” What is Art, monsieur but Nature concentrated.”- Honore De Balzac
Great works of art are different renditions of nature by artists. But preserving these masterpieces is quite an undertaking. A number of technologies have come up in recent times to protect these masterpieces. The gas extraction technique is one of these. Despite its rave reviews, this method has gained its share of takers in different parts of the world. A vital aspect of the gas extraction technique is the miniaturised fracking ”rig” which imitates the tremors, sounds and frames that an actual accident might produce.
The noise will hit your ears hard. While visiting a gallery, you will suddenly come across a red rig that lights up while a drill moves through rubber strewn floor. You will then experience a sound that is similar to a jet taking off, followed by the metallic hammering and smoke coming out of a drill hole. The noise will disappear as quickly as it started, followed by sad bird cries across a pool of liquid waste. You will also come across random methane flares that come with a dry wall of heat.
This technology is being utilized across major art museums across Europe to make visits more emotionally engaging for visitors. The exhibits showed so far have helped to highlight local concerns such as methane leaks, contamination of water supplies, etc. The process of fracking is no doubt noisy, but the major aim of the process appears to be misguided. The major compelling issue is its effect on climate change. It has enabled to cut down carbon emissions in US, since gas fired stations produce less than half of carbon dioxide per kilowatt of electricity created as compared to the coal-fired stations. Therefore, fracking is being looked upon as suitable alternative for using renewable energy.Obtaining gas from deep shale deposits through fracking has become a widespread practice. Fracking is done through the use of high -pressure mix of water, chemicals and sand. As energy needs continue to rise, fracking is being done on a large scale in US and a number of western countries. Industrial interests have also increased in UK, and reports by the British Geological Survey have stated that northern England has somewhere close to 35 trillion cubic metres of shale lying underground. The energy produced would meet Britain’s energy needs for decades.
Fracking is beneficial from the economic point of view as well. The use of the fracking method in the oil and gas industries will also bring down energy costs to a great extent. Experts are still divided over the environmental impact caused by fracking. There have been reports about how oil and gas wells across different parts of the US has ‘released’ lethal cancer-causing chemicals into the air around fracturing sites. Benzene, formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide that smells like rotten eggs are some of these chemicals. Apart from cancer, they might have an impact on the brain and upper respiratory system.
The changing geopolitics and its subsequent impact on energy needs of the world economy are going to have a major impact on future of fracking. However, despite questions being raised about the impact of fracking on human health and the environment, it is going to play a major role in fulfilling US’s energy needs.
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