Intro: "Officials said Saturday they believe the latest earthquake activity in northeast Ohio is related to the injection of wastewater into the ground near a fault line, creating enough pressure to cause seismic activity. The brine wastewater comes from drilling operations that use the so-called fracking process to extract gas from underground shale."
Officials said Saturday they believe the latest earthquake activity in northeast Ohio is related to hydrofracking. (photo: Adam Fenster/Reuters)
AP: Officials Say Fracking Caused Ohio Earthquake
02 January 12
fficials said Saturday they believe the latest earthquake activity in northeast Ohio is related to the injection of wastewater into the ground near a fault line, creating enough pressure to cause seismic activity.
The brine wastewater comes from drilling operations that use the so-called fracking process to extract gas from underground shale. But Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer said during a news teleconference that fracking is not causing the quakes.
"The seismic events are not a direct result of fracking," he said.
Environmentalists and property owners who live near gas drilling wells have questioned the safety of fracking to the environment and public health. Federal regulators have declared the technology safe, however.
Zehringer said four injection wells within a five-mile radius of an already shuttered well in Youngstown will remain inactive while further scientific research is conducted.
A 4.0 magnitude quake Saturday afternoon in McDonald, outside of Youngstown, was the 11th in a series of minor earthquakes in area, many of which have struck near the Youngstown injection well. The quake caused no serious injuries or property damage, Zehringer said.
Thousands of gallons of brine were injected into the well daily until its owner, Northstar Disposal Services LLC, agreed Friday to stop injecting brine into the earth as a precaution while authorities assess any potential links to the quakes.
Michael Hansen of the Ohio Seismic Network said Saturday that more quakes are possible, most likely small ones, until the pressure at the fault line has been completely relieved.
The temblor Saturday appeared to be stronger than others, which generally had a magnitude of 2.7 or lower. Some residents reported feeling trembling farther south into Columbiana County and east into western Pennsylvania.
Area residents said a loud boom accompanied the shaking. It sent some stunned residents running for cover as bookshelves shook and pictures and lamps fell from tables.
A few miles from the epicenter, Charles Kihm said he was preparing food in his kitchen when he heard a noise and thought a vehicle had hit his Austintown home.
"It really shook, and it rumbled, like there was a sound," said Kihm, 82. "It was loud. It didn't last long. But it really scared me."
There are 177 similar injection wells around the state, and the Youngstown-area well has been the only site with seismic activity, the department said. Zehringer said that to shut down all of the wells because of seismic activity near one would be an overreaction.
Patti Gorcheff, who lives about 15 miles from the epicenter, said her dogs started barking inexplicably Saturday and the ornaments on her Christmas tree began to shake. Her husband thought he heard the sound of some sort of blast.
"This is the biggest one we've had so far," said Gorcheff, a North Lima resident who has raised concerns about quakes and drilling-related activity in the region. "I hope this is a wake-up call."
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Comments
You do know what a greenhouse is, don't you. It's a structure, usually made of glass and steel that allows the sun's rays to warm the inside and that warmed air remains inside even in the dead of winter, because it can't escape.
I also have to assume that you do not believe that the ice caps and glaciers are melting, because you haven't seen it with your own eyes? Am I correct?
Further, I assume, that you haven't heard tell how the permafrost is also melting. The permafrost that has been around 25,000 years or more, and locks up countless millions of cubic feet of methane gas, is thawing out, which will release all this methane gas into the atmosphere...that will be some big fart.
Lastly, can you name one legitimate scientist who says that the earth is not warming up?
Yes, the apologists for the oil industry are the sock puppets that jump in to defend the fracking corporations when we clearly understand the high probability that their fracking scheme is disturbing the geology in an unsafe manner. Not to mention that any fuel they acquire is furthering global warming, and that they're definitely threatening the clean water that resides in the ground, that people rely on to be clean and available.
This means that the fracking industry is EXTERNALIZING the risks and the costs of their misadventure onto the unwilling public, and employing their own 'scientists' to cover their trail of destruction with lies and obfuscation.
Are we going to have to OCCUPY every fracking corporation?
Grow up Oil Industry doesnot care about you our this Earth....we have proof everywhere!
Check out people like Rocky Anderson, who have integrity, and lets get them in office, FAST.
There are plenty of reasons to oppose fracking -- particularly intrusion of toxic chemicals or flammable gases into ground water -- but unless we see evidence that fracking can trigger earthquakes much larger than 4.0, earthquakes are not a reason to worry about fracking.
When opposing fracking, we should argue on the basis of genuine risks, such as toxic chemicals, and not complain about earthquakes that are too small to hurt anything.
Many things trigger earthquakes, and taking out oil, water, extractions of any kind does hurt this planet. Then we try to fill the void with matter, gas, liquid that was not the same.
