Unit 6 Shale Gas and Ecology

1 Introduction 2 interface

1.1 Read the text title and hypothesize what the text is about. Write down your hypothesis.

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1.2 What do you know concerning this issue? List your ideas in the table left column “I know”.

1.3 If you know answers to these questions write them down in the space given after each question.

1.4 Circle in the list the words and expressions you know. Write down their translation in the table and calculate the percentage of your lexical competence.

Shale gas is a valuable resource. This is an opportunity for energy independence and prosperity. But environmentalists are protesting. To understand what is going on in this discussion, you need at least to know approximately how the shale gas is extracted. This is done by the Americans with slit technique. First, a vertical borehole is executed, then horizontal, diverging from the main “shaft”. In resulting system of tunnels water mixed with chemicals is pumped, creating fissures in the rocks through which gas stored in them is being released.

Environmentalists mainly indicate as a threat mentioned chemicals added to water. There are opinions according to which in the areas where the shales are exploited, drinking water is contaminated and causes a terrible disease. However, experts on the other hand explained that this is impossible. Drinking water resources are located at depths of several hundred meters, wells are located much deeper, even a kilometer deep. So there is no possibility that the contaminated water will go out because it is on the lower level. Moreover, the scary-sounding word “chemical” means a set of chemical agents, most of which we use every day - being even in the diet, such as thickeners.

Looking at the arguments coming from both sides, it must not be forgotten that here and there in the background there is a lot of money. Proponents have a support from companies interested in exploiting gas and the opponents are provided with arguments, by those for whom appearance of large quantities of cheap gas on the market is not favorable, this is the countries which are currently the leading exporters of the fuel.

The introduction of US technology to produce shale gas may result in an ecological disaster in Europe, claim ecological organizations. Although Washington has been actively advancing its own shale gas production technology throughout the world to prop up US companies, not all share the enthusiasm. Germany and France have banned its use, the socialist-green coalition in Sweden also announced that if they win, the country will give up the slate.

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