Diane Rehm Asks THE IMPORTANT QUESTION

Today, in a segment on Earthquake Update, Diane asked David Applegate, from the U.S. Geological Survey directly:

"My question to you -- because we've talked a great deal on this program about hydraulic fracturing wherein water is injected along with chemicals into shale in order to release gas.  To what extent do you believe that hydraulic fracking could have played a role in this particular earthquake?"

He replied:

Well, for this particular earthquake, we're not aware of any specific activity in that area that would likely have been a trigger. But we have seen association elsewhere.

For example, in Arkansas, we've had quite a swarm of earthquakes in this past year that folks at the Arkansas Geological Survey have been working on the linkage not to the fracking itself, where in a sense you're trying to find places where the rock is not broken up. And you're breaking it up, so you can generate lots of little earthquakes.

But you don't have the kind of big structures or faults that would normally be a conduit that you would have used normally. But you're doing wastewater injection then, very high-pressure injection back into the ground. And there has -- there have been -- well, there are a number of famous cases of linkage there.

Probably the most famous was the Rocky Mountain Arsenal out near Denver, back in the '60s, where they were doing high-pressure injection and managed to generate over a magnitude 5 earthquakes. I think the key thing here is, as this becomes a more common practice, is recognizing that people will be feeling earthquakes in places they're not used to.

TWO SURPRISINGLY LARGE EARTHQUAKES IN ONE DAY

The White House was evacuated.  The major network offices in NYC shook.  It rippled up and down the east coast.  5.8.    Such a surprise.  One problem is that buildings in the area were not built to withstand earthquakes -- because, historically, earthquakes have not been a problem there.  The epicenter was Mineral, Virginia.

Virginia is one of several states where the Appalachian Basin, with its valuable Marcellus Shale, a source of methane gas, crosses, along with West Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York.  Multiple companies are FRACKING there.

Meanwhile, in Trinidad, Colorado, on the same day, it was the largest earthquake in Colorado since 1967.  Trinidad is in the Raton Bason, where Natural Resources has its huge natural gas drilling -- FRACKING -- operations.

With the natural gas industry aggressively fracking wherever they can, shouldn't these events -- coming as a complete surprise because earthquakes historically haven't happened like this -- be the signal to STOP FRACKING!!? 

Poisoning the earth (and lying about it) is bad enough.  But shaking its mantle, which will continue to ripple out with more earthquakes, would be horrifically damaging -- even more so because the nuclear industry has also convinced those in charge that they, too, have a safe product.  Remember Japan?

Please spread the word -- encourage the press to look into the quakes that have been associated with fracking, in Arkansas, Texas, England and more.  We cannot ignore this.

Question/Comment for The Diane Rehm Show, International News Roundup, July 1, 2011

INTERNATIONAL HOUR

The French legislature has just last night completed the vote to ban natural gas fracking in France.

 

Earlier this month, fracking was halted in Blackpool, England after the British Geological Survey confirmed that two earthquakes in the area appear to be related to the hydraulic fracking.

 

A recent study in Arkansas also links fracking to earthquakes, but the U.S. is slow to respond.

 

Shouldn't we pay attention to what the international community is learning and doing about this?

 

Letter to Matt Pacenza, Policy Director at Heal Utah, July 1, 2011

Hello:

I left a message on your phone yesterday afternoon (Thursday 6/30) regarding the link between natural gas fracking and an increase in earthquakes, and the opportunity my daughter had that very morning to ask Congressman Matheson about his support for The Greater Natural Buttes Area Gas Development Project. I did get a call back a few minutes later, though I wasn’t sure if that was you (I apologize for not confirming that at the time).

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you had the information I’ve found linking fracking and earthquakes, and the push to halt the fracking. There are currently two major hotspots on this topic (though I’m sure if I had more time to research I would find more): Arkansas and the UK.

Here is one of the reports on the earthquakes in England: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-13700575

And here is the latest report on the fracking shut-down in Arkansas: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9O0J4701.htm

In addition, this just in, from France, where fracking has just been banned: http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/8066915 and http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-01/france-vote-outlaws-fracking-shale-for-natural-gas-oil-extraction.html

So, here is the question my daughter, Eva TerraNova, presented to Congressman Matheson yesterday morning: 

According to your website, you are in favor of the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s project to development 3000 natural gas wells in the Uintah Basin. While I understand this is good for the economy, the natural gas extraction known as fracking has recently been linked to an extraordinary increase in tremors and earthquakes. Because of this, there have been industry shut downs in Arkansas and Great Britain. The French Senate has passed a bill to stop fracking, and other governments are looking at this as well.

