"Fracking" is a term used by many to describe a process necessary to extract natural gas and oil resources from the earth. Oil and gas are finite resources. Oil has been the driving force of the industrial revolution and modernization of countries around the world. Oil however is becoming a commodity that is becoming harder to find in its liquefied form. Countries have fought for oil conservation for years but the demand will someday outweigh the resource. As oil has become harder to find, people have found other more costly options to obtain fossil fuels. The fuels are harnessed by the earth and its core. Natural Gas and Tar sands are plentiful around the world. Canada and the US have large deposits of these resources but they have been left alone until recently. World consumption of oil has driven the price of oil up to a point where extraction from the earth by way of fracking is cost effective. Fracking is the process of extracting natural gas or oil from the state they are in. When oil or gas is locked tightly into sand or stone there needs to be a means to extract the fuel. Fracking is a method that uses water, gas or chemicals to apply pressure to the areas to force the gas or oil to separate for recovery and eventual refining. Natural gas is different because fracking is the primary method for retrieval. Tar sands can use other separation methods such as strip mining. Most strip mining operations with tar sands are conducted in Canada, but the US has potential areas. Natural Gas has advantages over conventional oil. These advantages range from price to less expended CO2 emissions. The negatives are increased methane gas emissions and water concerns which will be discussed later. Although the US is gravitating towards the use of fracking, one must look at all the consequences. I like to say that for every action we take there will be a reaction. We benefit from the fossil fuels we use, but at what cost to the environment