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Minor Quakes In the UK Likely Caused By Fracking
Stirling Newberry writes "Non-conventional extraction of hydrocarbons is the next wave of production, including natural gas and oil – at least according to its advocates. One of the most controversial of the technologies being used is hydraulic fracture drilling, or 'fracking.' Energy companies have been gobbling up Google ad words to push the view that the technology is 'proven' and 'safe,' while stories about the damage continue to surface. Adding to the debate are two small tremors in the UK — below 3.0, so very small – that were quite likely the result of fracking there. Because the drilling cracks were shallow, this raises concerns that deeper cracks near more geologically active areas might lead to quakes that could cause serious damage."
Not to mention its potential impact on local groundwater:
http://water.epa.gov/type/groundwater/uic/class2/hydraulicfracturing/index.cfm
Even with a major earthquake occurring because of "fracking" it's a non-issue compared to the damage done to the water table by the chemicals used in the process, toxic for centuries afterwards.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Really Slashdot? You could not wait until at least peer review?
"The report is now entering peer review. "We want it to subjected to maximum scrutiny; it's not in Cuadrilla's interest to discover a problem down the road," Smith says."
Oy. Both the EPA and GWPC have said that there is no proven link between fracking and contaminated groundwater. 99% of what is sent into the earth is plain, non-potable water. The other 1% is made up of various chemicals of varying toxicity, the most toxic two chemicals making up about 0.1% of the hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid sent down.
The case correlating fracking to groundwater contamination is as strong as Jenny McCarthy's claims correlating vaccines to autism. /Geologist who works for a major oil company.
I never thought of England as an earthquake zone. Also my understanding is that fracking causes earthquakes by collapse of underground layers whereas normal earthquakes as caused by sudden movements of tectonic plates. Not exactly the same thing.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Your guess is based on ignorance and fear. Thanks for remaining anonymous so no one would goof on your unscientific beliefs.
Never Forget!
It's surprising that this petrofuel corp is admitting anything at all. The truth will turn out to be even worse, as these energy corps always hide and lie as long as physically possible. They use the same PR corps that kept tobacco's death and destruction officially secret and off the liability lists for generations.
Soon enough we'll hear about even more damage the drill babies know they're doing. And then eventually, if we don't stop this destructive profit extraction, we'll hear about all the other damage they insisted on ignoring. But of course then it will be too late to matter. Which is always the drill babies' main strategy.
--
make install -not war
Really Slashdot? You could not wait until at least peer review?
By the time an article gets peer-reviewed, it's often put under a paywall.
Why wouldn't you want to do it the careful less damaging way (excluding other factors like contamination, which is outside the bounds of the analogy)?
Because it makes money for EVIL OIL COMPANIES!
First off, it wasn't a DC quake, it was a Mineral, VA quake that was felt in DC. Second, there is a history of earthquakes in the area dating back to colonial times. Third, there was no fracking going on in the area.
You are right. The headline should say it triggered an earthquake not caused.
I've suggested lubricating fault lines as a means to eliminate earthquakes. I am a mechanical engineer and earthquakes are a variation of a type of movement known as stick slip. It happens where you have seals like pistons. You have a static coefficient of friction much higher than the dynamic. So force and energy is stored up in your system trying to overcome the static friction. Once it starts moving the system lurches rapidly releasing the energy. They key to getting rid of it is reducing the friction. Better seals like Teflon can help as can lubrication in some applications.
If you pumped a slurry mixture into a fault line and keep pressure on it it will cause it to slip. We can't prevent the stress from building but we can control the release. The only trouble is the first time you release the energy you have no idea how it will behave. This should be studied in remote places like Alaska where there are plenty of fault lines and not much population that would be affected.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
Well, yes it does. For the quake to occur naturally, more energy will need to be applied in order to overcome the static friction. If you lower the static friction threshold, the plates act without adding the additional energy that more time and tectonic activity would build on behind it.
The problem is that the energy already there to be released might already be bad news. It's still better news than waiting, though.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Millions of BSG fans are laughing at this headline :D
News flash, the Senate Republictards decided that the filibuster would be a great way to subvert democracy.
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
This is in England, not an earthquake zone, not a volcanic zone, we have one of the most stable tectonic areas on the planet ...
the area in question has now had 2 quakes in a month, the UK as a whole gets only 30 a year in total, and all lower in magnitude then these ...
The earthquakes were caused by fracking and nothing else ..
Puteulanus fenestra mortis
I've never understood why we are so damn eager to extract more substances from the Earth.
It's because capitalism is a one way process; it's not a system.(*)
It takes a finite resource (such as oil reserves, or coal, or iron) which belongs to all of us (we all share one planet) and assigns it to an owner (generally via opaque means rooted in corruption, even in the US). This owner then exploits it to produce a profit. Some of which might come back to us but most of which is shared out amongst an elite as part of their ongoing petty powergames. This is the same elite who have shaped our society for several hundred years now to believe that making profit is an unquestionable good and that growth is something that can happen infinitely.
The damn eagerness is just the effect of long-term greed; and while profit is king this process will continue until all the natural resources are depleted, and the human population falls or otherwise adapts to the level which renewable supplies can accommodate.
But I doubt if many come here for a lecture on Marxism.
(*) Economics, on the other hand, IS a system.
- Capitalism is the dominant processes that currently operates in the economic system. Without a counterprocess to resupply it, however, it will inevitably run down as it's resources run out.
"Oops, I always forget the purpose of competition is to divide people into winners and losers." - Hobbes