Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Quakes Caused By Waste From Gas Wells, Study Finds
NPR.org ^ | April 11, 2012 | Christopher Joyce

Posted on 04/12/2012 7:24:19 PM PDT by Mad Dawgg

The U.S. Geological Survey will soon confirm that the oil and gas industry is creating earthquakes, and new data from the Midwest finds that these man-made quakes are happening more often than originally thought.

Earthquakes happen when faults in the Earth slip and slide against each other. There's continuous stress on innumerable faults on our continent, but seismologists like Bill Ellsworth, from the U.S. Geological Survey, started seeing something odd about 12 years ago.

"One thing we had begun to notice was that there were an unusual number of earthquakes in the middle of the country," he says, an area not known for quakes. They were small, though — usually just over magnitude 3. Then, in 2009, the shaking got much more frequent.

(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-100 next last
To: Mad Dawgg

Fracking causes earthquakes? Bunkum. I lived in the 4 Corners area where there are thosuands of gas wells and around the Woodward OK area. Don.t remember any e-quakes there!


41 posted on 04/12/2012 8:04:23 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mad Dawgg
What a load of crap. Poking 8" holes in the ground is going to cause a geological plate shift?

Don't these assholes ever look at history. This is a shot of Beaumont, TX in 1903.

If drilling caused earthquakes, TX would have slid into the ocean 100 years ago; and Oklahoma and Louisiana would be giant sink holes.

.

California is earthquake-prone and we don't even drill there any more.

42 posted on 04/12/2012 8:07:33 PM PDT by Cobra64 (Common sense isn't common anymore.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Clay Moore

1 million gallon of water to frac one well? I’ve been around many a well frac job and they sure as heck didn’t have 150 frac tanks sitting on the site. Maybe need to revisit your 1 million gallon statement.


43 posted on 04/12/2012 8:07:54 PM PDT by X-spurt (Its time for ON YOUR FEET or on your knees)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Cobra64

I just love how the only vehicle in the picture is pulled by horses. Great early look at what became.


44 posted on 04/12/2012 8:12:13 PM PDT by ResponseAbility (Islam...Imperialism in a turban.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Mad Dawgg
let me get this straight... gas replaced with water causes quakes, but oil pumped out leaving a VOID does not???

please

45 posted on 04/12/2012 8:13:02 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: The Sons of Liberty

If you recall that allegation was made following the last regional quake. Everyone wanted to blame Bush and the evil Americans for all that death and damage and oil was their mechanism.


46 posted on 04/12/2012 8:15:22 PM PDT by pfflier
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Mad Dawgg

The first oil well in United States is drilled in 1859 at Titusville, Pennsylvania. As we all know before 1859 there were no earth quakes in North America.

Shallow earthquake are less than 70km 43 miles.
Deep oil well run over 7000 ft


47 posted on 04/12/2012 8:20:26 PM PDT by ThomasThomas ("Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mad Dawgg
What is causing the rest of the universe to heat up and go through what it is going through right now? It's not man it's the sun and everything in-between that is causing all the gyration in our solar system.
48 posted on 04/12/2012 8:26:58 PM PDT by guitarplayer1953 (Grammar & spelling maybe wrong, get over it, the world will not come to an end!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mad Dawgg
BULLSHIT!!
49 posted on 04/12/2012 8:28:00 PM PDT by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ThomasThomas

The deepest well in California was 24,426 ft.

The 7000 number was from the USGS and I will check what it was.


50 posted on 04/12/2012 8:29:08 PM PDT by ThomasThomas ("Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: DocRock

Thank you! You should email this statement to the USGS.


51 posted on 04/12/2012 8:29:23 PM PDT by Shadowstrike (Be polite, Be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: The Duke

“Some settling of contents may occur”.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Well done. Laugh of the day, on a day when I needed it. Many thanks.


52 posted on 04/12/2012 8:31:02 PM PDT by Eccl 10:2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: ThomasThomas

http://205.254.135.7/dnav/pet/pet_crd_welldep_s1_a.htm

I am not crazy?

Oil well are shallower than most earthquakes.


53 posted on 04/12/2012 8:33:07 PM PDT by ThomasThomas ("Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative
I join with every FReeper on this thread who has expressed skepticism about this study. I also have a great deal of skepticism concerning the source of the study and the distribution of the study through NPR.

My initial emotional reaction to this is to shout "bullshit!"

But it is also necessary to remind ourselves that science is science and politics is politics. It is the Democrats who distort science in the service of politics and we should never permit the same to be said of us. In other words, conservatism has no opinion on whether extraction of gas causes earthquakes. That is a matter for science not politics.

Conservatism can and should have very strong views about what to do about it if the report proves to be good science. Conservatism has a lot to say about making sure that the science is good and true and that the sources are credible and unbiased. But conservatism dare not prejudge the science.


54 posted on 04/12/2012 8:36:47 PM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat, attack!" Bull Halsey)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]



WHEN I WALK




THE EARTH SHAKES




55 posted on 04/12/2012 8:37:14 PM PDT by devolve (- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - you can*t do that with a WebTV - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mad Dawgg

If true, this might be good. Big earthquakes are the result of high levels of stress building because plates are locked to each other. If frequent small quakes are indeed caused by lubrication of plate interfaces (and this is far from clear), it could serve to prevent the big quakes that do the major damage.


56 posted on 04/12/2012 8:59:23 PM PDT by expat2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mad Dawgg

These Luddites are like Jason. They just keep coming back.

Global cooling
Ozone hole
Global warming
Rising Oceans
Disappearing polar bears
Climate Change
Man made earthquakes? Jules Verne lives.

Seems there was another environmental crisis a few weeks ago requiring the surrender of our few remaining freedoms as the solution.


57 posted on 04/12/2012 8:59:58 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s....you weren't really there)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shadowstrike
Funny thing is, the USGS is where I got the information used in my statement.
58 posted on 04/12/2012 9:01:22 PM PDT by DocRock (All they that TAKE the sword shall perish with the sword. Matthew 26:52 Gun grabbers beware.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Eccl 10:2

Well, now I’m feeling honored. :)


59 posted on 04/12/2012 9:18:41 PM PDT by The Duke
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

If fracking is safely relieving stresses that would have eventually led to a much bigger earthquake, I say, “Frack on!”.


60 posted on 04/12/2012 9:20:00 PM PDT by AZLiberty (Reading Righteous Indignation so I can be Andrew Breitbart)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-100 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson