Saturday, September 7, 2019
Raylicious Snack Social media Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Raylicious Snack Social media - Assignment Example The following research paper analyzes the case of the Raylicious Snack Company, a business that does not have an online marketing campaign besides its website. The paper argues for why a business should adopt an online presence while also improving its present website. It looks at the merit of engaging in such a campaign and how it will help achieve its business objective of doing things right and becoming a leading snack retailer in the United States. It also looks at how those strategies will enable the company to attract a different customer base. The advent and convergence of technology have reduced communication and the cost of doing business. Such technology includes the use of the internet that has reduced the barriers between businesses and their customers. Therefore, it calls for the company to devote its time in creating a possible online marketing campaign that includes having a presence on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook among other social media websites (Norton 6). It is obvious that social networks and media affect our lives in all and every possible aspect. For example, they serve in spreading ideas, product marketing and promotion and brand visibility among others. Building an online presence and marketing strategy is an imperative move by any business that wishes to stay competitive while using technology to deliver products and services to its customers. The prospect of social media and having an online marketing campaign for the family owned business will avail access to the mass market, and it will enable the business to undertake a personalized approach towards product marketing. The fact that it is flexible and does not cost much to implement should particularly appeal to such small and medium sized business such as Raylicious. Therefore, the business should not be left behind and implement the approach because of its benefits. Thus far, an online marketing campaign involves the
Friday, September 6, 2019
The Economic Problem and how it Affects Society Essay Example for Free
The Economic Problem and how it Affects Society Essay Define the economic problem. Explain how individual consumers, business firms and the government are all faced with the economic problem. Identify the different economic factors that influence how each group seeks to address this problem. The economic problem occurs because of the fact that the supply of resources used to produce goods and services are limited or finite but there is an infinite amount of demands and wants of individuals. In other words, the economic problem is consequence of limited resources, but unlimited wants. Individuals must decide what is the best item to buy with their limited resources. This is called opportunity cost, which involves the consumer determining which goods and services will provide the most satisfaction and value for money. In market economies, consumers have sovereignty over the market and thus they influence which products are produced and the amount produced. However, many businesses persuasively advertise unwanted or unnecessary goods and services to certain consumers, which can result in a misallocation of resources. In accordance to the economic problem, businesses have a number of issues to address: What to produce? How to produce? How much to produce? To whom to distribute? What to produce Firms must decide which production combination of goods and services will involves the least cost but result in the largest amount of produce How to produce refers to what method of production of the selected goods and services Is the most cost effective and efficient How much to produce involves predicting the amount of goods and services that will be needed and demanded. Using these statistics, the business will attempt to produce a quantity of goods equal to or as close as possible to that amount. This prediction is usually based on the amount of consumption, demand and profit of the previous year. To whom to distribute the ratio of distribution of goods and services across the country, state or region, according to consumer demands and availability of transport. The government has a regulatory role in the economy through the control of taxes and redistribution of income. For example, when an economy has a low level of economic activity, the government can increase its expenditure on things such as infrastructure, and could lower taxes to encourage consumer and business spending. Similarly, the government could decrease spending and increase taxes to influence saving and less shopping splurges, to reduce the economic activity. The Reserve Bank can also act as a regulator and can dramatically alter the direction of an economy. The Reserve Bank can raise and lower interest rates which influences domestic saving and investment, and also affects foreign investment. For example raising interest rates would encourage foreign countries to buy Australian dollars to capitalise on the interest of their investment. The government has some bearing on the actions of the Reserve Bank, however its influence is quite minor.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
How Globalization and International Business Are Related
How Globalization and International Business Are Related Globalization with new value migration (more economically effective business design) has opens up more doors to opportunities. The literature review is broken into 5 parts: Firstly due to globalization, there will be restructuring in income resulting in more customer connections/segments restructure. With better segmenting capability and new business models, new opportunities can be ride on and unique requirements be met. Secondly, expansion of segment requires customization for each new market and effective management involves balancing between custom ratio and business design segment to get right combination of response rate/cost structure. Thirdly, increasing growth at base segment leads to entrepreneurs catering low-cost design, but eventually high profitability will attract them to premium segment. Premium players will counter attack by also catering new low cost business design. Organization must defend against market takeover which creates lead increased competition/risk. Four thly, redefining innovation is important to create high impact success activities. There must be balance in investment in innovation beyond product/processes that create values for investors/customers like alliance and global talent sourcing. Lastly, unique information chain that connects customer to innovation is important for organization to create proprietary information to gain head start by deploying its unique information/application system. To end off, there must be risk management system to respond to new waves of trend/risk. Rational for Selection Globalization is inevitable, ever-changing, shape competition and waits for no one. In this technology-fueled global environment, businesses must stay ahead these trends to remain competitive. I want to have better understanding of Globalization as it is the stepping stone for International Business by giving rise to international commercial transactions. Analysis and Viewpoints Positive Aspects of the Article: Slywotzky et al (2006) identifies the significance of having appropriate business models due to consumer pressure and income restructuring induced by globalization. I agree that when operating abroad, global competitive strategy must be adopted for different foreign conditions. Daniels et al (2011) support this and evaluates that organization must have different market responses in order to be global to compete, response to foreign opportunities and learn from each other. Hence, altering business models by investing on