at Tufts