human
I've been hearing a lot about fracking lately. What is it, and what are the potential environmental consequences?
assistant
Fracking is a process that involves drilling down into the earth and then pumping water, sand and chemicals into the well to fracture the rock and release natural gas or oil. This can be done horizontally through the well bore, rather than vertically from the surface, which reduces the amount of time needed to drill the well. The technique has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its effectiveness at extracting previously unreachable reserves of fossil fuels. However, there are concerns that this practice could lead to groundwater contamination, air pollution, and even earthquakes.