RD, source worldwide to work more efficiently in innovation/products is essential to meet the demand of global customers. Example: To gain global focus, two Brazilian firms alter business model and merge to form BRF-Brazil. Slywotzky et al (2006) also gave reason that globalization will drive organization to be innovative in creating its own proprietary information for success. Daniels et al (2011) and Davis et al (2007) concur by stati ng that foreign companies are the source for domestic companies to stay innovative and create own unique business models. Globalization provides the stepping stone for multinational transactions because of technology expansion, liberalization of cross-trade, increase demand in foreign product and opportunity for global cooperation. Example: Foreign firm will bring in new technology and better skilled workers. Also, increasing international competition will induce local firms to add skilled workers to handle new technology. This will help companies to explore innovative means of more efficient production which cut cost and increase production. Pursing international sales usually increase potential markets, helps acquire resources at lower cost, better/new products and additional operating knowledge to gain competitive advantage. These helps to build better global branding resulting in more profit due to higher exports demanded. Negative Aspects of the Article: Slywotzky et al (2006) comment that globalization has induced more effective low-cost business design, more customer connections and segments which organization can exploit. But I feel that this article fails to cover many negative pitfalls like social and environmental problems. Kumenit (2008) and Daniels et al (2011) argue that low cost strategy brings about negative effects and profit/income disproportionate. Recent shift in manufacturing job from US to China has help China to grow faster and reduced US real wage growth. We see that in USs garment industry, where it is cheaper to produce in China. This would mean a mass migration of work and many US citizens would be jobless. Globalization in this sense is good for organization as they can capitalize on cheaper labor, but bad for US citizens especially if they are lowly skilled. Those lowly skilled will be stuck in underground economy leading to political instability which undermine international t rade/investment. In developing countries, globalization/multinational investment leads to environmental degradation and generates pressure for cheaper labour to retain competitiveness. Hence, it erodes values of social justice and increase inequalities. Small enterprises in developing areas will face complexity in taking advantage of globalization and poverty persists. Global restructuring also dramatically affects rights of workers in developing countries. Example: Development of China as a world factory due to its cheap labour is causing worker suicides problem. Due to poor working condition/low salary, emotional health of Chinas migrant workers is on the down toll. Nine employee deaths at global electronics manufacturer Foxconn, Apples main supplier of iPhones revealed some harsh social aspects (The Straits Times, 2010). Conclusion In order to enjoy the full benefits of globalization, organization must have the right global business design, global operation strategy, global focus, customization, organizational structure, customer connection activities, innovation, proprietary information and risk management system in place. Though there are viewpoints on optimizing its benefits, the article failed to explore issues in relation to human rights, environmental matters, political instability and inequalities. These are common global concerns which have to be respected and since international business transactions have connection to these concerns, it is crucial for laws of international business transactions have to be in a position to promote guidelines to regulate global concerns which will in turn benefit businesses.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Narrative Strategy in Hurstons Sweat :: Hurston Sweat Essays
Narrative Strategy in Hurston's Sweat The narrative strategy and point of view in Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" mold the reader's understanding of the story. They craft the personalities of both Delia and Sykes as well as developing their relationship. The choice of a third person omniscient narrator charges the story with more brutal honesty than would any other type of narration. The scene where the village men discuss Sykes and Delia holds relevance as a narrative tool and explores an alternative point of view to the narrator. The narrator draws the character sketches of both Sykes and Delia. Hurston lets us see their thoughts that allow her to develop their personalities rapidly and thoroughly. In a story of roughly only seven and a half pages Hurston manages to create vivid and complex characters. Much of this can be credited to her choice of narration. Long passages of narration mixed with the dialogue design a relationship fed on pain: " She lay awake, gazing upon the debris that cluttered their matrimonial trail. Not an image left standing along the way. Anything like flowers had long ago been drowned in the salty stream that had been pressed from her heart. Her tears, her sweat, her blood" (1675). Since the thoughts of Sykes and Delia are so different, a series of contrasts develops their relationship and personalities. Hurston's choice of narrator lends believability to the entire story and makes Delia's plight more extreme. If Delia were the one telling the story things would be quite different. The reader would not give her version of the story the same credibility he gives that of an outside narrator. It also makes the reader more sympathetic for Delia. A combination of what Delia feels and what Sykes does to her leads the reader to feel sympathetically towards her. This can be clearly seen with the addition of Bertha--the other woman in Sykes life. "Too late now to hope for love, even if it were not Bertha it would be someone else " (1675). What happens to her seems truthful and real which directs the reader's expected reaction to the story. The scene where the men of the town discuss Delia and Sykes rounds the view of the characters. In this passage perhaps the most significant lines in the story can be found: "There's plenty men dat takes a wife lak dey do a joint uh sugarcane.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Cost Management Essay -- Accounting Finance Business Essays
Cost Management      On page 92 of our text it says that committed costs are costs arising from the possession of facilities, equipment, and a basic organization. Discretionary costs are determined by management as part of the periodic planning process in order to meet the organization’s goals. They have no obvious relationship with levels of capacity or output activity. Therefore my assumptions of Committed and Discretionary costs are as follows. Committed Costs          Discretionary Costs     Administrator     $60,000     Assistant     $35,000 Accounting and Billing     $15,000     Two Secretaries     $42,000 Consulting     $10,000     Supplies     $35,000 Salaries     $46,000     Advertising and Promotion     $9,000 Transportation     $10,000     Professional Meetings and Dues     $14,000 Security     $12,000     Two Social Workers     $70,000 Custodial     $13,000                         Totals     $166,000     Totals     $205,000 When I first took a look at this assignment, I thought it would be a bit difficult to prove my point by using the text as a reference guide. I did that my citing the definition, but I am going to rely on what I know as a manager of a business to answer these questions and I was told that real world experiences are sometimes better that citing them from a text. Therefore, I am going to take a stab at this.      