How does fracking work? - Mia Nacamulli

View full lesson: ed.ted.com/less...
Deep underground lie stores of once-inaccessible natural gas. There’s a technology, called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” that can extract this natural gas, potentially powering us for decades to come. So how does fracking work and why is it a source of such heated controversy? Mia Nacamulli explains the ins and outs of fracking.
Lesson by Mia Nacamulli, directed by Sharon Colman.

[@silentanarchy3803]

This guy has the nicest voice.

[@vishwanathiari]

Silent Anarchy I second

[@MrLolwut88]

wow are you sure? for the longest time I thought it was that guy from Vice.

[@codsniper31]

I agree I want him to voice everything

[@vishwanathiari]

Jacks Parrow Watch till the end the name of narrator is given

[@castle9165]

Silent Anarchy, In actual fact he does

[@Jaydenwhip]

The animations in this video are fracking amazing!!!

[@ekbergiw]

pigs make Bacon you are my father

[@colemattia6459]

pigs make Bacon Pigs don't actully maek bacun. there skin is presed wich creates a hard substinse wich is boild into bacun

[@ekbergiw]

stop spreading your lies!!! Cole Mattia

[@colemattia6459]

I Ekberg I am not laieng i am 9 why wuld i li?

[@colemattia6459]

I Ekberg U noeb my father has cancer dont bee so meen

[@marvinmood4679]

I worked for a fracking company a few years ago....mostly Northern Alberta.....It amazed me how they could control what was going on hundreds of feet underground.... fracturing different depths and areas.... different types of sand and chemical mixtures used to achieve different results....pretty amazing to see some big jobs with fifteen to twenty pump trucks with 2500 horsepower engine and pumps each running full throttle.....worked at it a couple of years .....will never forget the experience.....

[@dave14256]

Thats cool i was intrested in working on a rig after working in tunnling, out of curiosity did you guys use betinite or a mud rig to mix and check the flow of what was coming up? How big was the hole you drilled by the way, because we did 48in diameter bores with 5in hoses for lubrication and return to the mud rig. We had other utilities and were drilling horizontal so they were much bigger. Im going to guess your lubricating and return hoses were 2in diameter, corect me if im wrong.

[@yestfmf]

Curious.....the gas coming out, what psi is it in the rocks? Is it mostly methane? I have heard that helium and sulphur dioxide are sometimes present?

[@dave14256]

@@yestfmf back when I did directional drilling for the pipeline the two main gasses we were concerned about the most setting off our air monitors in the tunnel or trench from disturbing the earth were methane and sulfur dioxide. We dug and tunnled down 30-60ft so might be different fracking

[@hightechredneck8587]

Same here I was a water tech working mostly in the spirit river area. It was interesting to watch the other crews do their thing while we got the water systems going. only issue I seen with the video was our sites only used around 1million liters of water but I guess some others must be far deeper or something.

[@christopherbeddoe406]

@Photo Grapher, Pressure really depends on the Geology. Especially the Depth. In the Bakken depth varies from 6500+ ft. Generally you have 0.5 to 0.75 psi per ft of depth. Generally anything over 0.5 psi/ft is considered "over pressurized" meaning the reservoir naturally is at an elevated pressure. There is some helium and other gasses present in certain wells. I think it's more trace level. I was talking with someone who was proposing to try to test wells and map gas concentrations it in north dakota. Not sure if it got funded or not. SO2 is naturally present in some areas. Well's can become accidentally "Sour" through bacterial contamination whereby they start generating SO2 more and more SO2 after time. This is a bad time and can cause corrosion and other issues. which is why they are generally careful to pre-treat any water used for fracking or injection/production tests.

[@aemen8796]

"Oh the frackin" "No, no not that" 😭

[@antoniosollazzo5957]

LMAO

[@antoniosollazzo5957]

That’s what I thought😭

[@KevinContrearas]

🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️

[@naaha6709]

lol

[@baumi8125]

I’m ok with the ads. I’m ok with the buffer. But when the ads buffer, I suffer.

[@GreenTimeEagle]

Premium baby! Very low cost and great if you use KZbin on multiple devices

[@doowop25]

Lol

[@rackt09]

@@nonespecified1744 To each their own, but I pay for premium. Happy to never have to deal with ads.

[@Muffinadventures123]

😂

[@mosesmessiah9098]

💀

[@rolandpruitt9500]

Really love this unbiased channel, gives me a break from all of the media.

[@johnlearoux]

non bias? oh dear... some one has been propagandized. SMH

[@rolandpruitt9500]

john learoux Compared to CNN and Fox News, this is very unbiased.

[@clovisthefirst492]

not really, these guys came out as full blown leftists. they are as unbias as CNN is.

[@hanss3147]

clovis myers Be a centrist and the leftists will call you alt right and the conservatives will call you a libtard.

[@Mooseplatoon]

It's important to note that all media is inherently biased, and it's important to be cognizant of those biases even if you agree with what they're saying. Media does not deserve praise for being more honest than CNN or Fox News, because that isn't much of an achievement.

[@rubengivoni6823]

I'm very pleased to see that Ted Ed acknowledges and states, though briefly, that fracking doesn't use nearly as much water as other human activities, ESPECIALLY animal agriculture.

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

Plant agriculture uses more water than factory farming

[@teiuq]

@@AdamSmith-gs2dv you got to be joking?

