North America is rich in natural gas resources, which is why using fracking to extract natural gas has many benefits. Almost all of the natural gas used in North America is produced in the United States and Canada. Using a means of energy production that can be obtained domestically creates economic benefits. Governments experience increased revenue from a variety of sources related to fracking- severance, local, and sales taxes, as well as direct payments from natural gas companies. In fact, $63 billion in revenue to all levels of the government in 2012 was due to fracking. It is estimated that this number will increase to around $1.4 trillion between 2012 and 2025.

Fracking also supported 1.7 million jobs in the United States in 2012, a number that is projected to rise to 3 million by 2020. These jobs are a source of high-wage employment for workers with and without college degrees. Also, a fair portion of economic activity is seen in non-producing states (states in which fracking is not taking place) due to goods and services that are critical to the gas industry. Manufacturers in the United States have predicted $11.6 billion in savings by 2025 due to lower costs of many products that use natural gas as a raw material, such as fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, as well as due to lower energy costs from using natural gas to generate electricity.

Natural gas is being used by more than 60 million people in the United States to heat their homes, as well as being used for industrial purposes. Since natural gas requires minimal processing and can be efficiently delivered via pipelines, its production and delivery consume less energy than is used for many other fuel sources.

Furthermore, natural gas is a source of cleaner energy as compared to coal. Emissions of natural gas have significantly lower levels of contaminants and particulates, such as mercury, sulfur, and nitrogen oxides, than does coal. It has also been reported that natural gas emits 44% less carbon dioxide per million BTU than coal. The use of water in energy production is a common concern of many. However, natural gas production requires less water than is required for producing the same amount of energy from coal, uranium, or biofuels.

Literature Cited

Benefits of Natural Gas. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2017, from http://www.shell.us/energy-and-innovation/unconventional-resources/benefits-of-natural-gas.html

Finkel M. (2015). The Human and Environmental Impact of Fracking: How fracturing shale for gas affects us and our world. Praeger.