I feel that Dr. White needs to take a look at theses areas- * Salaries (for assistant and two secretaries and for two social workers) * Supplies * Advertising and Promotion * Professional Meetings and Dues      My first question as I was reading this assignment was: What do they need with an Assistant and two secretaries? Where do they hold their meetings? What do they need two social workers in each of the two areas for? Why are they spending $35,000 in supplies? I also referred back to my previous classes in team work and producing a greater output in half the time. This is not needed here. This is a mental health facility and as hard as it might be at times, they can cut the two secretaries to the administrator. I believe that one would suffice and the administrator has an assistant. They can also cut the social workers down to one per shift area, or one for community health and one for mental health. This outpatient clinic has operational costs of $371,000 with $205,000 being what I ... ...clinic’s long-run prospects. (Managerial Accounting pg 93) I am simply recommending a reduction in certain areas of the clinic.      In any business, when one becomes accustomed to functioning in a certain manner; it is difficult to identify and separate what is costing you money, particularly if it is personnel. I am very familiar with this as this is one area where I am forced to make a lot of cuts. A lot of times it is like cutting your nose off to spite your face. I will honestly admit that this is one area that is the absolute hardest for me, as these people become like family. Advertising and promotional items are essential to any business but when you spend more money to promote a company, than what you are bringing in, you have a serious problem. Therefore, with this said, I would advise Dr. White to prepare for a reduced budget by analyzing what is costing her the most money, and make a decision in those areas as to how to scale them back. It will not be an easy task, but I feel that I have offered her some viable alternatives. Works Cited www.nationalpen.com Horngren/Sundem/Stratton-Introduction to Management Accounting, 2005, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Revolution in France, Latin America, and British North America :: Peasuasive Argumentative History Essays
Revolution in France, Latin America, and British North America One possible definition of a revolution is "an act of organized violence to bring about radical changes in the economic, social and political relations within a given system. It uses force to destroy (sometimes physically) and replace those who hold power." Using this definition, can the events on France, Latin America and British North America in the period 1776-1820 be considered revolutions? Are some more revolutionary than others? Many changes occurred during the 19th century with the industrial revolution. The revolution, if we can call it that, started in Britain with the introduction of new machinery that substituted man power. These new machineries, first in the textile industry and then in others, were used in factories to create mass productions, of textiles in the case of the textile industry. This new ability to create mass production of textiles very quickly and with the quality of the most expensive textile in the market, created great changes, not only in Britain, but also in other countries. The prices of textiles drop drastically, which made is possible for poor people to afford it. This was a very good change, since people had the chance to live life with a little more comfort. Another positive effect of the industrial revolution in Britain, is that the newly created factories created a lot of jobs. This jobs gave a new opportunity for farmer; they began to think of themselves differently, and many of them did move to the city, to take a job in a factory. Like any change in life, the industrial revolution also had negative effects. A shortage of food was one of these negative effects. The people that moved to the city lost the ability to feed themselves, and the few farmers who stayed barely produced enough to feed their families, so there was place to get enough food to feed all those workers. Housing was another growing problem in Britain. The cities in Britain developed fast, specially the working class neighborhood which were constructed for factory workers to live in because they could not afford anything else. However, this development could not keep up with the increase in population, so very quickly the working neighborhoods became overcrowded, and then extremely overcrowded. The living conditions of the working class in the cities decayed as fast, or even faster as the population increased.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Fracking: Water and Hydraulic Fracturing
Running head: FRACKING AND THE ENVIRONMENT The Effects of Hydraulic Fracturing and the Potential for Solutions Mark Hatcher ITT Technical Institute Full of beauty and bounty, for all who seek it, the dream of that new discovery or the find of a lifetime, awaits us whose desire is to have the plan that will fulfill a destiny, if we only work together and are determined to rise above the challenges to meet the aspiration.Those who believe and are willing to reach beyond normal capacity are most of the time able to accomplish the needs of the many, which in turn help further the cause for our existence and the anticipation of things to come. In doing so, many resources have been revealed fitting and useful over the course of time to assist us in our daily needs and social settings, allowing us the ability to sustain ourselves throughout history. However, as those resources grow smaller and our economy demands grow greater, we recognize the need to expand the search for other means of re conciliation to survive.In today’s economic struggle and political upheavals, we are ever so more seeking out new ways to take care of our own and retrieve new ways of self-dependence upon resources known to exist; only the means to extract are at hand. As most of us know, one of our most precious and well utilized resources to date is oil, black gold, which found far beneath the earth’s layers, in turn sent the Beverly Hillbillies to stardom. The need for oil and the byproducts that come from it are in great need and the costs are rising daily.Our requirement to ascertain this product has caused some concern and revealed the necessity to seek out new ways of locating this liquid assurance, for meeting our future demands. Although, there may be many ways of retrieving this from beneath the many depths of the earth, there has only been one way, truly effective for reaching areas untouched by normal means, which has become the center cause of debate in recent years. I wi ll, through the use of various reports and studies bring forth analysis and discovery that highlights the use of hydraulic fracturing and the effects hat seem to shadow over this seemingly burdened tactic of extraction. Before immersing ourselves in the myriad of reports, studies, and personal accounts concerning the results of this approach, we should understand what hydraulic fracturing is and the process it takes. Understanding the process, through which this approach is considered, we will be able to seize what the issues are and the potential for ushering in an agreement to a solution. We must first recognize what shale is and what it offers. Is this the answer to our economic future and interdependence on oil?Shale is a very compacted rock with fine sediment that is found to be with a large amount of minerals and other resources. â€Å"Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich resources of petroleum and natural gas. Sedimentary rocks are rocks formed by the a ccumulation of sediments at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Common