[@dtsMQG]

How big is the farm? How many cows? How long is the life cycle of a shale rig? I don't familiar with agriculture. But I do know there are 557 rigs active now in states. This is even not the highest number, the highest record was close to 900 rigs just before the epidemic. We can still manage when the surface water is polluted, but when the groundwater is polluted, what do you expect about the people who live around it?

[@mtadams2009]

@@AdamSmith-gs2dv I would think if your raising livestock you or someone else is raising crops too. They need to eat.

[@robymaru03]

Yeah but agriculture is not so damaging to the environement, and when done properly doesn´t damage local water supply.

[@adamsteinhardt6393]

This is a good primer, well researched, and the broad concepts are correct, but there are some small omissions and inaccuracies 1) kickoff point is entirely dependent on the depth of the oil/gas. Normally ranges from a few thousand feet to as much as 17000 feet or greater 2) the horizontal can be 10,000+ feet long 3) the perforations are closer to 10 inches long, not one inch as stated. 4) the well is ready to frac pretty much right after drilling. There is some additional prep work, but it’s a matter of a few days, not months. 5) in addition to slick water there are thicker gels sometimes used, derived from the guar bean, which is used as an organic thickener for ice cream. The choice of fluid is highly dependent on the geometry of the fracture the engineer is attempting to create and the need to suspend sand. The disinfectants used vary but by far the most common is quatinary gluteraldehydes often used in toilet bowl cleaner. There are other options. This is crucially used because sulfate reducing bacteria found naturally in pond water can be pumped down the well and over time consume sulfur in the rock to make hydrogen sulfide, which is very poisonous, corrosive, and explosive. 6) it’s not just the frac water that comes back but also water that is naturally in the formation. Even non fractured wells produce some water. 7) the casing and cement comments are correct. Damage to the casing and cement is the single biggest concern when it comes to pollution concerns; however if the wells are engineered properly, damage during fracturing is not a concern at all. I would go so far as to say that failure during fracturing is a result of significant negligence in the design of the pipe, or in a serious defect of the pipe. Before fracturing, the pipe is pressure tested to validate that it is not compromised. The much bigger concern is what happens in the many years later as corrosive fluids produced can corrode or erode the pipe. 8) water usage is marginally higher now typically than the value they stated

[@tueinhcao8067]

TED-ED Videos are the best teachers!

[@cannae920]

Gregg Jay I like how you don't type out"you" but still add the apostrophe in "u'll" lol

[@cyrusbrooks3883]

This is better. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWKzc4yirch5Zq8

[@Rubi-gc4xm]

I got all Fracked up the other night, the gas release was amazing.

[@canadianhaitian]

Who came here to find out what fracking is since vpdebate2020?

[@localwillow9948]

Me, they were talking about it for like 15 min and I had no idea what was happening

[@oluwafemiajose948]

I would think anyone enlightened and sophisticated enough to watch a vice presidential debate would have at least heard the term before.

[@oluwafemiajose948]

Politicians have been talking about it constantly for years at this point.

[@thuphat1123]

Biden helped obama regulate the fracking industry here in the US in exchange for giving his son Hunter Biden energy contracts from over seas.

[@sourcarrots]

My school sent me

[@envid]

oh, the fracking?

[@papapua688]

i was looking for this comment hskjdks

[@farrahmoanfalling7645]

BAHSHSHHWVAZCZVZ

[@saul-wv7fk]

No, not that!

[@saul-wv7fk]

❌❌

[@markosmic7018]

BYEEEE

[@KNDCHV]

When you are geologist but you still watched it cuz you like the animations :D

[@a_luana]

I'm developing fracking sand (propant) using biomass... I can give class about all off that, but the animations are so good that i can't stop seeing.

[@gracef4647]

innerFire same my dad works in the fracking department, mainly wastewater, so I know a lot about this stuff

[@OutSideTheBoxFormat]

I've been on many sites prior to , during and after fracking has occurred and each one went smoothly. Water isn't spoken in terms of gallons its referred to in barrels.

[@johnbrown1290]

Exactly! I often use them to simplify complex ideas and procedures to my friends who get lost in the jargon whenever I attempt to explain things geology related or otherwise.

[@johnbrown1290]

Luana da Rocha that's amazing! If you have a dedicated channel to that (or got some links to similar content) please share!

[@prim16]

I'm waiting for the comment that says, "I read this as "How does fucking work?"".

[@pestcontrol7823]

Did you?

[@babotond]

I first thought it is how does farming works

[@spiffo5349]

80% of the internet is dedicated to answering this question... I'm sure you can figure it out elsewhere if you are curious

[@maxybaer123]

I read it as "how does it fracking work" so not far off

[@JTytshorts]

Loved this video, not too long, very informative and actually helped me understand better this issue

[@MadScientist267]

Soo... You've been indoctrinated and are happy about it. Cool.

[@spidaman0112]

Some bs in this video so...

[@iwishiwaswrongbutimnot517]

Honestly there is nothing factually information here. And to get an actual understanding u r going to have to devote more time in the length of the videos and mor time into research. Ted Ed is becoming a parody of what it started out to be.

[@NewChannel-mm2zi]

​@@iwishiwaswrongbutimnot517 Please specify what exactly you disagree with, else people seeing your comment who do not have the same view as you will see you as an uninformed, uncaring individual.

[@NewChannel-mm2zi]

​@@spidaman0112 Specify. This goes even more than the other person I responded to… this is an extremely aggressive statement against an important message: stop using greenhouse gases and use green (not just renewable) energy instead.

