Fracking and Earthquakes
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Nov 7, 2011 at 3:24am
My first reaction to reading speculation that fracking caused the earthquakes in Oklahoma was, "Oh, come on."
My second reaction, now that I've read the Oklahoma Geological Survey, is that they sure seem to be saying it's a possibility. To summarize, they're basically saying we have no idea. On the bright side, if fracking causes earthquakes, it only seems to cause small ones.
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May '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
This looks like the next front in the environmentalist insane-ist war. Because global warming is cooling fast.
Apr '11
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Global warming causes hurricanes, oceans to rise, and polar bears to die out. Same old, same old. Think Progress is a Soros propaganda organ. There is a concerted progressive attack on "fracking". We wouldn't want any cheap, clean fuels to compete with green energy do we? Locally developed hydrocarbons to replace the hydrocarbons imported from Salafist states and bought with deficit dollars, we wouldn't want that would we?
Edited on Nov 7, 2011 at 4:47amDec '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Maybe we can use along the San Andreas Fault. I'm going to buy up property just east of it. Lex Luther isn't the only one who likes ocean-front property
Jul '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
I expected the Bush Fault "line," not the Reagan Fault "line."
Sep '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
I expect the only thing easier than finding scientist, who recieve grants to study a problem, saying that there is a problem is finding scientists who say there is a "possibility" that there is a problem. That said, I'm in my office 9 floors up and remembering the little earthquake we had here in sleepy, old virginia, a few months ago...of course it should be studied. In 1984 alot of leveraged, small nat gas operators were predicting a rise in gas prices to 2/mcf. Stay alive till '85 was their mantra. They were fracturing wells in those days but without 3d seismic technology that makes the process more accurate but also allows for more of it to be done. Recency bias is real in science as well as markets.
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
I'm pretty unimpressed by the willingness to dismiss the question simply because people on the Left are asking it. The answer is independent of other questions. And it has no clear implications for policy, either, because even if it does cause earthquakes--even if we can establish that with certainty--we can live with that if it only causes small ones.
Edited on Nov 7, 2011 at 5:08amApr '11
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Well then the only thing you are left with is to begin to major in geology. The arguments are arcane and highly technical, just like the warmist lies. It has taken years for Anthony Watts, his web portal, the army of amateur and professional scientists helping him to deconstruct the arguments underlying the global warming scam, and they are just at the end of the beginning.
Let me comment that the scale is wrong. The geologic scale of earthquakes is many times greater than the local scale of fracking and the truckloads of chemicals and water used in fracking. A geological fault stretches for miles, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles. And although I am no expert I believe that they are also distant in relation to their elevation in the earth's crust.
The watermelons and their various theories - peak oil (hydrocarbons), anti-fracking, global warming, the population explosion, and other nonsense (all of which will safely fit under the umbrella of anti-capitalism) - will not go gently into that good night that they so richly deserve.
May '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
The Left has politicized everything. Is there any surprise that that is the reaction you get?
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
EJHill
The Left has politicized everything. Is there any surprise that that is the reaction you get? · Nov 7 at 5:49am
Well, yes, because we here on Ricochet pride ourselves on being rational, do we not?
Apr '11
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Viator: Well then the only thing you are left with is to begin to major in geology. The arguments are arcane and highly technical, just like the warmist lies. It has taken years for Anthony Watts, his web portal, the army of amateur and professional scientists helping him to deconstruct the arguments underlying the global warming scam, and they are just at the end of the beginning.
Let me comment that the scale is wrong. The geologic scale of earthquakes is many times greater than the local scale of fracking and the truckloads of chemicals and water used in fracking. A geological fault stretches for miles, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles. And although I am no expert I believe that they are also distant in relation to their elevation in the earth's crust.
I can believe that fracking could have an impact on the margins; the debate about whether the effect exists suggests that it's at that kind of scale. I thought that lubricating the fault lines, having lots of small earthquakes rather than letting the pressure build to a huge one, was a good thing, though?