sedimentary rocks include sandstone, limestone, and shale†(ShaleTech Shale Training and Education Center, 1995). We know that there are many resources we can extract from this area and the plays will require a unique technique to draw the required material out.Plays are noted to be spread out, throughout the United States and furthermore, the other side of the great pond is known to have several locations found to be worthy of the dig. â€Å"Shale gas maps show â€Å"plays†are found throughout the Mountain West, the South and throughout the Northeast's Appalachian Basin. The Barnett shale play in Texas, for example, is 5,000 square miles and provides 6 percent of U. S. natural gas. The Marcellus shale play that stretches across Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia covers ten times the square miles of the Barnett, but has only recently started to be developed†(EnergyFro mShale, 2012).There is much to do, in order to gain access to much of the plays that have yet to be discovered. As we progress in the direction of needed acceptance, we must consider the reasoning behind the need for access and what implications it may bring. â€Å"The U. S. Energy and Information Administration (EIA) reports that over 750 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas and 24 billion barrels of technically recoverable shale oil resources in discovered shale plays exist†(EnergyFromShale, 2012). This knowledge should propel us to continue to esearch necessary ways of extracting such a rich resource. However, within the last 50 years, there has been a means of retrieving this valuable resource for our future existence and economic progress. This activity has been possible through the actions of many drilling companies by the use of hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is a unique way to obtain the oil reserves by drilling in a horizontal pattern and gaining access to those many billion barrels of oil and natural gas waiting to be released.First, we must completely understand what hydraulic fracturing is and what it represents to the public. â€Å"Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling for natural gas and oil underneath the ground. Water mixed with other components is pumped into the ground to create cracks (also referred to as fissures or fractures) to release the gas into wells that have been built for collection†(WhatIsFracking, 2013). As the fog of understanding is slowly starting to lift, we again have to understand that there is a process, in which this occurs and will be noted in later pages, as to the affects of this procedure.Note that this has not gone on for such a period, as to not be studied and time given to organizing the pros and cons of this operation. In order to gain access to the far reaches of the plays that holds the resource, the utilization of various fluids and sand is used in th e process. It is vital to comprehend the need for monitoring the steps, as they occur and the overall engagement of the wells development. Steps are established, for this must have a great deal of regulatory involvement, while the entire flood of activity occurs. Water, sand and additives are mixed at the surface and pumped at high pressures down the wellbore. The fracturing fluid flows through the perforated sections of the wellbore and into the surrounding formation, fracturing it while carrying sand or proppants into the cracks to hold them open. Experts continually monitor pressures and fluid properties during the process, and adjust operations as necessary. This process is typically completed in multiple sections of the wellbore, commonly referred to as stages.Typically stages are isolated using a plug to allow energy or pressure to be applied to a smaller portion of the formation to help maximize the fractures created in the target formation. The plugs are removed from the wel lbore and the well’s pressure is reduced during the flowback process, leaving the sand in place to prop open the cracks and allow natural gas and oil to flow. Naturally occurring produced water, collected during the flowback process and throughout the life of the well, is properly disposed of or treated and re-used in the next hydraulic fracturing operation†(Chesapeake Energy, 2013).As the process dictates, it is very in-depth and must have an enormous amount of oversight, in order to accommodate the issues that may arise during any given point. Now that we have a clearer picture of the process, we should learn of the historical track that played out, in the early days. The first recorded effort to gain access to the plays that hold the natural gas and oil deposits was in the year 1947 by Pan American Petroleum Corp. This was noted as being a test platform, in which there was to be hydraulic fracturing compared directly with acidizing.This well, located in Grant County , Kansas, home of the Hugoton field Kelpper Well No. 1, was used as a tool for simulation productivity of oil and natural gas wells (Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2012). As time progressed, it became more and more popular, as a greater amount of drilling companies began to see the possibilities and growth potential in this process. Now we find ourselves faced with several years of activity and lessons learned to cope with, from various issues that have found their way to the open public.After many years of hydraulic fracturing and the horizontal drilling effort, there have been noted disruptions by what has been occurring through the need to extract methane from the shale rock. Therefore, further analysis is necessary to investigate the potential cause of all the reports being tethered through local, state, and the federal governments. The impact of this drilling weighs heavily on the residents that are local to the drilling process.The concerns stem from the possibility of contam ination that may be chiefly caused by the various fluids that are transferred through the well system, in order for the fracturing process to transpire. There is great concern that life threatening incidents may be a great risk to the area being fracked. With this issue and many others on the horizon, the Environmental Protection Agency has been very inclusive in all the debate. Through many regulatory policies and formal laws, there have been continued discussions, in regards to hydraulic fracturing.Before we discuss the major policies that have been implemented, it is necessary to bring about the detailed issues that have raised such awareness. An astronomical amount of reports had perforated the airways and given some reason for there to be fear in most of the residents’ eyes, when it could affect their very living conditions and livelihoods. â€Å"Areas of concern include perceived lack of transparency, potential chemical contamination, water availability, waste water di sposal, and impacts on ecosystems, human health and surrounding areas†(University of Michigan, 2012).The potential for there to be a complete downfall of an industry that had found an answer to locating and retrieving the well needed resource was now at the forefront of controversy and having to prove its place in this progressive economy. The report would continue to show the prospects of being an enormous loss to the residents of Michigan. â€Å"Hydraulic fracturing has the potential to touch issues that virtually all Michigan residents care about: drinking water, air quality, Great Lakes health, water supply, local land use, energy security, economic growth, tourism and natural resource protection,†Hoffman said. In the end, our goal is to provide valuable insights and information to help address these important and legitimate concerns here in the Great Lakes State†(University of Michigan, 2012). The reports would not stop here, they would continue around the nation. â€Å"A U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) report found traces