[@srdxxx]

As a proponent of fracking. I was surprised to find this video so evenhanded. The water issue is overblown, however, probably for being outdated. The fracking industry can change so quickly, information six months old can be irrelevant.

[@yungchop6332]

I love that background music! Its so fitting yet so amazing.

[@monkman-gs7gi]

wow, this video cracks me up.

[@ashclouds2139]

What a cracking joke!

[@take5730]

Finally, a joke that doesn't use the word "fracking"!

[@adamtoakley]

They probably just broke under all the pressure

[@pallingtontheshrike6374]

I had to steel myself against that joke cementing in my brain - but it leaked.

[@luukipuuk3537]

Bhavee Rathod you're forcing it too much

[@googymau8974]

2:09 slickwater should be called slickquid

[@lancehowelllagunay1943]

This appeared in my algorith after watching BoJack Horseman. Fracking isn't a topic of discussion in my country (and I'm glad it's not even considered) but this really informed me well about it.

[@Integrationist]

So y'all just import all of your petroleum products?

[@blainerexrode9369]

You guys did such an amazing job with this video! Fantastic!

[@woox200sx]

You mean - Fracktastic!

[@greengo9]

How on earth did someone come with this idea?!

[@beppo1]

It’s clear that every single person commenting about negative environmental impacts knows nothing about the process. Please leave policy up to people that actually understand oil and gas development. The process of far less impactful than the media would have you believe. And those of us that work in the industry strive to ensure that it stays clean. Please try and do some unbiased research, I believe it would change many people’s opinions.

[@user-sm3uc3hh8m]

Thank you! I needed this for a school assignment

[@stex5150]

I love the way that Nitrogen fracking is completely ignored. I have been on frak jobs where there was less than 10,000 gallons of water used with nitrogen as a propellant which saved 10's of thousands of gallons of water by forcing the water down hole under more pressure than could be achieved by regular hydraulic fracturing. Plus the residue was cleaner than hydraulic only fracking. Another benefit to nitrogen is the well bore could be cleaned easier with nitrogen than fluids. Hydrogen is also I believe 78% of the atmosphere we breathe so it is relatively harmless to humans. Nitrogen will also eventually return to the atmosphere naturally to be used again and again.

[@bruceg7577]

@Shell m The frac wings go nowhere near the water table. It would have to be a totally bolloxed frac job for that to happen. Any surfacec water pollution has to come from a different source, such a improper disposal of the frac fluids or failure of the surface casing

[@markfaulkner8965]

When I lived in the frac fields of southern Colorado they would come out once a week and “burp” the well heads… shooting an atomized stream of condensate and I am assuming toxic particulate 30-40 feet into the air to eventually cover the landscape as it fell. The only thing I really noticed that suggested there was contamination was the piles of thick foam in the rain runoff. We had a similar toxic foam appear when the dams at Stringfellow Acid Pits in Riverside CA burst…. NOT saying they are equals.

[@MrHossola]

No hydrogen is not 78%....

[@stex5150]

@@MrHossola My apologies I used Nitrogen 5 or 6 times and do not know how I put Hydrogen in there. Nitrogen makes up 78% of our atmosphere.

[@stex5150]

@@markfaulkner8965 I would say that if any local or State Government agency allowed any oil or service company to discharge any well product into the atmosphere allowing contaminates to "cover the landscape as it fell" needs to be reported up the line to the Feds. Obviously they do not care about Federal Regulations, land owners or the public in general. Any time our wellheads were purged it was into a capture tank. By the use of Nitrogen instead of large quantities of Fracing fluids recovery needs were significantly reduced.

[@jayyoutube8790]

When I was at a fracking sight for the first time, I was and still amazed that salt water, or the ocean still exist under ground even though it's hundreds of miles away..

[@bruceg7577]

Once you get deeper than a couple hundred feet into the ground, there's no water but salt water. Much of it is extremely salty

[@adamsteinhardt6393]

And to add to it, there is no empty rock. All rock underground is saturated is some combination of fluids. The vast majority is salt water, but there is also hydrocarbons ranging from methane to C8+, CO2 all produced from “decaying” organic matter, Nitrogen, and even in some rare circumstances Helium (from the decay of radioactive minerals). I’m not aware of any deep fresh water sources, and another interesting fact is there is a massive amount of lithium and other rare earth minerals in groundwater.

[@intruderIG]

@@bruceg7577 salt water is still a water

[@kermithoffpauir2596]

That is in all oil wells and has been that way since oil was drilled.

[@DominoDonaldson]

People think renewable energy is clean and reliable, but the fact is all wind turbines, solar, and most all “green” energy is built from petroleum. Also those “good for the environment” processes are maintained with oil based products. I work on a drilling rig in west Texas, where we have over 3000 turbines in our county. That “clean” energy leaks hydraulic Fluid, and grease all over the ground over time. The hundreds of gas powered truck used to transport thousands of gallons of oil based lubricants every day to maintain the turbines are dependent on the production of oil wells. Renewable energy, isn’t so renewable.

