“Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist, and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesn’t make a corporation a terrorist.” — Winona LaDuke

Hydraulic fracturing, affectionately—or not—known as fracking, is the process of blasting a toxic cocktail of water, sand, and chemicals into the earth to liberate trapped oil and gas. It’s like drilling, but with more drama, less common sense, and the environmental grace of a bull in a porcelain shop.

Proponents of fracking claim it’s a marvel of modern engineering, a patriotic path to “energy independence,” and so clean you could practically drink the runoff. The reality is that fracking is less of an energy revolution and more of a horror story featuring earthquakes, poisoned water, and methane leaks.

Fracking requires vast amounts of water—millions of gallons per well. This water is mixed with chemicals (some of which are known carcinogens) and pumped underground at high pressure to fracture rock formations and release oil and gas. Afterward, this strange brew, now contaminated with heavy metals and radioactive materials, comes sloshing back to the surface as “produced water.”

What happens to all this toxic waste? Well, sometimes it’s injected back underground into disposal wells, which sounds safe until you realize it causes earthquakes. Yes, fracking is so disruptive it literally makes the ground shake. Oklahoma, once known for its flat prairies and tornadoes, now experiences more earthquakes than California thanks to fracking. The state went from two quakes a year to over 900 in 2015 alone, prompting officials to issue the geological equivalent of “Oops, our bad.”

And then there’s the methane. Natural gas is mostly methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Fracking operations leak methane like a sieve. A 2018 study published in Science found that methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas operations are 60% higher than previously reported. That’s not just a rounding error; that’s like discovering your “low-fat” yogurt is actually made of butter.

Air pollution near fracking sites has been linked to respiratory issues, birth defects, and cancer. Communities living near fracking operations report headaches, nosebleeds, and mysterious illnesses, which industry spokespeople often dismiss.

Of course, none of this would be possible without government support—subsidies, tax breaks, and regulatory loopholes that make fracking profitable for companies while offloading the environmental and health costs onto the public. It’s the classic “privatize the profits, socialize the risks” business model. The Halliburton Loophole in the U.S., for example, exempts fracking from key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act, because apparently, when your business model involves injecting chemicals underground, oversight is just too much of a hassle.

But fracking creates jobs, right? Sure, if you count jobs in well-drilling, truck driving, and, eventually, environmental cleanup. But renewable energy creates more jobs per dollar invested, and wind turbines don’t cause earthquakes. Plus, clean energy jobs tend to stick around, unlike fracking booms, which are followed by inevitable busts when wells dry up and prices crash—leaving ghost towns, unemployed workers, and an ugly, pitted landscape.

Countries are waking up to the fracking fiasco. France banned fracking in 2011, citing environmental risks. Ireland followed suit in 2017, and the United Kingdom imposed a moratorium after fracking-induced earthquakes rattled Lancashire. But in the U.S., the birthplace of modern fracking, debates rage on, with industry lobbyists spinning tales of “clean gas” while the rest of us wonder why the tap water occasionally bursts into flames.

Yes, flames. In places like Dimock, Pennsylvania, residents can literally ignite the water coming out of their faucets due to methane contamination from nearby fracking wells. And yet, regulators often respond with a shrug, as if flaming water is just one of those quirky things about rural living, like barn cats or tractor parades.

Fracking also accelerates the climate crisis globally. The U.S. exports liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries around the world, promoting fossil fuel dependence far beyond its borders. LNG is hailed as a bridge fuel, but it’s more like a bridge to nowhere—delaying the inevitable transition to renewables while racking up emissions along the way.

We don’t need fracking. Solar, wind, and battery technologies have advanced to where they can meet energy demands without poisoning groundwater or turning entire regions into geological hazard zones. Energy efficiency measures can reduce demand even further, making the “we need fracking for energy security” argument as outdated as a rotary phone.

Fracking isn’t about energy independence or economic prosperity; it’s about squeezing the last drops of profit from a dying industry, regardless of the cost to people and the planet. The good news? We can stop it. Bans are effective. They send a clear message that public health and environmental integrity aren’t negotiable.

Communities worldwide are fighting back. From the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline to grassroots movements in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale region, people are standing up to an industry that treats the earth like a disposable napkin. Their message is simple: we deserve clean air, clean water, and a future that isn’t dictated by fossil fuel CEOs in boardrooms far removed from the mess they create.

Banning fracking is about more than stopping a harmful practice. It’s about shifting priorities—valuing long-term well-being over short-term profits, sustainability over exploitation, and truth over industry spin. It’s not radical. What’s radical is knowingly wrecking the planet for the sake of quarterly earnings reports.

Therefore, under Folklaw:

Fracking shall be banned to protect water resources, public health, and the environment. No new permits for hydraulic fracturing will be issued, and existing operations will be phased out with strict timelines for decommissioning and site restoration.

Governments will eliminate subsidies and tax breaks for fracking activities, redirecting funds to renewable energy development, energy efficiency programs, and community transition plans.

Legal frameworks will hold companies accountable for environmental damage, with mandatory cleanup and compensation requirements.

Public health studies will monitor the long-term impacts of fracking, and international agreements will promote global bans on hydraulic fracturing to combat climate change.