Apr '11
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
EJHill
The Left has politicized everything. Is there any surprise that that is the reaction you get? · Nov 7 at 5:49am
Well, yes, because we here on Ricochet pride ourselves on being rational, do we not? · Nov 7 at 6:01am
While I have some quibbles about rationality (both theological and Hayekian), I do agree that we should embrace the double standard and expect more from each other.
Aug '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Austin Holland, “Examination of Possibly Induced Seismicity from Hydraulic Fracturing in the Eola Field, Garvin County, Oklahoma”, August 2011:
"Whether or not the earthquakes in the Eola Field were triggered by hydraulic fracturing these were small earthquakes with only one local resident having reported feeling them."
Austin Holland, quoted in the New York Times, Nov. 6, 2011:
“We have not a clue,” Mr. Holland said of the increase [in earthquake frequency in Oklahoma]. “It could be a natural cycle; we just don’t know.”
Austin Holland, quoted in the New York Daily News, Nov. 7, 2011:
"It's a real mystery... At this point, there's no reason to think that the earthquakes would be caused by anything other than natural" shifts in the Earth's crust..."
Mr. Holland is properly cautious in his words. Anthropogenic seismicity is certainly worthy of additional scientific investigation, however, given the scale of hydraulic fracturing operations relative to the fault systems that generate large earthquakes, it is as difficult to imagine fracking causing destructive temblors as it is to imagine a Nascar race starting a tornado.
One thing is certain: The "pro-science" Left will obfuscate facts in order to gin up irrational fears.
Dec '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
According to Wikipedia fracking stated in 1947. Seems to me there should be enough data out there to at least draw some correlations. Correlation is not cause, but if there is no correlation, we should be able to dismiss this
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
James Of England I thought that lubricating the fault lines, having lots of small earthquakes rather than letting the pressure build to a huge one, was a good thing, though? · Nov 7 at 6:10am
That's ... highly debated. You'd be surprised how poorly we can answer that question.
Aug '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Gee Claire, if you were asking one to study the problem why would they start with Fracking and not with traditional drilling. Traditional drilling has been with us for over a century now and involves utilizing the existing pressure to bring the hydrocarbons to the surface.
No, you expect us to treat the latest Chicken Little episode of the left as just as if none of the others have ever happened - Silent Spring (directly attributable to nearly 100M human deaths), Global Cooling, Vaccines & Autism, Spanking, BPA, Global Warming, The wonders of Socialism (also directly attributable to 100M+ human deaths).
So some dude creates a documentary called Gasland where he shows people who can ignite the water coming our of their taps without disclosing that their problems with flammable faucets predate the drilling and subsequent fracking.
A 5.6 earthquake has an energy release of 16 tera Joules (1.6*10^13 Joules) - yeah, some guys drilling a well and pumping fluid into it caused that.
Edited on Nov 7, 2011 at 7:11amAug '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Shack
Dec '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
So, let me get this straight: natural disasters still happen. There is not a single thing in the mind or body of man (collective or individual) that can do anything about them. However, in our quest for the energy required to fuel a capitalist society we have accidentally figured out how to generate hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, scorching hot summers, frigid cold winters, and now earthquakes. I guess we just hate humanity since we have this awesome, god-like power and keep using it haphazardly. The only other option is that we are as powerless to cause all these things as we are to stop them.
Sep '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Ahem.
One of Ricochet's Members mentioned something similar happening in your UK bureau over the weekend.
Not that I'm deeply hurt to find out that people are ignoring my geological musings. No, really. Go on with your day.
Aug '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Pseud - I am totally with you regarding the fickle musings of our Contributer/Editor betters.
If only they would survey the vast landscape of of the member feed prior to tossing out their rhetorical hand-grenades... Ah, we can still dream - I guess.
Aug '10
Re: Fracking and Earthquakes
Ok,where was Bush when this happened ?
Probably startng a war somewhere or something !
This is the final straw, Occupy Ardmore !
I am counting the minutes until the "real story" pops up:
Okla Quake Caused by Conoco Fracking
Minority women and poor impacted , Obama Sends Billion in Aid,Promises Study