[@MrFezco]

This is well done with one notable exception. The lack of scale and context relative to depth of wellbore. The depictions online don’t show relative depth leading the public to believe that fracking happens right under their feet. The visual impact of such depictions elevates the risk beyond actual

[@johnathanphillips8684]

I was following along until I noticed a single string of casing in the well. That may have been commonplace a long time ago, but not in the last 22 years I've been in the patch. Today, you'd actually have three layers of pipe and cement that are protecting drinking groundwater tables. They are conductor, intermediate, and then finally your production string. In west Texas average kickoff is roughly 10,000' vertical depth, the average fracture typically extend less than 500' from the well bore........or 9500' vertical depth. Don't think thats going to contaminate your water supply typically found around 200' vertical depth in this particular area. You mentioned the volume of water used could affect a city's water availability. This could be true if the fracking companies used city water........this is not typically the case. In the area where I work, companies drill water wells near the frac locations and fill "ponds" or storage vessels for frac operations. This is done in such a manner where residents wouldn't even see a change in water pressure or volume. Its not to say that drilling and fracking is not as dangerous as any other job out there, like chemical plants, power plants, etc. And there can definitely be accidents. But there are regulations that have to be followed that are in place to protect the environment as well as people.

[@EyasAbuElhouf]

The video is very misleading and obviously was made by someone who doesn’t know much about oil and gas industry.

[@yahtotv5492]

Johnathan good reply and as a fellow Texan that spent 25 years in the oil and gas industry I found this video just another propaganda piece by people that have no clue what they are talking about. The video does not even come close to telling the truth. I have done acid jobs and frac jobs on wells on a many different depths. The majority of wells drilled are not horizontal as the video shows. And the majority of frac jobs done do not take the large amounts of water claimed. The vast majority of frac jobs are a simple water, silica, sand mix that requires 1 to 2 truck loads of water. The video does not touch of the differences in depth per well, the differences between shell formations, is the well a horizontal drill or not, ect. Just another pathetic piece of information by someone that has no clue.

[@johnathanphillips8684]

@@yahtotv5492 these are all reasons why I commented. So when uninformed people come here looking for actual facts.....hopefully they read the comments! Scary times we're living in today!

[@johnathanphillips8684]

@@EyasAbuElhouf people don't understand the engineering that goes into these wells. They think every well is drilled by the Beverly Hillbilly's! 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@geoffreygeorge2412]

Worked in ND on the production side and disposal side. Not only are you right about the casing, but the disposal of the hazardous waste is put back into old dried up well locations (aka disposal sites) it’s pretty much impossible for it to contaminate the ground water.

[@symphony_sonata]

What is fracking? "Well, when a Mommy well and a daddy well love eachother very much, they-"

[@melon4738]

“Oh, that one”

[@abbywilliams9744]

Top marks. Really well explained + Loved the music on this

[@SuperRafdy]

I know fracking, from the simpsons "Our water is on FIREE!!!"

[@user-ci2lg1lw5b]

프래킹이 어떻게 되는지와 지구에 미치는 나쁜영향에 대하여 배우는 시간이 되었습니다. 무었이 나쁘다고만 생각하는 것이 아닌 깊이 왜 그런가에 대하여 배우는것이 훨신 더 흥미로운것 같습니다. 좋은 영상 감사합니다.

[@soufian2733]

4:52 Wow South America lost a lot of weight

[@meatballsubba4045]

*wheeze*

[@engineergaming5478]

*south americans*

[@vaprin2019]

@@jamesfleet-thompson9877 This comment is pure gold

[@redhotchilipepper432]

this cracked me up when i paused the video here dude

[@jayashrishobna]

I don't know you ppl make every single video so damn amazing.

[@studysir4565]

the animation and explanation is so amazing. I wish if Teded could have videos to explain out syllabus.

[@johnb6723]

The earthquakes produced by fracking are only 3rd magnitude, therefore they will barely be felt. The UK has already had 5th magnitude earthquakes, and in medieval times a single 6th magnitude earthquake - those are the ones that might cause damage. The little 3rd magnitude earthquakes do not cause damage.

[@biscuitsalive]

Lovely minimal clear animation. With just enough style to make it a visual treat.

[@josephscottadams39]

I clicked on this video to learn the details of “fracking”, not a social commentary on the evils of fracking, If I wanted that I, would have watched the daily news.

[@smartfart9003]

As soon as he said "global climate change," I knew this was more political agenda than sticking to factual information.

[@13mrservon]

I thought the same thing. It was an indirect passive aggressive anti-fracking PSA.

[@ernestozamora267]

Right

[@tafaritaylor19]

Here after the debate

[@Szloby]