of methane, ethane and phenol in a monitoring well in rural Pavillion, Wyo. , where residents say fracking has contaminated their drinking water†(Colman, 2012). As noted, this was going to be a continual issue, needing mitigation and regulation by an appropriate authority.Along with this report came other stories, following the same circumstances and leading to the same conclusions. At this point there needed to be an in-depth study to completely comprehend the issues that have drawn so much limelight and bring about a report that would lead to the needed answers and come to some final conclusions. This is where the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Interior (DOI) came together in an multi-agency agreement to work toward efforts to engage this potential problem. In March 2011, the White House released a â€Å"Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future†(Blueprint) –a comprehensive plan to reduce America's oil dependence, save consumers money, and make our country the leader in clean energy industries. The Blueprint supports the responsible development of the Nation's oil and natural gas, with the specific goals of promoting safe practices and reducing energy imports. The Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of the Interior (DOL), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) each will have a critical role to play in this mission†(Majumdar, A. Hayes, D. J. , Perciasepe, B. , 2012). Marching orders were therefore given to the multi-agency force and each would take measures, as to not go into redundancy and use each other’s fields of expertise and resolve conflicts, as they arose. As the EPA will continue to work in a multi-agency capacity to continue learning answers from their in-depth study, it is important to know that they did do an earlier study in 2004 on underground sourc es of drinking water, as it referred to hydraulic fracturing.While the main portion of the fracturing is conducted in a particular place, many of the other sections of vertical and horizontal well sections may be set up over several thousands of feet away. â€Å"Fluids, commonly made up of water and chemical additives, are pumped into a geologic formation at high pressure during hydraulic fracturing. When the pressure exceeds the rock strength, the fluids open or enlarge fractures that can extend several hundred feet away from the well.After the fractures are created, a propping agent is pumped into the fractures to keep them from closing when the pumping pressure is released. After fracturing is completed, the internal pressure of the geologic formation cause the injected fracturing fluids to rise to the surface where it may be stored in tanks or pits prior to disposal or recycling. Recovered fracturing fluids are referred to as flowback. Disposal options for flowback include disc harge into surface water or underground injection.Surface water discharges of the flowback are regulated by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, which requires flowback to be treated prior to discharge into surface water or underground injection prior to discharge. Treatment is typically performed by wastewater treatment facilities. Underground injection of flowback is regulated by either EPA Underground Injection Control (UIC) program or a state with primary UIC enforcement authority. Injection of natural gas production wastes would be considered a Class II injection well†(Environmental Protection Agency, 2012).As seen, there are restrictions in place to prevent any issues with contaminants from ground water penetration. Even with these restrictions in place, there are clear indicators that there is a more graphic understanding what is coming out, as a result of fluids being pressurized through the system. â€Å"Along with the int roduced chemicals, hydrofrac water is in close contact with the rock during the course of the stimulation treatment, and when recovered may contain a variety of formation materials, including brines, heavy metals, radionuclides, and organics that can make wastewater treatment difficult and expensive.The formation brines often contain relatively high concentrations of sodium, chloride, bromide, and other inorganic constituents, such as arsenic, barium, other heavy metals, and radionuclides that significantly exceed drinking water standards†(danps, 2011). There needs to be a very serious conversation of how this is cleaned up and an answer, as to whether it is enough. There is clearly a lot of work put into the actual cleaning of the ground water, prior to the actual point, in which we, as citizens are able to partake of the needed substance for consumption. No matter how clean it is when you actually consume it, the process of getting to it is unbelievably dirty. Even the USGS acknowledges as much: â€Å"While the technology of drilling directional boreholes and the use of sophisticated hydraulic fracturing processes to extract gas resources from tight rock have improved over the past few decades, the knowledge of how this extraction might affect water resources has not kept pace†(danps, 2011). This is only one aspect of where this all goes.So many other areas of research are in need, to better understand the process, in which the fracturing is utilized. Further research was conducted and it was through the use of several interviews and questioning of a myriad of employees from various locations, concerning the extraction of Coal Bed Methane†(CBM). EPA researched more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, interviewed approximately 50 employees from industry and state or local government agencies, and communicated with approximately 40 citizens and groups who are concerned that CBM production ffected their drinking water wells†(United States Environmental Agency, 2004). After the many reviews and interviews conducted, the EPA came to some conclusions and presented them in chapter 7 of this current report. â€Å"Hydraulic fracturing may have increased or have the potential to increase the communication between coal seams and adjacent formations in some instances. For example, in the Raton Basin, some fracturing treatments resulted in higher than expected withdrawal rates for production water.Those increases, according to literature published by the Colorado Geologic Survey, may be due to well stimulations creating a connection between targeted coal seams and an adjacent sandstone aquifer (Hemborg, 1998). In the Powder River Basin, concerns over the creation of such a hydraulic connection are cited as one reason why hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane reservoirs is not widely practiced in the region. Some studies that allow direct observation of fractures (i. . , mined-through studies) also provided evidence that fractures move through interbedded layers, sometimes taking a stair-step path way through complex fracture systems, and sometimes enter or propagate through geologic strata above the coal†(United States Environmental Agency, 2004). The EPA finished out their report with concluding comments that were found to be not as alerting than what might have been expected. Based on the information collected and reviewed, EPA has concluded that the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into coalbed methane wells poses little or no threat to USDWs and does not justify additional study at this time. Although potentially hazardous chemicals may be introduced into USDWs when fracturing fluids are injected into coal seams that lie within USDWs, the risk posed to USDWs by introduction of these chemicals is reduced significantly by groundwater production and injected fluid recovery, combined with the mitigating effects of dilution and dispersion, adsorption, and potentially biodegradati on.Additionally, EPA has reached an agreement with the major service companies to voluntarily eliminate diesel fuel from