On 5 November an earthquake measuring 5.6 rattled Oklahoma and was felt as far away as Illinois.
Until two years ago Oklahoma typically had about 50 earthquakes a year, but in 2010, 1,047 quakes shook the state.
Why?
In Lincoln County, where most of this past weekend's seismic incidents were centered, there are 181 injection wells, according to Matt Skinner, an official from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the agency which oversees oil and gas production in the state.
Cause and effect?
The practice of injecting water into deep rock formations causes earthquakes, both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Geological Survey have concluded.
The U.S. natural gas industry pumps a mixture of water and assorted chemicals deep underground to shatter sediment layers containing natural gas, a process called hydraulic fracturing, known more informally as “fracking.” While environmental groups have primarily focused on fracking’s capacity to pollute underground water, a more ominous byproduct emerges from U.S. government studies – that forcing fluids under high pressure deep underground produces increased regional seismic activity.
As the U.S. natural gas industry mounts an unprecedented and expensive advertising campaign to convince the public that such practices are environmentally benign, U.S. government agencies have determined otherwise. Full article at: U.S. Government Confirms Link Between Earthquakes and Hydraulic Fracturing
Holy crap. I knew fracking had risks but man-induced earthquakes? Damnnnn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fracking#Earthquakes
For once, you almost have a point worth considering. Well done?
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even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.....
Somehow I highly doubt these companies will be paying anything close to the cost of externalities associated with these earthquakes. Instead, they'll probably receive huge subsidies to bolster their bottom lines.
this is crap, fracking is the futureeeee!!
also, how strong are the earthquakes? are we talking like the ones that hit California on a daily basis?
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