MISLEADING / MANIPULATIVE EXPLANATION ! I noticed that this is the newest and most viewed video explaining fracking(I would also trust TedEd) BUT -This video was made in order to induce a bad opinion about hydraulic fracturing to the general public. It’s a neat combination between true facts and total B.S. I will try to explain. Keep in mind that nowadays, this process is usually happening at a vertical depth of 1-6 km. Anything that happens at surface can be easily controlled. Breakdown-starting from ~1:47: Acids make up a very small part of what's involved in this process. One could argue that the use of acids was reduced by the introduction of modern fracking. Slickwater can be classified in 2 main categories (99% of the cases). The first is guar and its derivatives. By the standards of this video, i could also refer to guar as a legume. If you do a google search on "guar", you will learn that it's sourced from nature and mainly used in the food industry - Right here, on the surface of the earth, exactly the place where pollution is a problem). The 2nd one is Acrylamide derivatives(invented and also predominantly used on the surface of the earth). EX: In United Kingdom, approximately 12,000 tons of polyacrylamide is used in the paper production industry annually. Fracking in the UK probably uses no more than 50t per year(most of which stays in the ground). Interesting read here: ukessays.com/essays/biology/acrylamide-with-chemical-formula.php . Disinfectant is also a very small part of the process (0.0001%). This is usually chloride and its derivatives. I'm fairly sure that worldwide, more of this is used by the water park industry alone than by hydraulic fracturing. Going further, from ~2:55 - the produced fluids can be handled safely- it’s just a matter of enforcing the rules on how to do this. Here is where lack of care, corruption and/or incompetence make their mark. Radioactive material is also very negligible compared to what’s mined and used on the surface in nuclear energy and other applications. Salt - Need I remind you about the salt from the oceans? Heavy metals - the amount fades away in comparison with what’s used by the battery industry ~3:35 All O&G wellbores in the world feature 3 or more barriers in this zone. If rules are enforced properly, the water table safe from harm. Everything is done in order to extract more hydrocarbons. Fracking into water is seen as a failure. The seismicity created by a moving train or truck is significantly bigger and more frequent than the one generated by fracking. The fact is that hydraulic fracturing has been around since the 40s. It has evolved as a secondary result of the advances made in the chemical industry. We use much more than what’s criticized in this video on the surface of the earth in unrelated applications. Much more important is the fact that hydraulic fracturing has delayed the moment when the world will experience a shortage of hydrocarbons. Some people were expecting extreme shortages to happen starting around 2020. This was a hot topic in the 1990s but forgotten right now. As we all know, energy shortages can easily lead to WAR. EX: The Iraq war(widely regarded as influenced by oil) began in 2003. Fracking boomed in 2007. The war officially ended in 2011. MIC DROP….

[@robertlamarjr1702]

😂😂👌

[@BobRooney290]

if i can make billions off the dohpes in PA that think fracking is safe, then i'm all for it. no need to even bribe them when they are so easily manipulated. i dont care if fracking contaminates their water as long as i make my profit margin. its not like you are getting any major intellectuals from those communities anyway. and if entire families drop, the company can easily take their lands and add more wells. a win win.

[@AMcMiss]

They really only talk about gas, but fracking is also used for oil. Fracking also doesn't only have to be used in shale, it can be used in other formations like sandstone. While they mention renewables, they don't fail to mention the far dirtier coal that cleaner natural gas could be displacing. This video seems to take quite an anti-frack bent.

[@MC_ToyDawg]

I work in the gas industry and I'll tell you this, there is alot of young inexperienced workers at these loosely regulated fracking sites that misuse their equipment that contaminates the environment.

[@757Poppy]

You frac oil wells as well You actually frac in any rock containing oil if it is low permeability You dont use acid in hydraulic fraccing You use proppant not clay. Most chemical additive is guar, a natural product (made from beans)

[@commentoria]

The sound effects are lovely on this.

[@sanrasuzumaki942]

Being able to get energy from the Sun, Wind and Water, why do we need to Frack the Grounds or drill it till it bleeds?

[@Austerys]

"How does fracking work?" Well when a man loves a women...

[@ItsMzPhoenix]

Not necessarily

[@peterjones8546]

Getting ready to start my new job driving a big rig delivering frac sand in Wyoming. I can't wait to get out of the South Texas summer heat.

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

Oklahoma where we have many disposal sites. We have been having many many more earthquakes a year starting in like 201 We had 3 earthquakes happen all within a small 4 square mile patch of land (36.351482, -97.356713) this year alone. If you look on the satellite view you will see a large disposal site in this small patch of land.

[@ashclouds2139]

I feel smart for knowing this. Thanks, gcse chemistry.

[@TnT_F0X]

The most efficient energy needs to be used while we learn to make newer, cleaner energies like Nuclear and Solar cleaner and more efficient. Just need to do Fracking away from cities... Research Solar... and get people to stop being afraid of Nuclear. Nuclear power has less carbon emissions and waste than Solar.

[@truthbetold506]

AND don't forget wind power I really think that's good too.

[@truthbetold506]

I think BIDEN should stop it , but give those companies enough time to change over , I understand that some companies that's all they know , they just got to find other ways to drill .

[@TnT_F0X]

@@truthbetold506 Wind is actually a very big danger to bird populations, Very damaging to the environment... just in a different way. I think TRUMP should make some changes to the Nuclear power restrictions, it really is the safest, cleanest power we have right now. Even vs solar because of the carbon pollution from manufacturing the panels. Once you have a Nuclear plant the carbon output is virtually zero, and is actually simpler in terms of manufacture and upkeep than solar. The Math and failsafe systems are complex, but the make up is just rods, moderators, and shielding surrounded by water.

[@joeschneider3894]

Germany has a bigger proportion of its energy from wind and solar than just about any other country. Yet they pay significantly more for their energy than France does and release significant more carbon into the air. Why? Because when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, they rely on fossil fuels to keep their country running. While France gets about 80% of its energy from nuclear. Is nuclear perfect? Nope. But if you genuinely believe the world will be too far gone to save within the next 8-10 years, you’d be crazy not to pick nuclear over basically anything else. Massive amounts of energy, minimal greenhouse gas emissions. We can bury the waste wherever we want to. Out in the middle of deserts. Better than contaminating people’s drinking water or bringing about massive climate changes.

[@TnT_F0X]

@Aya M Nuclear can do it

[@Integrationist]

I just started working as a frac hand, definitely dont wanna do it for very long but the money is good in an area with very few opportunities due to immigration policy.

[@adamthevirgo9297]

Oh, the fracking?

