Fracking the Land
Storage tanks - Kensington, Ohio
Fracking the Land shows the beauty of nature contrasted against the destructive impact of human progress. Images in the series depict natural landscapes with subtle human alterations, their machinations quietly blending into a living aesthetic. I pair these images with photographs from my family farm in Ohio where they have leased the land usage rights of our farm to a hydraulic fracking company. Although our farm has yet to be used for hydraulic fracking it is only a matter of time before it is.
The impact of hydraulic fracking reaches far beyond the wells used to extract oil. There are steel mills that fabricate the pipes needed to penetrate the earth. The most consequential issue is the disposal of the chemical-laced post-fracking brine. A veritable cocktail of toxic chemicals and oil, this brine emits radiation and also has three times the salinity of standard salt water. This liquid is usually disposed of in a system of open-air ponds where it slowly drains back into the earth while emitting radiation. However many ponds are filled beyond capacity causing too much pressure in the old well which then creates earthquakes and contaminated aquifers. Even the mining of the silica sand poses a range of threats to environmental and human health, as it is collected using a method similar to mountain top removal which causes a variety of health complications for those people who breathe in the resulting dust.
I’ve long been an opponent of hydraulic fracking, and my work Fracking the Land reflects this. There is a deceptive beauty that lives in the tension between the natural world and these quiet but destructive incursions. It is the goal of this project to capture that beauty, while revealing the coiled predator lurking beneath.
M. Katie White
The impact of hydraulic fracking reaches far beyond the wells used to extract oil. There are steel mills that fabricate the pipes needed to penetrate the earth. The most consequential issue is the disposal of the chemical-laced post-fracking brine. A veritable cocktail of toxic chemicals and oil, this brine emits radiation and also has three times the salinity of standard salt water. This liquid is usually disposed of in a system of open-air ponds where it slowly drains back into the earth while emitting radiation. However many ponds are filled beyond capacity causing too much pressure in the old well which then creates earthquakes and contaminated aquifers. Even the mining of the silica sand poses a range of threats to environmental and human health, as it is collected using a method similar to mountain top removal which causes a variety of health complications for those people who breathe in the resulting dust.
I’ve long been an opponent of hydraulic fracking, and my work Fracking the Land reflects this. There is a deceptive beauty that lives in the tension between the natural world and these quiet but destructive incursions. It is the goal of this project to capture that beauty, while revealing the coiled predator lurking beneath.
M. Katie White
Flags of Fracking - Carrollton, Ohio
Hidden Warnings
Silica Pond - Portage, Wisconsin
Silica Crane - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Hidden site - Canton, Ohio
Hills of Silica - Pardeeville, Wisconsin
Mining Signs
Large Site - East Canton, Ohio
“LEAVE OUT” - Wooster, Ohio
Danger - Canton, Ohio
In the distance - East Canton, Ohio
Park & Brine Storage - Canton, Ohio
False Mountains - Pardeeville, Wisconsin
Silica Mining - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Silica Pond - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Truck Entrance - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Warning Signs - Hanoverton, Ohio
Gas Pipes & deer - Waynesburg, Ohio
Trailer - Lowellville, Ohio
Site in the distance - East Rochester, Ohio
Fork in the road - East Rochester, Ohio
Brine pond - Canton, Ohio
Tracks - Wooster, Ohio
Corn Site - Carrollton, Ohio
Hidden pipe - Carrollton, Ohio
Fracking tower - Carrollton, Ohio
Fall fracking - Carrollton, Ohio
Pipe clearing - Carrollton, Ohio
Gas Pipes - Carrollton, Ohio
Out of view - Carrollton, Ohio
Special tree - Carrollton, Ohio
Entrance tracks - Carrollton, Ohio
School house tanks - Carrollton, Ohio
Waiting in line - Carrollton, Ohio
Hill Site - Carrollton, Ohio
Protected pipes - East Rochester, Ohio
ALL IMAGES
© M.KATIE WHITE 2023
© M.KATIE WHITE 2023