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  • In a world that's demanding more and more energy every year,

    在這個對能源要求一年比一年高的世界裡。

  • solutions for cheap and accessible fuel are more important than ever.

    廉價和可獲得的燃料的解決方案比以往任何時候都更重要。

  • There's an estimated 214.6 TRILLION cubic meters of untapped natural gas underneath our feet around the world,

    據估計,我們腳下有214.6萬億立方米未開發的天然氣。

  • and many places are just starting to explore how they could use it.

    而很多地方剛剛開始探索如何利用它。

  • So, how do we get it out of the ground, why is this process so controversial...

    那麼,我們該如何把它做出來,為什麼這個過程會有這麼大的爭議... ...

  • and is it worth it?

    以及是否值得?

  • See, deep below the earth's surface, fuels like petroleum and natural gas are trapped inside sedimentary rocks like shale.

    你看,在地表深處,像石油和天然氣這樣的燃料被困在頁岩這樣的沉積岩裡。

  • Shale's properties mean that this fuel isn't all sitting in one convenient place

    頁岩的特性意味著這種燃料並不是都放在一個方便的地方--------。

  • it's trapped in tiny little pockets of rock,

    它被困在小小的岩石口袋裡。

  • some of which can be up to 20,000 times narrower than a human hair!

    有的比人的頭髮還要窄2萬倍!

  • As you can imagine, this makes it pretty much impossible to get the fuel out using conventional drilling methods,

    你可以想象,這使得使用傳統的鑽井方法幾乎不可能將燃料取出來。

  • so instead we use something called fracking.

    所以我們用的是一種叫做水力壓裂的東西。

  • This is how it works: A well is drilled wayyyy down into the shale layer

    這就是它的工作原理。一口井鑽進了頁岩層的深處

  • this can be a mile or more beneath the Earth's surface.

    這可能是地球表面下一英里或更多。

  • Once it reaches the shale, the well is then drilled horizontally, which again can extend for a mile or more.

    一旦到達頁岩,然後水準鑽井,同樣可以延伸一英里或更多。

  • Then a fluid mixture containing water, sand, and a bunch of chemicals

    然後是含有水、沙子和一堆化學物質的液體混合物。

  • is blasted down the well at extremely high pressure,

    以極高的壓力向井下噴射。

  • breaking the shale apart.

    將頁岩打散。

  • As the gas is released from the rock, it flows back into the well,

    當氣體從岩石中釋放出來時,它又流回井中。

  • where it can be sucked up to the surface to be collected and separated from the fracking fluid.

    在那裡,它可以被吸到地表,以收集並與壓裂液分離。

  • The whole part where the rock is blasted apart by high pressure fluid is where the technique gets its full name:

    整個岩石被高壓流體炸開的部分,就是這種技術的全稱。

  • 'hydraulic fracturing,' or fracking for short.

    "水力壓裂",簡稱壓裂。

  • There are lots of economic arguments used by proponents of fracking to justify its usage.

    支持水力壓裂的人用了很多經濟論據來證明使用水力壓裂的合理性。

  • Since 2000, oil and natural gas production in the U.S. has boomed dramatically,

    自2000年以來,美國的石油和天然氣產量急劇增長。

  • partly thanks to fracking.

    部分原因是由於水力壓裂。

  • That boom has helped the US become the world's largest oil producer.

    這股熱潮幫助美國成為世界上最大的石油生產國。

  • This in turn has lowered energy prices in some places, for some people, some of the time.

    這又降低了一些地方、一些人、一些時間的能源價格。

  • And the fracking boom did boost jobs in this sector, contributing to overall economic growth.

    而水力壓裂的熱潮確實促進了這個行業的就業,促進了整體經濟的增長。

  • But a lot of these stats are just a smokescreen.

    但這些數據很多都是煙幕彈。

  • Because see, the fracking industry in the U.S. is actually completely reliant on government subsidies to keep it going,

    因為你看,美國的水力壓裂行業其實是完全依靠政府補貼來維持的。

  • and it hemorrhages money

    而它卻在大肆斂財

  • the U.S. fracking industry hasn't actually made any profit in over a decade.

    美國的水力壓裂工業已經有十多年沒有盈利了。

  • The price of natural gas is artificially low, and doesn't accurately reflect the incredible cost of getting that fuel out of the ground.

    天然氣的價格被人為壓低了,並沒有準確地反映出將燃料從地下運出的驚人成本。

  • Because the other common claim in favor of fracking is that natural gas is better than coal

    因為支持水力壓裂的另一個常見說法是,天然氣比煤好。

  • in terms of greenhouse gas emissions...

    在溫室氣體排放方面...

  • but that's just when the end product is burned.

    但這只是在最終產品被燒燬的時候。

  • This idea that fracking is better than coal doesn't take into account how harmful the fracking process is.

    這種認為水力壓裂比煤炭好的想法,並沒有考慮到水力壓裂過程的危害性。

  • A recent study out of Cornell University found that when you take into account the large quantities of methane

    康奈爾大學最近的一項研究發現,當你考慮到大量的甲烷

  • and other gases that are released by the PROCESS of fracking,

    以及壓裂過程中釋放的其他氣體。

  • fracking overall actually contributes more to global warming than coal does.

    水力壓裂總體上實際上比煤炭對全球變暖的貢獻更大。

  • And it's not just about the greenhouse gases.

    而且這不僅僅是溫室氣體的問題。

  • Because fracking is still a process that's very difficult to control.

