Fracking for Clean Energy (wait, what?)

... Not the story I was expecting.
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Fracking made it possible to get and burn much, much more oil and natural gas. To do it, companies drill into rock deep beneath the Earth's surface and pump in fluid at high enough pressure to crack that rock open, allowing the trapped oil and gas to escape into their pipes. But the fossil fuels they released have directly contributed to climate change, and we're all now paying the price.

But here's the hopeful twist: It turns out that this technology - the same one perfected to squeeze every drop of dirty fossil fuels out of the earth - might be the key to unlocking an even bigger source of energy. One that's actually... clean.

This video explains how fracking is now being used in geothermal to get more clean energy out of the ground, in the hope of moving away from fossil fuels. Along the way, we'll meet Professor Mukul Sharma, aka the "Frack King," and longtime energy reporter David Roberts. Oh, and my parents (thanks, Mom and Dad!).

Chapters:
00:00 What is fracking for oil and gas?
01:15 Does fracking pollute water?
03:20 Does fracking cause earthquakes?
04:43 What is geothermal energy?
06:54 What is enhanced geothermal?
07:54 How much energy comes from geothermal?
09:05 Is enhanced geothermal safe?
10:03 Why do we need fracking for geothermal?

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Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated video producer and journalist. Cleo produces detailed explainer stories about technology and economics. She wrote the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained, was the host and a senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, as well as a host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. She now makes her own independent show, Huge If True. Each episode takes on one big technology innovation or idea, explains what it is, and helps people imagine the ways it could improve the world we live in by answering one simple question: If this works, what could go right?

Sources and additional reading:
- “Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States,” US Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/hfstudy
- “Studies link earthquakes to fracking in the Central and Eastern US,” Seismological Society of America: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190426110601.htm
- “Millimeter-Wave Technology Demonstration for Geothermal Direct Energy Drilling,” US Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy: https://www.arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/projects/millimeter-wave-technology-demonstration-geothermal-direct-energy-drilling
- “Enhanced Geothermal Energy,” US Department of Energy: https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/enhanced-geothermal-systems-0
- “Geothermal energy is poised for a big breakout,” David Roberts, Vox: https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/10/21/21515461/renewable-energy-geothermal-egs-ags-supercritical
- “Underground Oil Deposits,” HowStuffWorks: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/underground-oil-deposits.htm
- “Electricity Mix,” Our World In Data: https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
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Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: M

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