Next Up on the Fracking Fear-Mongering List: Earthquakes!

American Thinker ^ | 04/16/2013 | Alan M Aszkler

[SeekAndFind]

Environmentalists have failed with every specious charge brought forth against fracking, with fear-mongering fallacies consistently flying in the face of the evidence to the contrary. Now they are claiming that fracking is a criminal activity due to the potential of natural gas drilling to cause earthquakes.

Earthquakes? Really, linking seismic events to fracking is outright laughable.

Disingenuous information is the real criminal activity in this saga. Fracking's latest misinformation tour is being castigated by a celebrity clown car chugging through the hills of Scranton, Pennsylvania, carrying 30,000 pounds of frack-a-phobic bananas (apologies to the late Harry Chapin). This Landship of Fools should hook up the onboard hookah to the tail pipe of their fossil fuel-burning bandwagon for a real chemical cocktail; perhaps sampling the BTEX compounds spewing from the diesel exhaust might foster an epiphany. Inhaling one breath of diesel exhaust would expose them to thousands of times more damaging chemicals than one would ingest living his entire life in the shadow of a natural gas well -- and it would be about as likely as fracking to cause an earthquake.

Durham University released a study proving that fracking is insignificant when it comes to earthquakes. According to Professor Richard Davies of the Durham Energy Institute:

We have examined not just fracking-related occurrences but all induced earthquakes -- that is, those caused by human activity -- since 1929. It is worth bearing in mind that other industrial-scale processes can trigger earthquakes including mining, filling reservoirs with water and the production of oil and gas. Even one of our cleanest forms of energy, geothermal, has some form in this respect[.]

In almost all cases, the seismic events caused by hydraulic fracturing have been undetectable

[left that other site]

Fracking? REALLY????

All this time I have been laboring under the erroneous assumption that it was plate tectonics that caused earthquakes!

I feel so misinformed and betrayed.

[Hugh the Scot]

Unfortunately, the disposal of fracking fluids by injecting them deep underground seems to have more than a coincidental correlation with increased seismic activity. While I doubt that the “fracking” operation itself can be proven to trigger these events, the fracking operation isn’t the end of the story.

[ogen hal]

Were the dinosaurs into fracking? Maybe prehistoric microbes developed the technique? Now that explains earth’s long history of seismic activity. If it weren’t for the pinheads who discover all this where would we be?

[cripplecreek]

Unfortunately, the disposal of fracking fluids by injecting them deep underground seems to have more than a coincidental correlation with increased seismic activity.

Which do about as much damage as a heavy truck passing on the road.

[Hugh the Scot]

Well, I’m not jumping on the anti-fracking bandwagon, nor am I condoning the tactics of the leftist enviro-nazis in trying to get oil and gas drilling shut down; but the referenced article is no more than a loud-mouthed propaganda piece.

Many assertions are made and no new evidence is presented. Just hyperbolic straw-man ridicule of everyone who doesn’t reflexively reject any correlation between fracking and seismic activity. I expect better from “our side”.

The quotes within the article confirm that there ARE correlations. See:
“In almost all cases, the seismic events caused by hydraulic fracturing have been undetectable other than by geoscientists.”

So they are only “small” earthquakes. I get it.

I agree that developing U.S. fuel sources is a national priority, and I oppose using false claims to impede and harass legitimate business.

I also know that yellow journalism is yellow journalism, no matter which side of the argument you’re on; and that ignoring evidence that does not support our pre-concieved conclusions is unscientific and stupid.

[UNGN]

So far I’ve ridden out 4 known disposal well earthquakes and if that is what we have to fear from gas production in the US, I’ll ride out a 1,000 more.

Thunderstorms in Texas shake my house much more than the 3.5 mag earthquakes. Having felt nearby 5.5’s in Japan, I’m pretty sure my house would make it through those unscathed, too.

[TangoLimaSierra]

If fracking is involved in minor earthquakes it should be looked as a good thing. Releasing that energy in small bits is much better than all at once. The state should subsidize fracking in that case.

[Techster]

Valid point!

[dearolddad]

Unfortunately, the disposal of fracking fluids by injecting them deep underground seems to have more than a coincidental correlation with increased seismic activity. While I doubt that the “fracking” operation itself can be proven to trigger these events, the fracking operation isn’t the end of the story.

That's gotta be it. That explains all of the earthquakes in CA and Japan.

[Hugh the Scot]

No, it doesn’t actually.