If you go into a yard and start digging a hole...you take out sand, small stones, rocks, large rocks. Then you decide to level it out without the same pattern, weight, volume or pattern...if you watch, alfter a while you have a hole. You fill it again, tamp it, and you still have depression.
Look at what we have done...Mining, big gaping holes. Oil holes, taps, more holes not as large as mining but until they find the right one....then they do and they extract all that resource over time....so water or something fills in but somewhere else something sinks. For everything we do from planting a tree to blowing up craters for greed...we cannot put the puzzle back so between the loss of materials, the use of bombs, dynamite I believe we are going to bury ourselves, after all we have not done that one yet
Nature is warning us, and we keep giving Nature the finger. We are not going to win....I hope the Scientists can prove something but I have fought environmental crimes for four decades and the other side always counters, whoever is Judge, whoever is in Power...seems the writing has been shown that once in a while we get a Miracle
http://ec.environmentalcountdown.org/_Fracking-Map-Lower-48-States/photo/13500135/4315.html
Obviously you quopte all the errors we make and do not understand that when we get help, we take it. Perhaps you should join a group and do something. It is amazing how much you can learn, greater how much you can help. That is our purpose to learn, support, teach.
We have been extremely foolish to ignore the findings and warnings of climate scientists for decades. Good science has proven itself again and again, so there was no rational reason to think all of the thousands of climate scientists were wrong. As time went on, study after study not only confirmed earlier studies, but showed things were actually worse. This trend has been going on for years, and STILL people ignored the scientists and played down their warnings.
Now we have triggered the most dangerous feedback, releasing tons of methane from ocean floors, and it is literally just about to reach a tipping point from which there will be no return.
Only an all-out war against global warming, with every government joining in, and every person doing whatever they can, will save us (our species) now, and probably only if we begin, full-force, in the next year. Now massive geoengineering projects are necessary too.
Let every politician in office or running for office know that unless they make the war on global warming their top priority, you will not support or vote for them. And do everything else you possibly can. What we do in 2012 will decide whether or not our species survives. It has come down to this.
But I will continue being a duh and use Nuclear Power
Here's the one quote from an official appearing in your article: "The seismic events are not a direct result of fracking," he said.
Nice reporting.
On the other hand, note that the official DENYING the link says that "the seismic events are not the direct result of fracking." Seems like even he is implicitly concede that they could be an INDIRECT result.
It isn't difficult to research where fracking is being done.
There were conflicting evidence, so local officials didnot agree with, however, scientists are goin to be a provin some facts not theory based on other areas in world where different destruction can be cause/effect.
Too many people on blogs who have no clues about Industry..bores.
Yet another case where the government has chosen to side with these gas and oil companies rather than the people by declaring this technology safe.
You don't have to be even nominally smart to imagine that when you pump literally thousands of gallons of brine (not to mention the toxic chemicals being used up in Canada to extract oil from the tar sands) into the earth that there may just be some unforeseen destructive consequences?
Reminds me of the time the 'suits' here in Austin, imported a breeding pair of Nutria to 'control' the 'duck-weed' problem in town lake, and ended up with an uncontrollable Nutria-problem.
Now there is a belief that fracking may have caused, or at least been instrumental in, the occurrence of an earthquake in northeastern Ohio,
It would appear the only reason for concern with the earthquakes’ occurrence is: It may have damaged holdings of Corporate America – because there has certainly been no display of Corporate concern over the fact that consumable drinking water has been contaminated to the point of causing serious illnesses (although that claim has been vehemently denied – as will the claim of the caused earthquake no doubt).
Our elected officials, regardless of political affiliation, MUST be forced by the public’s outrage, to outlaw and stop the practice of hydraulic fracturing of no matter what the financial benefits may be perceived to be or become.
We can't expect that continued removal of oil & natural gas from the planet will not eventually change the planets mass and therefore its gravity & distance from sun.
If injecting waste water at high pressure is causing earth quakes what are bunker buster bombs doing?
Also what about the effect of the waste water on the underground water supply aquifer ? Water is naturally filtered as it seeps from above ground through the different layers to the aquifer.
Is destroying the earth worth the profits for the 1%?
its time the 99% took control before we have no earth left & like in the movie 2012 the 1% spirit themselves away, to destroy something else, leaving the rest of us to die.
Lets stop them before they do any further damage in the name of profit.
We can't expect that continued removal of oil & natural gas from the planet will not eventually change the planets mass and therefore its gravity & distance from sun.
If injecting waste water at high pressure is causing earth quakes what are bunker buster bombs doing?
Also what about the effect of the waste water on the underground water supply aquifer ? Water is naturally filtered as it seeps from above ground through the different layers to the aquifer.
.