hydraulic fracturing fluids that are injected directly into USDWs for coalbed methane production†(United States Environmental Agency, 2004). Several other reports came into sight, throughout the country concerning the use of hydraulic fracking and the potential for impacting, not only the land, but the economy for a given area, as well. Reports stemming from a community that namely has an array of vineyards for the production of wine, have thrown a red flag of concern over the entire region.This rise of apprehension over their displeasure of drilling companies simply ushering themselves in and going to work on their well, without concern for the nearby residents and their land. The mounting anxiety over this issue has occurred from the noticeable problematic reports of events that literally sprang up in the area. â€Å"This past June, a methane geyser was found in Pennsylvania’s Tioga County. Yes, a geyser  shooting methane-infused water 30 feet up in the air.Once the geyser was discovered, the county immediately turned to Shell, which was drilling in three nearby locations. Shell and the Department of Environmental Protection began investigating, and it was correctly suspected that an abandoned well from the 1930s contributed to the problem†(Figueroa, 2012). This, being an erroneous event was later found to be an old existing well from the 1030s, where the fluid from a nearby well, being hydraulically fractured, leaked over near the old well and burst up through it, creating the 30 foot geyser.There too, have been issues regarding the location of the wells near vineyards and the potential for disruption in the soil content and an economical impact, for the soil is worked to contain the right content for growing the vines for the fine wine. As well, if the land soil is tainted, there is a possibility of an econo mic suffering from the loss of profit if tastes change and are possibly contaminated. â€Å"Vineyard owners in California are growing increasingly wary of fracking as gas companies begin preliminary operations. Venoco has started exploring Monterey Shale for both oil and gas drilling.Last year, the company filed an application for drilling permits in Monterey County, according to Simon Salinas, a member of the county’s Board of Supervisors, and it already holds hundreds of thousands of acres in the formation has drilled more than 20 wells and has invested $100 million in oil exploration. With vineyards and farmlands covering 200,000 acres of Monterey that help make up an $8 billion agricultural business, Salinas told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, â€Å"Anything that can taint our water and food supply could be devastating to our economy†(Figueroa, 2012).Reports even go deeper than this, where there are believed to be detrimental damage and even death to anima ls that are near any wells in the area. It may be a reality as more and more livestock are raised near fracking sites. Hundreds of animals have already been affected after coming into contact with fracking fluid. â€Å"Last year, 28 beef cattle in Pennsylvania were exposed to the fluid. Only three of the 11 calves these cattle gave birth to survived. In Louisiana a few years ago, 16 cows dropped dead after drinking fracking fluid†(Figueroa, 2012).These are all alarming reports and individuals that are in the area have every reason to be upset and concerned over the events taking place. The question is, does this warrant further investigation or simply better legislation to control the problem or the potential, there of? As all of this sounds incredibly scary and one may ask the whereabouts of such legislation, it is understood that all the problems that have come about, are those that have mostly to do with water and how it affects surrounding land and the owners .This, being the case is under the written regulations of the Safe Water Drinking Act (SWDA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program. The UIC program has developed certain guidelines for all involved with the use of a fluid injection process to extract the shale oil and natural gas that is so plentiful, throughout our region. The guideline begins the use of diesel fuel for the injection process, in the following statement: â€Å"EPA has developed draft Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class II permitting guidance for oil and gas hydraulic fracturing activities using diesel fuels.This document describes information useful in permitting the underground injection of oil- and gas-related hydraulic fracturing using diesel fuels where EPA is the permitting authority. EPA's goal is to improve compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements and strengthen environmental protections consistent with existing law†(United States Environmental Agency, 2012). There i s further guidance, in regards to the injection of possible contaminants that may affect ground water supplies, as dictated by the process from hydraulic fracturing.Through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which is authorized by the Clean Water Act, the following claim states, â€Å"industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters†(United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). Until further guidance comes out of the primary study, presently occurring, there seems to be a number of statutes in place to maintain a great deal of oversight and must be used to maintain what has continued to draw an enormous amount of controversy and surely will continue throughout the course of the process.The new study is to take a look at the vastness of what water goes through, during the hydraulic fracturing process. This being the call from congress, for the EPA to utilize its resources to re ad deep into the full cycle, in which the water passes, as it is used in the extraction of oil and natural gas from the shale plays. â€Å"At the request of Congress, EPA is conducting a study to better understand any potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water and ground water.The scope of the research includes the full lifespan of water in hydraulic fracturing, in regards to five primary points; the plan to study the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, an approach to the science, quality assurance ; integrity, a peer review, and the transparency of the practice†(United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). The complete final report will not be made available until 2014, where it will be made public for review and comment.Before this final report makes its way to the public, the EPA has issued an official progress report and has detailed the path that the study will go, as far as, how it will attain complete unders tanding of the process that water takes through the lifespan of hydraulic fracturing. The EPA is using computer model to match the conditions, in which the water travels through hydraulic fracturing. It will be identified through hypothetical and realistic scenarios, by which water acquisition, well injection, and wastewater treatment and waste disposal stages of the water cycle are identified and given fair study and representation.All of this is being addressed as it relates to the Upper Colorado River Basin in the west and the Susquehanna River Basin in the east (US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Washington, DC, 2012). While it has been thoroughly discussed, as to the potential causes of awareness and a reason for alert, it is paramount that we discuss the hopeful answer to the issues that have been raised. There may be a possible olution, regarding the practice of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling; it may simply be an overall accept ance, until regulations can be the agreeable key to a solid outcome of this environmental squeeze on reality. Before we get to a proposed solution to the mind raking issues that have plagued this