Comments on: Drill, Baby, Drill = Earthquakes?

By: Thad

Thad — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:29:21 +0000

“‘I think John Q. Public thinks there is a correlation with drilling,’ Mayor Ted Reynolds said. ‘We haven’t had a quake in recorded history, and all the sudden you drill and there are earthquakes.’”

Um, yes, that’s what a correlation IS. It’s not a question of what people THINK; that is the definition of the damn word.

The question is whether or not it’s CAUSAL.

By: Luke The Intrepid

Luke The Intrepid — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:38:11 +0000

It seems to me that “drill baby drill” was for oil not natural gas. Most oil seems far less resource intensive to extract. We need a good mix of energy and an effecient means to transport it to where it needs to go. The longterm issue is what do we do when oil and natural gas production peaks and begins to run out. We need a broad mix of energy supplies to replace them. Solar photovoltaic electricity can probably produce most of the shortfall but only on a very wide scale and only if there is no climate event which effects the density of cloud cover or the amount of light reaching us from the sun.

Nuclear power and renewable power types can do some of the job but not all. Coal production has probably already peak for the US and we are trying to get away from using it as it much more dirty than burning oil or natural gas. That and the supply of coal is finite and easily mined sources will run out in the next half century or so.

By: Duros62

Duros62 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:17:11 +0000

Stranger things have happened. This happened because of the same process.

By: James H

James H — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:43:27 +0000

“Fracking” just reminds me of certain plotlines on Battlestar Galactica. And those involved drilling, too.

By: Repack Rider

Repack Rider — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:20:25 +0000

Human activity can spawn earthquakes. The effect on earthquake frequency and severity of building dams and adding the weight of huge amounts of water is called reservoir–induced seismicity. Changing the density of formations deep underground and then lubricating them with the injection of water is not likely to REDUCE the possibility of earthquakes.

By: Eric Sipple

Eric Sipple — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:07:55 +0000

ANd really, what else would you expect from a process called fracking?

By: MatanteDodo

MatanteDodo — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:48:32 +0000

It must be God shaking the Earth over godless Obama’s election! Graaaaawr! (angry god roar)