I recently installed an app on my phone called MyShake and constructed by the University of Berkeley Seismology department. It records seismic events and sends the location and severity to your phone. The idea is that it allows them to track events around the world.
MyShake
I downloaded this piece of software because I have a natural interest in physical geography. I have views on global warming, burning fossil fuels, other sources of carbon emissions and green issues so its hardly surprising that I have views about fracking.
I was surprised by the app alerting me to 3 earthquakes in the Oklahoma region this morning. It prompted me to look a little deeper.
What I found, in short, was a rapid increase in the number of earthquakes registering greater than 3 on the Richter scale, from 2/year to hundreds. The increase coincides with the advent of fracking in the area.
The information is factual and supported by USGS (United States Geological Survey).
The U.S. Geological Survey, in a March report on “induced earthquakes,” said as many as 7.9 million people in parts of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas now face the same earthquake risks as those in California.
The report found that oil and gas drilling activity, particularly practices like hydraulic fracturing or fracking, is at issue.
Californian earthquake
The danger is obvious so why aren’t the British government listening. Well it is money of course. However, the anti-fracking campaign needs as much evidence as it can muster and the facts stated here are worth consideration. It is one thing that the tremors are relatively minor but the USGS news that they could escalate, the latest tremor on Saturday was 5.6 which is significantly larger that before, is worrying.
#Anti-Frackinguk
God Bless
Thoughts of D L Atkinson 