storyline, there is a cost to all of this and a place to put the responsibility on the shoulders of the bearers to this environmental struggle for clarity.With fracking, being a well spread operation and bringing with it a toll of polluted areas, such as water, air, and torn up land across the nation, we are faced with the need to not only find resolution to this growing land grievance, but we need to recognize that there must be a means of restoration to the areas effected and the costs associated, dealt with during the process. Let it be known there is a high price tag in pursuing a cleanup and hopeful reversal of the damage done by the fracturing. Methane contamination of well water poses a risk of explosion and is often addressed by removing it from water at the point of use. In Dimock, Pennsylvania, Cabot Oil ; Gas reported having spent $109,000 on methane removal systems for 14 local households in the wake of drilling-related ethane contamination of local groundwater supplies. In addition, the company spent $10,000 on new or extended vent stacks to prevent the build-up of methane gas in 17 residents’ homes.Such measures do not remove methane from groundwater supplies, but merely eliminate the immediate threat to residents’ homes†(Tony Dutzik and Elizabeth Ridlington, Frontier Group John Rumpler, Environment America Research ; Policy Center, 2012). However, water is not the only issue that is under the gun, there is also the effect that each fracking site has on the air surrounding it. The air we breathe highly contributes to the health of all those associated with residency in the area of drilling. A 2004 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) document, referring to the work of a Federal roundtable on environmental cleanup technologies, estim ated the cost of air sparging at $150,000 to $350,000 per acre. Adjusting for inflation, and assuming that the extent of the seep was correctly estimated by Encana at 1. 3 acres, one could estimate the cost of the sparging operation in 2012 dollars at $248,000 to $579,000. In addition, as of May 2012, Encana and its contractors had collected more than 1,300 water samples since the seep began. Again, the cost of this sampling and testing is unknown, but could e conservatively estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Cabot Oil ; Gas, for example, incurred $700,000 in water testing expenses in the wake of concerns about groundwater contamination from a fracking well in Dimock, Pennsylvania†(Tony Dutzik and Elizabeth Ridlington, Frontier Group John Rumpler, Environment America Research ; Policy Center, 2012). In order for the companies out there that are working toward reducing the amount of pollution coming from fracking, they are looking at a high rate of dollars to keep it at a minimum. The clearance of forest land in Pennsylvania for fracking is projected to lead to increased delivery of nutrient pollution to the Chesapeake Bay, which already suffers from a vast nutrient-generated dead zone. The cost of reducing the same amount of pollution as could be generated by fracking would be approximately $1. 5 million to $4 million per year†(PennEnvironment Research ; Policy Center, 2012). It is important, not only to understand what it takes to cleanup at an actual location, but the cost incurred through repairing the lanes to the site, because of the variety equipment and how it damages the roadways. The truck traffic needed to deliver water to a single fracking well causes as much damage to local roads as nearly 3. 5 million car trips. The state of Texas has approved $40 million in funding for road repairs in the Barnett Shale region, while Pennsylvania estimated in 2010 that $265 million would be needed to repair damaged roads in the Marc ellus Shale region†(PennEnvironment Research ; Policy Center, 2012). Infrastructure is important to have an ability to get to the site and out of the site safely, however there is a cost, when it comes to the other friends of our environment. Fracking has several negative impacts on farms, including the loss of livestock due to exposure to spills of fracking wastewater, increased difficulty in obtaining water supplies for farming, and potential conflicts with organic agriculture. In Pennsylvania, the five counties with the heaviest Marcellus Shale drilling activity saw an 18. 5 percent reduction in milk production between 2007 and 2010†(PennEnvironment Research ; Policy Center, 2012). This, being only one part of the issue, we also must consider the other end of the animal kingdom, our wildlife in the wilderness. Gas operations in Wyoming have fragmented key habitat for mule deer and pronghorn, which are important draws for the state’s $340 million hunting and w ildlife watching industries. The mule deer population in one area undergoing extensive gas extraction dropped by 56 percent between 2001 and 2010†(PennEnvironment Research ; Policy Center, 2012). In this great land of ours, we are living in a generation that now must deal with a new healthcare system and be able to still afford the normal living expenses that come our way.With healthcare cost rising and now the fight for the issues that have been rising over the industrialization of our resource gathering techniques, we are at the foothills and must climb up and rise above the extraneous costs that come from this means of extraction. â€Å"Drinking water contamination: In Dimock, Pennsylvania, permanently replacing residents’ contaminated drinking water with a new source was estimated at more than $11 million and health costs from air pollution: in Arkansas’ Fayetteville Shale region, air pollution from fracking operations impose health costs estimated at $9. million in one year. In Texas’ Barnett Shale region, those costs reach $270,000 per day during the summer smog season†(Environment America, 2012). This now seems, as though it is not going anywhere anytime soon, so where is a possible solution to this environmental peril we find ourselves in? Is there an answer? Or are we destined to sit and wait for an answer that may never come. Now, we find ourselves staring at a withering wilderness without any better days likely to come over this industrialized beat down.Now that there is a more comprehensive understanding of what fracking is all about and the impact it has on the environment directly and indirectly, through the social health issues, we must be able to curtail what is being identified as hazardous and stop it in its tracks. In order for this to occur, shouldn’t there be a means of determining the location of where the fracking fluid is mostly traveling, so we can diffuse the situation and potentially protect the surrounding regions from contamination and the spread of this devastating spiral of events.Having a way to track where the fluid travels is one of the possible solutions to keeping the public safe from the probability of causing more harm among our citizens. â€Å"Currently, there is little courts can do to determine the truth of claims that fracking contaminates waterways. One popular suggestion, proposed by many stakeholders and creative scientists, is to include some type of tracer device, such as a color or a chemical, to follow fracking fluids through the environment.This solution wouldn’t track the leaching of natural gas through old mines or fissures, but it would help companies, overseers, and policy-makers understand how chemicals flow deep underground, especially when multiple companies are drilling in one area. Such tracers would hold companies accountable to the environment, to landowners, and to stakeholders†(Lamers, 2012). The question is, w ould this continue to add to the already polluted scene, or would it meet a solution to have a better understanding, as to the route this fluid seems to take to contaminate our groundwater systems?We also may have an opportunity to set stricter laws, as to the