[@lorenwilson8128]

The reason we fracture wells is that the shale that contains the natural gas has very small pores in it, in contrast with a more open sandstone. In a conventional formation, the natural gas can flow for several hundred feet to get to the well. In a tight formation, it flows much more slowly. Adding the fractures allows much more gas to flow to the well for much longer, making the well viable. Hydraulic fracturing has been used for about 60 years in other types of wells, but only recently has been applied to natural gas wells. This technique has doubled our recoverable natural gas supply and reduced our greenhouse gas production to below the targets set at the Paris Agreement (I bet you don't hear that from many climate activists).

[@adamsteinhardt6393]

Or the rock has really good porosity, but the pores are not connected so nothing can flow Thru the rock without creating that connection.

[@funoff3207]

Not addressing that, long term, it's a complete waste of time

[@PowahSlapEntertainmint]

Honestly, I don't give a frack.

[@peachybiscuits]

PowahSlap Entertainmint oh my gwadddddddddd I watch uuuuuuuuu!!!!!!

[@Rippertear]

PowahSlap Entertainmint Sorry, sir, but this is a Christian server, so please, _no_ _swearing_.

[@DiamondTurtleGamer]

PowahSlap Entertainmint Yooo!

[@Jehxn]

Rippertear You are a man of culture as well.

[@rennis4471]

Holy shit I just watched your video on how to always get top comment, and I come here and you beat me to the pun

[@Jackofalltrades837]

Nice video, very well explained. Many oil companies (in Canada anyway) are shifting away from fresh water usage and are fracing with produced water instead. Much cheaper and doesn’t use up any fresh water resources. Also, most companies dispose of the flow back water into disposal wells, never to be seen again. This information has been so twisted and manipulated by the media, nice to see someone finally explaining it properly.

[@vivekp4854]

I can't trust anyone anymore, the media always lies about fossil fuels while oil companies do their best to avoid any responsibilities for any of their mistakes. Even researching on my own leads to the biased perspective of whoever's wrote the article.

[@Cj-yw8cs]

Haliburton will not use produced water

[@Jackofalltrades837]

@@Cj-yw8cs we use Trican and Element, both have no issues fracing with clean produced water.

[@adamsteinhardt6393]

Halliburton definitely will use produced water, but the salinity must be low enough to work with the friction reducer. This is true of any company.

[@jilloutthebox1381]

Coastal gas link has no right to construct fracked gas pipeline on sovereign Wet’suwet’an territory!

[@tipsforahealthylife7845]

Very informative! I like this guy's narrations too!

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

People often talk about the horrible chemicals in the fracking fluid, but that actually misses the point. Even if you use safe fluid (which has been developed and the formula is public so anyone can use it, but nobody does), the most dangerous chemicals like benzine are in the shale and will be released both into the well and possibly into local water supplies no matter how safely you try to do it.

[@Hanesboi]

Well yeah, it's common to hear that happens, some people take other situations more seriously than other situations like worrying more about an airplane crash than a car crash. In this case it's people worrying more about the chemicals in the liquid rather than benzine etc.

[@shinymelody6715]

Sam ironically lol, the fracking process uses between 1 to 8 million(s) of water gallons. in fact in Michigan, in 2014, 35 gallons of freshwater were removed from nearby aquifers just to frack

[@maxybaer123]

wait 35gallons are you sure they weren't just using that water to supply there workers with something to drink?

[@shinymelody6715]

maxybaer123 35 million of gallons my bad e.e

[@meatman7232]

Thank you for sharing this video. I had no idea what fracking was. Very informative.

[@Braden_Sky]

“... but a greater question hangs in the air” LMAO BRO GOOD ONE

[@IH8Sn0wFal]

first ted talk I have seen that seems to not have any bias, I like it

[@Armandolaw10]

Well I can clearly see what side your on. This is an informational video. However, it’s clearly bias since it only speaks about the negatives.

[@mosesmessiah9098]

The negatives out weighs the positives. It’s killing the earth and it’s dangerous. Clean energy won’t kill the earth and it’s not dangerous.

[@williamgates5652]

No.

[@sgriggl]

"This video on Jeffrey Dahmer only speaks about the negatives of cannibalism! It's so clearly biased"...

[@stewartj3407]

@Moses Messiah step back from the edge there buddy, the sky isn’t falling.

[@makanivalur]

Thank you for such a helpful overview. I feel like I finally understand more of the controversy!

[@kma3647]

I wish I could say it was helpful, but without numbers and context provided by a knowledgeable engineer, it's little more than an introduction. They used radiation symbols all over the place to scare people. They talked about earthquakes without mentioning magnitude. They mention methane emissions as if that's not literally what LNG is, and without acknowledging that because that's the target to harvest, fracking companies have no intention of losing any of it if they can help it. That's profit leaking out. The geologist might explain why the layers are drilled the way they are, and what is known about long-term impacts as well as the extent of the reserves available (it's HUGE). The engineer could give more context to the safety measures put into place specifically to protect groundwater and regarding the handling of the fracking fluid. Concentrations of those components is everything, and again, we have no numbers. This is a technology which is literally life-sustaining. We're talking about shutting it down with no viable alternative capable of replacing the sheer volume of energy we consume. This deserves more honest discussion.

[@eddarby469]

My biggest problem is the diagrams are not to scale. When they say "deep below the surface" they mean DEEP BELOW THE SURFACE! The diagram implies it is only 300-500 feet down.