1. unless we are shooting massive amounts of oil and gas into outer space the mass of the earth and it's atmosphere will hardly change. Hence no change in gravity, planetary orbit etc. Have they stopped teaching basic physics in American schools?
2. They are usually fracking for oil and gas tens of thousands of feet down. Hardly likely to do anything to the water tables which are much shallower.
3. For some reason there are people out there with a political agenda that seems to involve attacking free enterprise. Witness the idiots trying to block a pipeline from Canada, no doubt so they can import more oil from their chums in Iran, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria etc. I guess that's the real reason they object to fracking as it makes more North American oil available.
Answering your #2: Tens of thousands of feet down is no insurance that ground stability will remain intact. The pressure applied underground is enormous. Fracturing underlying stone structure is going to destabilize any local strata. Also, much fracturing does not occur tens of thousands of feet underground, it is much more shallow. Not long ago well drillers would drop dynamite underground to "loosen" water. Sending out tremors due to fracking has actually cracked foundations of homes as far away as 50 miles, not to mention releasing gases into ground water than ends up in home and businesses.
#3: The oil coming down from Canada is not clean oil and is going to be sold outside the states. Clean oil may be found in the Gulf of Mexico. Pipelines are notoriously unstable, and the one proposed will travel through some rather pristine land and through good water.
Don't know your point in referring to the "chums". Nobody is happy with the oil industry. Period.
We extract with the same stupidity any material for greed, promise of jobs I can understand but there are consequences...GOP mentality never looks beyond what they are told.
https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&edition=us&search=search#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&edition=us&source=hp&q=pennsylvania+fracking+accident&pbx=1&oq=Pennsylvnia+frac&aq=3l&aqi=g-l4&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=0l0l1l359l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=890a274ff6b690bf&biw=1024&bih=625
Duh I never went to science class, I was too busy
"Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer said during a news teleconference that fracking is not causing the quakes." We know who owns Mr. Zehringer. There is no way he could possibly "know" that.
We, the 99%, really must stop the narcissistic sociopaths that comprise the 1% and our legislatures! I sometimes wonder if the chemicals in the water and our food have already created birth defects so these people lack any empathy or sense, or have driven much of the human race mad. It's all the mercury...Mad Hatter syndrome.
Like you say, You can't f**k with Mother Nature and the best thing she could do for this planet is to wipe out the human race....of course she may not have to, we're going to do that to ourselves. Lemmings, indeed.
I doubt that you would enjoy living across a river from the equipment used for fracking.
All technologies have their price. Sometimes the negative consequences are toxins emitted in the exhaust and, as in this case, the price appears to be in a disruption of the Earth's crust and possible damage to property of those who do not directly benefit.
FYI. your tectonics are completely different than in the east. you live on unconnected jello, whereas we live on a solid brick of nanny's 40 yr old fruitcake. our quakes, small in scale compaired to the west, can be felt over a large area. look up the VA quake late summer that shook in Georgia the whole way up to NY. we are eye to eye with the mighty frack machine right now. exxon bought Albany and DEC and the USEPA and the biggest best slick PR campaign ever. they have practiced their craft all over the world, their curtain call is HERE.
This same sort of argument was made about the use of defoliants like 245-D or 245-T -- aka Agent Orange. Purveyors of that "technology" claimed concentrations of these poisons sufficient to kill a large mature tree posed no danger to humans. We see how that turned out.
In short, logic rarely co-exists with profit.
Simply put. Not hard to understand...
go dig a whole, take everything out, and fill with only dirt. Leave come back after it rains, tell me what you have.
You cannot replace something that has been so designed as the Earth, and replace with anything without putting it back with equal parts, or pattern....
When the oil is gone, water is gone, dirt is gone....what will you have? Don't care...neither does anyone else because it will not affect them...however, it is premeditated Murder. If not yours, your kids?, their kids? If you love your kids, or those you will have, why bother having them if you condone destruction of the Planet?
We will not have water, safe food, so what are we leaving our brothers and sisters, their kids, our kids? Enjoy your Temple, Church etc because unless you realize that you are part of the problem when you bad mouth those who care, you are allowing your children, your friends kids, families....to end up dead. That is the Fact, Jack
http://savethedelaware.wordpress.com/
The attempt to run interference for the frackers was aborted by an embarrassing leak, as I recall. It was leaked by the Mayor's office, that the organization that asked the Mayor to sic Homeland Security onto the townspeople who were protesting their explosive tap water was the ADL ([Jewish] Anti-Defamation League). This led to a quick apology from the Mayor, following which the news was very quickly disappeared from all media, and couldn't be found when I was looking for it now. Wonder if it the Koch Bros themselves were pulling the strings?
I say, let's have long memories, and when we can, mine that memory hole in 2012!
Sadly, not the case.
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