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Anti Fracking efforts in Nigeria
The Algerian government introduced hydraulic fracking in Ayn Saleh, Algeria. Fracking is the process of forcing fresh drinkable water, chemicals and sand at high pressure into rock deposits underground. This process causes the rock to break and allows recovery of shale gas and shale oil. The purpose was to extract shale gas from these deserts. Fracking is such a controversial process due to the enormous amounts of water and toxic chemicals it uses. The toxic chemicals used in this porcess could leak into the aquafire reserves and destroy the water suply of many communities in an already water-scarce country.
The shale oil extracted from the area are not used by the Algerians, they are sent to Europe for sole European consumption. The government only focuses on extraction of resources, not development of the surrounding area. The impact of colonisation has an effect in Algeria, water is being polluted and this affect millions of people. Camel owners who must provide a living for their families are affected because they cannot find enough fresh water to give to their camels and also farmers form near the area are protesting because fracking uses so much water that in a near future it might make it harder to do agriculture.
Mohad Gasmi led the demonstration against fracking. Soon, all provinces near the fracking site organised protests. 5 months of continuous protests carried on, and in result, fracking operations has been suspended in Ayn Saleh.
One of the main chemicals used in fracking is methane and it is estimated that during extraction 4% of this gas escapes to the atmosphere. These gases produce respiratory diseases that affect every single person. Enormous amount of water is being wasted because of a process that destroy the environment even more. The ground is also contaminated, the chemicals used in fracking are very toxic and dangerous.
It may be more realistic mitigating the consequences of fracking than to fight its use. Some companies such as GasFrac are working on ways to use recycled frack water in fracking, also they are looking for a way to replace harsh chemicals used in the process with more benign mixtures, or to cleanse water that's been used in fracking. The most innovated idea is replacing diesel powered drilling equipment with engines or motors powered by natural gas or solar energy.
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Definitely Gloria, one of the gravest threats posed by fracking is the contamination of drinking water wells, vital sources of water for many rural communities.
Discussions on the pros and cons of fracking are deeply divided at the moment and water use by Oil and gas companies generally and for fracking in particular is also a controversial issue. However, there are also talks around efficient recycling of waste water, but it is heavily dependent on cost. Recent improvements in technology is however cutting down the cost of waste water recycle and government regulations around fracking operations are also becoming more stringent effective which is great.
The release of methane into the atmosphere is also of great concern because methane is a highly potent green house gas, but the controverse around the green house gases in the atmosphere continues to rage. On our own part, we will continue to stand against the release of any substance into the atmosphere which is potentially dangerous to the environment now or in the future.
The case of Algeria is an excellent example of environmental colonialism. Gratefully, all these issues are coming to limelight as people get more informed and positive changes are taking place. And at our own level, as we get more informed, we can also get involved in the fight to preserve our planet and its finite and vulnerable resources.
Great write up Gloria, excellent sense of the issue being explored.
Lets continue to keep it green....)
Cheers
Sandra Ukaigwe
Oct 23, 2017