[@user-jt1go7dd1x]

I'm thinking about going in to home school teacher training and using the word fracking as part of my Lesson plan although I didn't know what the word fracking means but after watching the video I really learnt a lot about fracking myself.

[@5thGenNativeTexan]

While I enjoyed the video, I think it completely missed the mark at 04:50 .... We are decades away from a point where renewable energy even comes close to being a majority of our energy. Cleaner and abundant natural gas is how we get to that point in the future. This is the problem I have with the radical messages of "no fossil fuels.. clean energy now!". Those chanting that mantra have absolutely no clue of what it takes to power society. When I hear someone say that, it reminds me of a kid who says "I want a pony .. NOW!", and has no clue why they can't have a pony.

[@ToushiDiablo]

Fracking is so bad. In my old college town, you could literally light the water on fire if it was close enough to the site.

[@mashruralam5795]

Thank you for an informative and unbiased explanation of the technology.

[@newmanattack]

It is a little biased.

[@mapmanlxii1715]

Pretty fair unbiased assessment. Though the comment about diverting investment dollars is a red herring all fracking done in the US is by private capital, there is nothing to indicate those funds would be used to investigate or develop alternate energy supplies.

[@mynameisjeff8301]

he attac he protecc but most importantly... he fracc

[@likechaaa]

Btw - not all gas wells need fracking... Not all fracking is done horizontal drilling The depth of the well varies more than stated - it depends where the shale layers lie in the geology Not all shake gas wells also contain oil Most wells are double lined - so if the inside metal casing is damaged, it is protected my the concrete casing around it With love - a chemical engineer

[@JamesTTierce]

It's also not limited to gas wells. I've heard people who adamantly oppose fracking yet are unaware of this simple fact

[@loleq2137]

The ending was so deep

[@DOGakaDefenderOfGems]

excellent breakdown for beginners and laymen ... thank you

[@AnakinSkywalker_1858]

Ted can take a boring subject and make it amazing

[@ombrenightcores4153]

I was watching a bunch of RuPaul’s Drag Race videos and this shows up in my recommended and I just-

[@kirsten2080]

oh the fracking?

[@ombrenightcores4153]

kenta x SOMEONE GOT IT

[@danielsmit11]

Didn't know rupaul was a race car driver.

[@tamerbulmus2721]

what is the related topic with Ru paul drag race I didn't understand you

[@strange_and_magnificent]

This guy could put me to sleep with his voice..... it’s just so soothing. 😴🤤

[@prisgila6178]

the fact that this video is 2014 really WOW

[@peterlee9691]

I want to see an animation or video explaining in more detail how the drill turns and cuts 90º, insertion of bore sleeve & perforating gun in action.

[@ThZuao]

Fracking can extract oil too. The main advantage that came with the fracking technique is that the horizontal drilling makes it far more productive and helps mitigate the costs of drilling a dry well (it happens. Used to be 1 in 10 exploratory wells drilled struck oil, while only 1 in 1000 were economically viable). That's why it boomed in the US not long ago, causing Saudi Arabia to drop their oil prices to compete and resulting in the cheapest gas prices since 2000. But I have a question: Is the gas/oil trapped in bubbles or dissolved in the rocky matrix?

[@jaydeee30]

The gas and oil are trapped within the pores of over-pressurized rocks.

[@TenaciousDoves]

Thers a very good Freakonomics Radio Podcast on the man who invented Fracking, its part of a five part series on Oil and how it gets from the ground to the pump

[@deus_ex_machina_]

Tenacious Doves Love that show. Also checkout NPR if you haven't already.

[@saulgarcia7083]

Tenacious Doves where is the show

[@fuzznuzzler3104]

I guarantee you one thing ...countries that ban fracking will eventually allow it when other resources run scarce

[@AbhigyanKhargharia24]

Helped in my exam prep. Absolute blessing of a video

[@SomecallmeTim-mm9gj]

Very good informational video on fracking. It is informative and unbiased and states reasons for controversy surrounding it.

[@steakslave]

2:54 How can there be radioactive material in the flowback liquid?

[@lo_end_frequencies2626]

There's naturally formed radioactive elements in the earth. Hence why its in our periodic table

[@luc7478]

I'll try to explain it as simple as possible: hydraulic fracturing is used in Shale reservoirs. and those shale reservoir have a geological term called "source rock" one of the interesting characteristics of source rocks is that they're very radioactive than most rocks, they released high gamma rays and have very high concentrations of Uranium. because sauce rocks contains " organic matter " Wich is the hydrocarbon we're trying to extract. during exploration and drilling we can find those reservoirs by measuring gamma rays. so it's a good indicator. however during production and using Hydraulic fracturing. the fluids gonna make contact with those shale reservoirs and some of the radioactive minerals gonna get dissolved in the flowback. I hope it's a bit clearer. remember shale in general are radioactive compared to other rocks but Source Rock shale is Super radioactive (3 Times more radioactive than standard shale )

[@DominoDonaldson]

People think renewable energy is clean and reliable, but the fact is all wind turbines, solar, and most all “green” energy is built from petroleum. Also those “good for the environment” processes are maintained with oil based products. I work on a drilling rig in west Texas, where we have over 3000 turbines in our county. That “clean” energy leaks hydraulic Fluid, and grease all over the ground over time. The hundreds of gas powered truck used to transport thousands of gallons of oil based lubricants every day to maintain the turbines are dependent on the production of oil wells. Renewable energy, isn’t so renewable.

