Blue Truck, Red State: Fracked Up in America

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Fracked Up in America

The Bush regime continues to screw over Americans, even when it's long out of office. Have you tried lighting your tapwater lately?

I'm afraid to go try mine. Here in Texas, we're on top of the Barnett Shale, a huge reservoir of natural gas and oil . . . but I never heard of this fracking business till just recently, after the big Oklahoma quake a couple of weeks ago. I actually felt it down here, a couple hundred miles away; rattled the pipes and windows for a few seconds, but no damage, hardly felt it.

Scientific American has asked the experts whether fracking could have caused the enormous upswing of quake activity in Oklahoma - over 1,000 so far this year - but the scientific consensus seems to be, probably not. They think.

Still, it makes you wonder.

4 comments:

iain said...: When an earthquake occurred where it shouldn't, in Blackpool, England, all UK fracking operations in the vicnity were closed down and as of writing have stayed that way. Of course there's a connection!; November 16, 2011 at 2:55 AM
Frank said...: Fracking has been a boom in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, including North Dakota - where in some towns there are jobs waiting (but it gets damn cold there). The oil industry will deny the environmental impact, but it has cause ground water contamination and other problems. Our insatiable appetite, no addiction to for oil will yet destroy the natural world as we know it.; November 16, 2011 at 7:34 AM
Joe in OK said...: I am in Oklahoma, about 175 from the quake area, and I very definitely felt the biggest one. I have heard those same "experts" who say that fracking could not have caused the quakes, but I am skeptical. Chesapeake Energy and some of the other big oil and natural gas exploration companies have more money than God and enormous power and clout in this state -- enough to tailor the message that fracking is harmless, in spite of evidence to the contrary.; November 17, 2011 at 9:19 AM
Theaterdog said...: Firstly, this has made my day to see BTRS back!

I don't know much about this issue, although I saw this documentary from which the photo is taken.

But, I had a client that came to me from Australia last week and he mentioned to me (he works in this industry) that they do this procedure with sea water and it is more expensive but safer. Oil companies making record profits, one would think.......

Thanks, Tim; November 17, 2011 at 9:35 AM