Given the warnings we also regularly hear about the potential of a 7.0 earthquake here in the Wasatch Front, isn’t it foolish to risk bringing it on by bringing fracking into our state?

When I called you, what I knew was that Matheson had said he didn’t know about the link between fracking and earthquakes and that he’d have to look into it. 

Last night, I learned more about his reaction. Apparently he also tried to dodge the premise that he supported this natural gas project, to which Eva simply responded, “It’s on your website – I saw the press release just this morning.” [In fact, it’s right there on the front page of his official website.]

So, the way I see it, this door has now been opened. 

While I am aware that HEAL UTAH prefers to focus on promoting renewable energy, rather than attacking corporate pollution, I think the information coming out linking natural gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing and an increase in earthquakes is far too important to ignore. This goes beyond water contamination and cancer (though one would think that would be enough) --- this becomes a matter of risking an already-threatened major disastrous event in the Wasatch Front and elsewhere in the Rocky Mountains.

Please help Utahns, and especially policy-makers, know what is at stake here.

Thank you,

Barbara Bellows-TerraNova


***************

UPDATE:

After re-sending my email to Matt, and including HEAL UTAH's Executive Director, Christopher Thomas, I heard back from both, with thanks.

Matt had a legitimate concern about something I said, and I'll let his words correct what I may have too simply represented, based on my conversation with Arthur Morris at HEAL UTAH:

Allow me for a brief moment to question your assertion on your blog that "HEAL UTAH prefers to focus on promoting renewable energy, rather than attacking corporate pollution." With all due respect, a significant bulk of our group's resources is devoted specifically to battling EnergySolutions, and their never-ending efforts to bring greater and hotter quantities of nuclear waste to Utah. I attend hearings, file comments, submit challenges, lobby officials, urge members to get involved and all kinds of other grassroots organizing and advocacy -- all with the aim of "attacking corporate pollution." It is, honestly, what HEAL does and what we've done for more than a
decade.

*******

Also, just this week, NPR’s "This American Life" focused on a Pennsylvania community consumed by fracking: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/440/game-changer, and on Friday, NPR’s "All Things Considered" presented this story on the earthquakes in Arkansas: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/08/137704451/bonnie-prince-billys-earthquake-ballad.  I recommend listening to both stories, starting with "This American Life" and following up with the much shorter one at "All Things Considered". 

Enough. I WANT TO KNOW IF HUMAN ACTIONS ARE CAUSING EARTHQUAKES.

I've had enough -- and clearly now so has the world.

As I write this, the headlines read "PARTIAL MELTDOWN" -- and that's in the mainstream press.

At least one nuclear reactor in Japan is already in meltdown mode.  Yesterday morning started with news that the reactor had expoded the night before.  Should I believe them when they say that the explosion involved an outer structure and did not cause an increased release of radiation?

The most important question that needs to be addressed immediately is: Are the actions of humans on this planet increasing earthquake activity?

According to several news items last week, two natural gas companies in Arkansas have stopped their hydraulic fracturing while there is an investigation into the potential relationship between "fracking" and the extraordinary increase in earthquakes in Arkansas. (See the movie GASLAND.)

WE MUST MAKE THE CONNECTION IF THIS IS TRUE - because every jolt to the tectonic plates ripples out and moves something somewhere else.
Meanwhile, we must stop believing that anyone can honestly say that nuclear energy is safe.  Radioactivity is a power beyond our comprehension and the worst part about it is that lasts for millions of years - FAR BEYOND ANYTHING WE CAN PREDICT.

SO HOW CAN ANYONE EVER SAY WHAT THIS MONSTEROUS POWER WILL AFFECT?

Personally, I've never understood how corporate profiteers who propagandize while protecting toxic spew can ever look their children and grandchildren in the eye.

So, again, enough.  I've had enough, and so has this planet.  We are all at risk, even the liars.

It's bad enough to spread garbage in the air and water, but when the greedy powerful put radiating torches of death in boxes all over the planet and then start wiggling the tectonic plates, we must stop them. 


They are stupid and dangerous to us all - even themselves, the damn fools.

*******

Meanwhile, The Washington Post/Bloomberg News has posted this: "Japan's earthquake will boost global demand for natural gas".  Damn fools.