[@user-nq5ej2du1x]

In 1970s I worked for Haliburton I worked on a 3 3/8 inch pump truck. The main ingredient was condensate. Commonly known as low grade JP-4 jet fuel. Mixed with water and sand. I remember alot of us died in Red desert wyoming when a spark started killing 9 men. It was just devastating to the environment and animals mainly the deer. And elk.

[@blessedwithchallenges9917]

Would be nice to see the benefits vs the negative. Most of this seems to be a beat down on fracking, which leads me to believe the video isn't good info - it's biased info.

[@iwilltakemylifeforpakistan8024]

My teacher cant teach me herself so she told everyone to watch this -_-

[@FromDust81]

Not a very good teacher.

[@Un1234l]

@@FromDust81 or a good one knowing her limits, strengths and weaknesses. Getting the best sources for their students.

[@gulnaseem2314]

I think those people who want to be a dumbo and are lazy and hv no interest in studies disliked the video I liked it and subscribed the channel

[@paulwilliams8555]

That's what I like unbiased reporting

[@Lord_Magikarp]

"OUR WATER IS ON FIRE!"

[@jonathanoconnor9546]

Actually it's not. Just heard of a town in Pa where the water has been burning for almost 100 years due to natural methane in the ground and no fracking for hundreds of miles away.

[@Un1234l]

@@jonathanoconnor9546 It's a Simpsons reference

[@Hanesboi]

1:20 The way the animation was done makes it look like if the homeworld gems invaded the earth and suceeded, also great animation Ted-Ed this is of the best i''ve seen.

[@MIKEEXVI]

Bob the Drag Queen and Peppermint brought me here.

[@carmenduran2312]

I don't see any point in fracking unless to create more problems for ourselves which we seem to be good at.

[@jimmyjunk3093]

You're using the point right now; energy.

[@htschoolproject]

These videos may be nice to teach some people the basics about fracing, however they create fear in a lot of people... Not accurately showing the number of casing used in a well, or showing to scale how much deeper the formation is to ground water makes people believe it is very easy for ground water to get contaminated.

[@FantastiXPvZ]

You're right, It's not easy for ground water to become contaminated by Slick water, because of the distances involved, but there are numerous recorded incidents of it happening. Easily findable.

[@turbogamers3013]

Who came here after Trump and Joe's second debate?

[@whome8444]

Me

[@tonyperez2204]

i guess no one really cares.. lol

[@shakilsunflower1100]

@@tonyperez2204 I’d say clueless. I had no idea and even after watching this video I still am unsure because I had no idea this was even a thing😖 I go to the comments to see what you guys write to get a better understanding😩❤️

[@FromDust81]

I've been in frac since 2011. All over the US and the MidEast.

[@GermanAuto111]

The video is nice but the content is disturbing for what is happening unfortunately. Thanks for the video

[@dueceharmon1519]

Well u got a few things wrong. 1- it’s not an immediate 90 degree angle, it’s gradual over hundreds of feet 2-they don’t perforate the whole well at once, the make one set of cracks, pump on it, plug that section off. from the rest of the well, rinse and repeat for as many times needed. These are called stages. 3- the flow back fluid is pretty much always pumped back into the ground into a injection well, basically an old well that is done producing (sending oil and gas to the surface) we pump the fluid back into these empty pockets away from ground water or anything that can be contaminated

[@happycatginger]

I worked on a perforation crew. Duece said everything I wanted to say.

[@dueceharmon1519]

@@happycatginger ive worked water transfer, been on the a 3rd party chem/ pump down crew, roughnecked, ran casing, done flow back, and wireline just a little bit of everything and on 23 just want to find a good company to settle with

[@mgchandrakanth]

Fantastic, beautifully explained. God bless you immensely. What a simple but an ample explanation it is !

[@cmdr1911]

We simply cannot produce enough power to crack the rock from the bottom of the well to the water table. The water table is above an impervious rock/clay layer. This layer remains intact thus not chemicals enter the ground water supply. While you might get some flaws in the casing, the gas will follow the easiest path, the well head. This issue with the water is the disposal. The options are injection wells and new facilities are being built to handle this water. The pads are designed to prevent spills, they work as swimming poles. The sealed pads, casing and disposal facilities are there. There are faults all over the country and earthquakes have been caused by mining, construction and even just because the land is decompressing from glaciers. While it isn't harmless it isn't the danger it is presented to. There is a a lot time, engineering, inspection, money and oversight over these operations. Many people working and building these facilities live in the areas, they care what happens to the land, they care about their family farm of the last 200 years. There are incidents and things happen, but they are isolated and few in number. Short term, this is the best option.

[@cmdr1911]

@Tbone only work for independents and start ups

[@cmdr1911]

@Tbone Everyone is biased, I have left the industry for different construction. Durring my time I was discharged by clients for holding them to environmental standards, worked clean ups for spills, advised/consultated for government agencies and live in the area I have worked. I worked to establish new and more stringent management processes for third parties. The industry does do good but comes with risks. Thise risks need to be managed and monitored. The 2008 era was wild, tech out stripped regulations and that is were many of the issues arose until the agencies could keep up. In Ohio ODNR didnt catch up till 2015 and they are still tighting as they should.

[@lavanya9850]

This channel is excellent

[@shayneboucher4909]

as a side note the water used is called brackish, or produced water, both are recycled. most oil and gas companies will not use fresh water as the bacteria will cause a well to turn sour ( h2s). fresh water also requires a lengthy permit application to use.