Posted on 02/23/2013 11:28:43 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Most Californians may not realize it, but there's a fortune buried underneath our feet. Stretching from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the Monterey Shale formation is estimated to hold 15.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil (which accounts for two-thirds of the recoverable shale oil in the United States) and has become a topic of rapidly growing interest in the oil industry.
By comparison, the Bakken formation of North Dakota, which single-handedly saved that state from the effects of the recession, holds 4 billion barrels of oil. Californians could be bidding their budgetary woes goodbye, but instead many are steeling themselves for what they consider a necessary environmental debate.
Although it is not yet clear whether production from the Monterey rock will require the same horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques that have been used in other shale formations (the geology of the Monterey is quite complex compared with other shales, and some oil companies say that those techniques may not be applicable), some environmental groups have already voiced their opposition to any sort of drilling.
Many of these groups, such as the Sierra Club and Earthjustice, are particularly wary of hydraulic fracturing (better known as fracking), a process that involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well to force open cracks in the rock, thus allowing oil to flow.
In a recent press release that coincided with a lawsuit against the state Department of Conservation for failing to evaluate the environmental impacts of fracking, the groups cited possible connections between fracking and "poisoned drinking water, polluted air, mysterious animal deaths, industrial disasters, earthquakes, and explosions."
Often, the primary concern that troubles antifracking groups is the risk of groundwater contamination, prompting them to call for an outright ban on the process, similar to what has been enacted in Vermont, France and, temporarily, New York.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Since moving here to Texas (about 1.5 years now) from So. Cal., we have had 2 Dallas area earthquakes, both direclty tied to fracking.
I don’t think they are any big deal (in So. Cal anything smaller than a 4.0 just gets a slight smile and head shake). But I wonder what Los Anegelenos will say when fracking quakes start happening. :)
Yup, and we know why. Buncha whores.
It might be a good thing. There is a lot of built up stress in the San Andreas fault system right now, waiting to slip, and slip eventually it will, big time. Whether fracking would increase the magnitude, I doubt, but thereafter, smaller more frequent quakes would be a definite benefit, relieving the stress before it builds to catastrophic levels.
Over the decades since I first heard of fracking causing small quakes in the late 1960s, I've wondered if fracking plus a small underground nuclear charge could trip a quake on queue. That way, we could prepare the necessary water, fuel, and food and get people to safe locations before tripping the event. Nice idea, but who'd want that liability?
I’m of the belief that fracking an environmentalist head or two might allow them to think more logically.
Is there actual science backing up the fracking earthquake claim? Or just carbon credit $cience?
>>Is there actual science backing up the fracking earthquake claim?<<
They can tell by pinpointing the epicenter and tracking it. Different stresses (types of earthquakes) tranmsit different profiles.
But they are small ones and isolated (basically land falling into the voids). No one is saying that fracking will establish any new tectonic faults.
St least no one I have heard.
The Andreas Fault needs oiled....good reason to lubricate it!
Hehheh....good idea!
California Fracking Rules Slammed By Environmentalists As Shale Oil Boom Threatens To Remake State
************************************************
My God,...an Economic Boom is a THREAT!
More money will not fix CA’s budget problem. They could make 20 trillion per year and still spend 21 trillion.
Fracking Photos at the Huf Post article linked at post #10.
FRack U! man, the Earth self lubes so not sure what the issue is..
Wonder if the earthquake in D.C. was tied direclty to fracking?.
Earthquakes are like cockroaches there every where.
Thanks Ernest_at_the_Beach.
Good point.
Has anyone charted the occurrence of earthquakes in Texas and other fracking areas in a timeline, along with each ones magnitude?
Does that timeline and intensity increase after they started fracking?
That would show a relationship.
(I went thru sylmar, Whittier narrows, and Northridge; although I was many miles from the epicenters, NOT something I ever wanna go thru again)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.