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Google Funding the Next Big One?

Posted by samzenpus on from the mole-men-approved dept.

wdavies writes "According to this New York Times article, Google is funding a controversial deep drill geothermal project north of San Francisco. Apparently the company, AltaRock, omitted to disclose that the same deep drilling caused a major quake in Basel, Switzerland when it was last used. Given the notorious geological instability of the Northern Californian coast, this strikes me as kind of dumb — and given the known likelihood of this technique producing earthquakes, somewhat EVIL."

15 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Is Google EVIL now? by iCodemonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean google is now a super-evil corporation(TM). Will we have James Bond types trying to bring it down? (disclaimer: not enough sleep, lack of coffee and to much TV are my excuses)

    --
    Deja Moo: The feeling you've heard this bullsh*t before.
    1. Re:Is Google EVIL now? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

      Does this mean google is now a super-evil corporation(TM).

      No, you all have it exactly backwards. Look at this - California is bankrupt, they're planning on paying creditors IOUs. No money. Nada. They've already asked the feds to help and Obama has said 'No'.

      Google knows this and knows that the only other ways to get money out of the feds is either to wage war on them or have a (presumably) natural disaster. Wars take time and are all sorts of messy, not to mention ethically marginal. A natural disaster on the other hand - who can argue with an Act of God? This is just a small down payment to help rescue the entire fucking state from themselves.

      Brilliant, I say. Absolutely brilliant.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  2. Re:Unfair Blame to Both Google And AltaRock by mini+me · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, but unlike Google, the government's motto is "Do evil." At least I'm pretty sure it is.

  3. B Movie by haggus71 · · Score: 2, Funny

    This sounds like one of those really bad disaster movies of the 70's starring Charlton Heston. Oh wait... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071455/

  4. Terminator by basementman · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think this is will be skynet's first strike against mankind.

    --
    A Magic the Gathering Article and Forum Aggregator
  5. just turn that frown upside down by empraptor · · Score: 2, Funny

    any crazy ideas on how to harness energy of triggered quakes? mine: carve a large pattern around the area to direct the quake at a giant pendulum which will then swing the gays straight... and the straights gay. for science!

  6. Re:"the next big one" by wellingj · · Score: 4, Funny

    Que 70's chika-bow-wow

    --
    Money is the root of all evil?
  7. Re:Unfair Blame to Both Google And AltaRock by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny
    ... or it's an easy way to "Terminate" California's budget problems:
    1. Have California, along with the "underwater" housing literally slide underwater into the ocean, along with the debtors, the expenses of maintaining the infrastructure, the political, social, and financial problems dealing with illegals, etc.
    2. PROFIT! - Get disaster relief funding

    Think of it - land that was inland now becomes beach-front property ... how much of that land does Google have options on?

  8. Re:Unfair Blame to Both Google And AltaRock by ozmanjusri · · Score: 2, Funny
    Would breaking off and sinking California really be all that bad for the rest of the country?

    Hell yeah!

    If California breaks away, the weight of Maine hanging so far east will drag the whole country into a barrel roll around the Houston/Williston axis. Before you know it, the USA will be face-down in the ocean with it's ass in the air.

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  9. Re:Unfair Blame to Both Google And AltaRock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    And the locals, man, don't get me started.

    Apparently they have mod points, and they are angry.

  10. Re:What scare-mongering stupidity! by chimpo13 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey, that's not funny!

    --
    riding round the world on an old motorcycle
  11. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen from it... by dvh.tosomja · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cause we will be screwed by LHC loooonnnggg before

  12. Re:Unfair Blame to Both Google And AltaRock by Asclepius99 · · Score: 2, Funny

    So Google stole the plot from Superman?

  13. Re:Unfair Blame to Both Google And AltaRock by Cassander · · Score: 3, Funny

    Santa Rosa's not exactly far from San Francisco. And since it's just Santa Rosa that's close you're fine with them being leveled in an earthquake?

    As a lifetime resident of Santa Rosa, I hereby formally approve of your proposal for earthquake-based levelling, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

    But I should warn you you're going to need one doozy of a quake to actually level the place. The 1906 "San Francisco" Earthquake hit harder up here than it did in San Francisco, and that one still left 4 buildings standing.

    --
    Knowledge != Intelligence
  14. 1 2 3 4 - Profit! by StCredZero · · Score: 4, Funny

    1 - Write a story involving Google
    2 - Find a way to include the word EVIL
    3 - Blog it, post it, spam it, be sure to put up Google Adwords advertising
    4 - Profit!