    因為水力壓裂還是一個非常難以控制的過程。

  • When that high-pressure fluid disturbs the shale to extract the gas,

    當高壓流體擾動頁岩開採天然氣時。

  • there's a high probability of nearby groundwater becoming contaminated with that gas.

    附近的地下水很有可能被這種氣體汙染。

  • Or, when the fracking fluid is brought back up to the surface,

    或者,當壓裂液被帶回地面時。

  • that fluid is often spilled and seeps into the surface and groundwater.

    該液體經常溢出並滲入地表和地下水。

  • What's problematic is that in a lot of cases, these fracking chemicals are actually a secret

    有問題的是,在很多情況下,這些水力壓裂化學品其實是一個祕密------。

  • we may not know what all of them are because they're 'confidential business information.'

    我們可能不知道他們都是什麼,因為他們是 "商業機密信息"。

  • Even when we do know what the chemicals are,

    即使我們知道這些化學品是什麼。

  • we're still not sure how some of them may affect human health or ecosystems,

    我們仍不確定其中一些會如何影響人類健康或生態系統。

  • and for those we do the effects of, we know to be toxic or carcinogenic.

    而對於那些我們做的影響,我們知道是有毒或致癌的。

  • Chemical contamination has been shown to be an issue of major concern at fracking sites all over the U.S.

    化學汙染已被證明是美國各地水力壓裂現場的主要問題。

  • In a particularly extreme example, research published in 2011

    在一個特別極端的例子中,2011年發表的研究表明

  • showed that tap water in homes near fracking sites in Pennsylvania

    顯示,賓夕法尼亞州水力壓裂場地附近家庭的自來水。

  • have been contaminated with methane at a level that is officially classified as dangerous to human health.

    已被甲烷汙染,其程度已被正式列為對人類健康有害。

  • In some cases the methane contamination was so severe that the tap water itself could be lit on fire.

    在某些情況下,甲烷汙染非常嚴重,自來水本身就可能被點燃。

  • In addition to contaminating water sources, the actual process of fracking also uses a truly COLOSSAL volume of water.

    除了汙染水源外,水力壓裂的實際過程也使用了真正的COLOSSAL水量。

  • Just one fracking well may use anywhere between 1.5 million and 16 million gallons of water

    僅僅一口水力壓裂井就可能使用150萬到1600萬加侖的水。

  • to squeeze that natural gas out of the shale.

    來榨取頁岩中的天然氣。

  • This can put a strain on communities where fresh water is already in short supply,

    這可能會給已經缺乏淡水供應的社區帶來壓力。

  • especially in the face of extended droughts and dry seasons due to climate change.

    特別是在面對氣候變化造成的長期乾旱和旱季時,。

  • This water usage is actually only rising as fracking advances,

    隨著水力壓裂的推進,這種用水量其實只會越來越多。

  • because new fracking technology demands more water usage, not less.

    因為新的水力壓裂技術需要更多的用水量,而不是更少。

  • And just as a last little bonus:

    作為最後一個小獎勵。

  • In a few instances, fracking has even induced earthquakes in places that don't normally experience them.

    在一些情況下,水力壓裂甚至在通常不發生地震的地方誘發了地震。

  • The high pressure water blasting and dissolving rock structures deep beneath the surface

    高壓水爆破,溶解地表深處的岩石結構。

  • can cause some rockin' and shakin' as things shift and rearrange.

    當事物發生變化和重新排列時,會引起一些搖晃和震動。

  • We also have to remember that the products of fracking are still fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases.

    我們還必須記住,水力壓裂的產品仍然是產生溫室氣體的化石燃料。

  • And while the end product is technically cleaner than coal and conventional oil when burned,

    而最終產品在燃燒時,雖然技術上比煤炭和傳統石油清潔。

  • and fracking does actually use less water than coal productionwhich is one concrete stat in its favor

    而水力壓裂法實際上比煤炭生產用水更少,這也是對其有利的一個具體數據。

  • the debate rages on as to whether fracking in its entirety is worth it.

    關於水力壓裂法是否值得的爭論一直在進行。

  • So, should we keep pursuing fracking as a solution to our energy needs?

    那麼,我們是否應該繼續追求裂解,以此來解決我們的能源需求?

  • Or should we be putting that focus toward cleaner, greener technologies?

    或者說,我們應該把重點放在更清潔、更環保的技術上?

  • In my opinion, we really need to think of it as just a temporary bridge to get us to our more sustainable energy future,

    在我看來,我們真的需要把它當作一個臨時的橋樑,讓我們走向更可持續的能源未來。

  • because while fracking has become commonplace, it's pretty fracking risky.

    因為雖然水力壓裂已成為普遍現象,但它是相當水力壓裂的風險。

  • If you liked this video and want to learn more about fuels, then make sure to check out this one here on green hydrogen

    如果你喜歡這個視頻,想了解更多關於燃料的資訊,那麼一定要看看這個綠色氫氣的視頻。

  • and hit the subscribe button for more energy updates.

    並點擊訂閱按鈕,獲取更多的能量更新。

  • If you have another technology you want us to weigh the costs and benefits of,

    如果你有另一項技術,你希望我們權衡一下成本和效益。

  • let us know down in the comments below, and as always, thanks for watching.

    讓我們知道在下面的評論,並一如既往地,感謝觀看。

  • I'll see you next time.

    下次見。

In a world that's demanding more and more energy every year,

在這個對能源要求一年比一年高的世界裡。

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