Hydraulic fracturing is a process that releases trapped natural gas by expanding cracks in the surrounding rock through pressure created by pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemical additives, such as benzene, deep underground through a well . Hydraulic fracturing dates back to the 1940s, but only became popular in 2003, when natural gas companies began exploring alternative energy resources. Although hydraulic fracturing is an efficient engineering process, the act of engineers allowing it to continue is unethical because it violates the first canon of the ASCE Code of Ethics which is “Engineers shall make paramount safety, health, and well-being of the public and are committed to respecting the principles of sustainable development in the exercise of their professional functions” (ASCE.org). It is unethical of engineers to allow the continuation of a potentially dangerous process to continue and expand across the United States and around the world without first demonstrating to the public whether or not hydraulic fracturing is safe through clear, concise, and unbiased research. The amount of water required and the different chemical additives used in the fracturing fluid pose a threat to the safety, health and welfare of the public. Hydraulic fracturing uses a mixture of muddy water, sand and chemicals combined with pressure to stimulate the creation or expansion of cracks in the shale. A major concern is the large amount of fresh water used and lost in today's fracturing techniques. Some fracturing techniques can use up to 8 million gallons of water, both fresh water and treated produced water. This fresh water makes up approximately 98% to 99% of the total sludge volume (fracfocus.org). Once the fracking is complete, the lawsuit could be half the paper because they would be sued for leaking company secrets. Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial process. There are multiple parties weighing in on the issue, from an environmental, economic, public and private perspective. However, only one point of view is the correct one and that is an ethical choice between whether hydraulic fracturing is safe or not. The act by engineers of allowing hydraulic fracturing to continue is unethical because the process uses large amounts of fresh water which directly impacts public health and welfare. Hydraulic fracturing leaves the fractured fluid deep underground where it becomes trapped and does not recharge the earth's overall water cycle. Further research is needed to see how to contain and minimize the potential effects of deep underground additives on soil and how to reduce the amount of fresh water used in the fracturing process.