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Sunday, May 4th, 2014

Earthquake Experts: Yes, Fracking Earthquakes Are A Thing

Author:    
Source:     Clean Technica
Publication Date:     3-May-14
 Link: Earthquake Experts: Yes, Fracking Earthquakes Are A Thing
Stephan:   The matter is settled: Fracking causes earthquakes. My prediction: The carbon energy interests see Fracking and natural gas as a way to prolong the dominance of carbon energy for another 30 years. It may bring your house down in states like Oklahoma? Destroy your kids school while they are in it? A small price to pay so that the carbon barons and their corporations can continue making their obscene profits. And the people who voted the politicians in that will permit this? They can be relied upon to vote against their own self-interest, even their survival. It is one of our national mysteries.

When the Seismological Society of America says that fracking earthquakes are a real thing, then it’s a good bet that they are. The annual SSA meeting last Thursday featured a daylong session on ‘Induced Seismicity” that featured new research indicating that oil and gas fracking, and the practice of disposing wastewater underground, can alter the state of an existing fault. The result is to spread the range of seismic hazard farther out from the faultline than previously thought.

While we’re waiting for Fox News to find a seismic denialist to let the public know that this is all just a bunch of hooey, let’s take a closer look at that research.

fracking earthquakes

It’s worth noting, first off, that given the thousands of fracking and disposal wells already in operation, and the thousands more that are drilled every year, the number of wells directly linked to seismic activity so far is miniscule.

Part of the reason for that involves a shortfall in research and monitoring resources, absence of a regulatory structure for self-monitoring, and the fact that induced seismic activity is a relatively new field of research.

More to the point, given the potential for significant damage and the fact that manmade earthquakes are virtually […]

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