Ohio Strengthens Regulations on Fracking After Earthquakes

Image from source, Raw Story

The conservative line is: regulations are bad. Not over-stringent regulations. Not over-burdensome regulations. Just regulations. As though the main purpose of regulations is to be a burden, to be a hindrance in and of themselves. Conservatives also are--for some reason--pro-fracking. That's the term for a controversial natural gas gathering procedure that involves injecting high-pressure fluid into the earth, and breaking the trapped gas free. There are places where fracking has occurred where home owners' tap water is flammable.

And of course, many experts think it leads to earthquakes. Not just in Ohio of course, but in other parts of the country and in England, that we know of. I've actually read a conservative argument that these earthquakes are good, because they release pressure that would cause a bigger earthquake later! Because conservatives, by-and-large, are experts on geology, apparently.


[Excerpt]

Ohio stiffens regulations after concluding that fracking caused earthquakes

Ohio state regulators announced tough new regulations on Friday after concluding that the injection of wastewater underground as part of the controversial gas-drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” had almost certainly caused a dozen earthquakes near one well. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Fracking Responsible for Earthquakes in Ohio?

Image from Treehugger.

Fracking is the practice of pumping fluids deep into the earth to break loose trapped natural gas. Many of the problems resulting from the practice--such as flammable tap water--were chronicled in the documentary Gasland. But even that movie didn't tell us about the possibility of earthquakes generated by the process.

The politics of fracking are predictable: liberals are against it, and conservatives are really, really, really for it. I don't know why. When big corporations want to do something, conservatives say, "yes sir!" apparently. But will they still feel that way if fracking causes a really big quake? What if Opryland or the Indy track get sucked into the earth? What then?


[Excerpt]


Ohio Earthquake Linked To Fracking Injection Wells


On New Year’s Eve, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck northeastern Ohio, the second quake to strike the region in a week. Saturday’s earthquake, which occurred in an area not typically known for this type of natural disaster, is being traced back to fluid injection wells at a Youngstown fracking site. . .


Read more at: Think Progress

Oklahoma Has a Big Earthquake; Fracking Related?

The other day, I ran a post about a connection between fracking and earthquakes in England. Just now (11:07 am, November 5, 2011), the local news announced "breaking news" of a 5+ earthquake in Oklahoma. I typed "fracking oklahoma" into the Googles to see what came up.  Look what I found from one day ago. . .

[Excerpt]



Fracking May Have Caused 50 Earthquakes in Oklahoma

In a surprising turn of events, Cuadrilla Resources, a British energy company, recently admitted that its hydraulic fracturing operations “likely” caused an earthquake in England. Predictably, this news quickly sent a shockwave through the U.K., the oil and natural gas industries, and the environmental activist community. And it certainly feeds plenty of speculation that the same phenomenon could be occurring elsewhere. . .

Read more: Care2.com

UPDATE: As Jill notes below, this quake may be unrelated to fracking. But with 50 suspect ones in the same state, I've got to wonder if it's possible. If the other, smaller quakes spurred a chain reaction? I think it would be foolish to discount the possibility of some reaction, at least in the other cases.


And, Faye, if you're reading this, I didn't get the story idea from you, but was astonished to see that you "liked" this story as a Facebook user. That's quite the coincidence!

What the Frack? Fracking Linked to Earthquake in England

Image from NaturalGasWatch

After the unusual earthquake in Virginia earlier this year, there was some speculation about whether or not natural gas "fracking" might have had something to do with it. The natural gas spokespeople and the GOP mouthpieces (or is that redundant?) rolled their eyes and denied the possibility, usually in disparaging terms. How outrageous! The moonbat libs are saying that pumping fluid deep into the earth might cause trouble? Preposterous!

Yeah. Not so much.

[Excerpt]


UK firm says shale fracking caused earthquakes

Shale gas exploration triggered small earthquakes near Blackpool in northwest England earlier this year, UK firm Cuadrilla Resources said, adding to concerns about the safety of a technology that is transforming U.S. energy markets. . .

Read more at: Reuters, found at AmericaBlog