actual location of these wells, in relation to it being positioned within residential areas. â€Å"Policies and recommendations vary widely about how close shale gas sites should be to lakes, rivers, ponds, houses, wetlands and protected areas. As many counties and states begin to lease or sell land, drill sites are beginning to cross into state or county parks and pass into or through rivers and streams†(Lamers, 2012).Having the ability to force drilling companies to be at a particular range from any residential or other protected area would be a promising solution to creating safer barriers for the general population and individual wildlife areas to be safe from the untidiness of a fracking site. While we look for th e government to come up with more legalistic approaches to this devastating thorn under the environments skin, maybe the answer is more profound and can be drawn from unique sources, rather than a traditional loom. â€Å"Most of the water used to free the gas and oil is trapped underground.But a new option is to swap water for propane gas, which is then recaptured as it escapes from the earth. Canadian company GasFrac Energy Services is already employing propane instead of water. A single fracking job can use between two million and six million gallons of water while most of that water remains underground, the fluid that does return to the surface has to be disposed of as contaminated wastewater†(Stone, 2011). Another approach is found to be one of the greenest found, to date. Not only is the amount of water being reduced, but the solution involves utilizing a biodegradable source to accomplish a safe means of eusing this product. â€Å"Houston-based oil field supplier Flot ek Industries has found another solution that replaces traditional chemicals with extract from orange peels, turning the conventional mixture of water and toxins into a biodegradable blend†(Stone, 2011). This idea opens up a whole new scheme in the desire to continue our search for self sustainment and future drilling opportunities. However, it is not the only solution to hit the community, as there has been something stirred up in the Halliburton camp with the utilization of solar panels and electricity making its way to the oil fields. Halliburton calls its two-year-old solar-powered invention the SandCastle. It has rolled out dozens of SandCastles in the U. S. By replacing diesel engines to move sand from the trailers, Halliburton estimates the devices have saved 950,000 gallons of diesel and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 20 million pounds in the first nine months of 2012. Halliburton and the other three largest oil-field service providers spent $2. 04 billion on res earch and development in 2011, up 32 percent from two years earlier. Some of that went to finding ways to make fracking more eco-friendly.Other green-leaning players include Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and General Electric (GE), as well as oil-patch interlopers such as Verenium (VRNM), a biotech concern, and Ecologix Environmental Systems, which makes wastewater-treatment systems†(Wethe, 2012). What does all of this mean? It simply means that drilling companies are seeing the need to make changes to the way they conduct business, so as it does not interfere with our environment anymore. It means that we can no longer stand by, as residents of this great land of ours and simply be good with how they conduct their business.It means that, we the people of this beautiful landscape we call planet earth, have a voice and will be heard. It means, as long as we celebrate our land together as citizens, we have the aptitude to develop the means necessary, to guide the direction, in which w e will continue to move forward. As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, we will continue to dream of that new discovery, launching us into a new direction. We are a people of continuous change and workmanship; we will find a way forward. We’re a people that will come together and meet the need of our mother earth. References Chesapeake Energy. 2013). Hydraulic fracturing facts. Retrieved from http://www. hydraulicfracturing. com/Process/Pages/information. aspx danps, (2011, April 30). The high cost of fracking – and the movement against it. Retrieved from http://my. firedoglake. com/danps/2011/04/30/the-high-cost-of- fracking-and-the-movement-against-it/ EnergyFromShale, (2012, ). Shale gas economics: Extracting from domestic oil reserves. Retrieved from http://www. energyfromshale. org/hydraulic- fracturing/shale-gas Environment America, (2012, September 20). The costs of frackingâ€â€the true price tag of dirty energy. Retrieved from http://ecowatch. rg/2012 /costs-of-fracking/ Lamers, V. (2012, September 17). Solutions from the gas fields. Retrieved from http://sagemagazine. org/solutions-from-the-gas-fields/ Majumdar, A. , Hayes, D. J. , Perciasepe, B. , (2012, April 13). Memorandum. Retrieved from http://epa. gov/hydraulicfracture/oil_and_gas_research_mou. pdf PennEnvironment Research ; Policy Center, (2012, September 20). The costs of fracking. Retrieved from http://northcentralpa. com/feeditem/2012-09-20_costs- fracking ShaleTech Shale Training and Education Center, (1995, ). What is shale gas and why is it important?. Retrieved from http://www. shaletec. rg/whatis. htm Society of Petroleum Engineers, (2012, November 29). Hydraulic fracturing. Retrieved from http://petrowiki. org/Hydraulic_fracturing Stone, J. (2011, August 19). Green solutions to fracking debate. Retrieved from http://www. propane. pro/alternative-fuel/green-solutions-fracking-debate-0819/ Tony Dutzik and Elizabeth Ridlington, Frontier Group John Rumpler, Environm ent America Research ; Policy Center, (2012, Fall ). The costs of fracking the price tag of dirty drilling’s environmental damage. Retrieved from http://www. environmentamerica. org/sites/environment/files/reports/The Costs of Fracking vUS. pdfUnited States Environmental Protection Agency. (2009, March 12). National pollutant discharge elimination system (npdes) overview. Retrieved from http://cfpub. epa. gov/npdes/ United States Environmental Agency. (2004, June ). Evaluation of impacts to underground sources of drinking water by hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane reservoirs . Retrieved from http://www. epa. gov/ogwdw/uic/pdfs/cbmstudy_attach_uic_ch02_methodology. pdf United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012, May 9). Hydraulic fracturing background information. Retrieved from http://water. epa. gov/type/groundwater/uic/class2/hydraulic fracturing/wells_hydrowhat. fm United States Environmental Agency, (2012, September 6). Hydraulic fracturing under the safe drinking water act. Retrieved from http://water. epa. gov/type/groundwater/uic/class2/hydraulicfracturing/hydraulic- fracturing. cfm United States Environmental Protection Agency, (2012, February 14). Study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources: Progress report. Retrieved from http://epa. gov/hfstudy/ US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Washington, DC, (2012, December ). Study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources progress report.Retrieved from http://epa. gov/hfstudy/pdfs/hf-report20121214. pdf University of Michigan. (2012, November 29). Fracking: Researchers study potential impact on health, environment, economy. Retrieved from http://www. labspaces. net/125572/Fracking__Researchers_study_potential_impa ct_on_health__environment__economy Wethe, D. (2012, November 29). For fracking, it's getting easier being green. Retrieved from http://www. businessweek. com/articles/20 12-11-29/for-fracking-its-getting- easier-being-green WhatIsFracking, (2013, ). What is hydraulic fracturing?. Retrieved from http://www. what- is-fracking. com/what-is-hydraulic-fracturing/
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