It is quite possible that regulations on fracking may be helping to decrease the number of earthquakes caused by fracking and the waste it produces. For the estimated seven million people who live or work in risk areas, that’s good news. (Hello Oklahoma!)
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For those of you who don’t know, hydraulic fracturing is the process of “natural gas extraction that involves shooting a mixture of chemicals and water underground, a byproduct of which is water that needs to be disposed of, and much of it gets shot into wastewater wells deep underground. The disruption caused by pushing the wastewater underground can cause natural formation of rocks and soil to shift resulting in tremors and in more extreme cases, earthquakes.” 1
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While there are supporters of the process, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that fracking can and has caused tremors (earthquakes) and water contamination. Thankfully, many states have put regulations or bans on it but why hasn’t there been an outright ban? Perhaps regulators don’t care about us or the environment, just the amount of money that is being made.
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Let’s hope that with the fracking regulations currently in place, we will see fewer and fewer quakes in the risk zones. And, let’s hope that very soon we can begin to invest in safer and greener energy sources.
