How natural is natural gas? The extraction and consumption of natural gas has increased over the last thirty years. Also known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, it is creating a huge amount of buzz in the environmental and political communities. The use of natural gas is a great source of energy throughout the world, only in America have we had a gold rush effect when it comes to extraction. Natural gas provides less dependence on foreign oil, less need for coal-fired power plants, and a more affordable source of energy around the world. There are many benefits to using natural gas, but the way it is extracted has made many people sick. The harmful environmental impacts caused by hydraulic fracturing continue to increase. Not to mention the political influence on large corporations and water quality standards. Currently in the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and the Barnett shale in Texas, air and water quality have declined in recent years as drilling sites have become rampant. Natural gas is natural in the way it came about, but it is not natural in the way they extract it and the problems it is causing for everyone involved. To raise awareness of the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, environmental impacts, water quality and air emissions must be considered. Background Information According to the United States Department of Energy [USDE], the first sightings of natural gas date back to 100-125 AD, referred to as the eternal fires of Plutarch's writings, found in present-day Iraq. These flames were most likely natural gas that was ignited by lightning and leaked from cracks in the ground. During the 1800s William A. Hart of Fredonia, New York, noticed those blue flames shooting through nearby cracks and decided to drill a well twenty-seven feet deep into... middle of paper... Sewage. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(2), A50-A55. doi:10.1289/ehp.122-A50 United States Department of Energy (2000). Natural gas fueling the blue flame. Retrieved from http://www.fossil.energy.gov/education/energylessons/gas/gas_history.html Environmental Protection Agency (2014, March 16). The USEPA hydraulic fracturing process. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from www2.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing/process-hydraulic-fracturingPerry, S. L. (2012). Development, land use, and collective trauma: The Marcellus ShaleGas boom in rural Pennsylvania. Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment, 34(1),81-92. doi:10.111/j.2153-9561.2012.01066.xWeinhold, B. (2012). The future of fracking. Environmental HealthPerspectives, 120(7), A272-A279 http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4ef5af90-4bfc-4644-8072-00c439e2f9a2%40sessionmgr4002&vid=4&hid=4205