Inducing Earthquakes

Yes, believe it or not, humans seem to be capable of directly inducing earthquakes.  It is because of our never ending quest for energy independence, energy domination, or whatever that has led to an increase in human induced earthquakes, mostly in regions where earthquakes are not known to occur.  These quakes are not solely limited to the United States, but have occurred in Canada and the UK as well.  Most notably however, have been the quakes that have occurred in Ohio, a total of 11 in 2011 beginning in March.  That is quite a high number for a region that rarely if ever experiences one.  The only upside to this is that none of the quakes have been catastrophic, although they have been shown to be increasing in intensity with the latest one on Dec. 24, 2011 reaching a magnitude 4.  So what exactly is causing these earthquakes?  In essence, the process of hydrofracking, a process used to remove natural gas or other fossil fuels from tight veins within the ground, has been blamed.  In Ohio, the only major change in that region to take place before the earthquakes started was the use of an abandoned fracking well to dispose of the waste water from other fracking wells.   The theory goes that the waste water pumped into the well did not remain solely within the well, but migrated through other veins and crevices causing the plates of the earth to shift.  Being the only major change in this area, it seems like a very good explanation as to why these earthquakes have been occurring.  Since the last few earthquakes in the region, the disposal of waste water into the abandoned well has been put on hold till more research can be done.  (For more on this story, check out the article in the NYTimes or for more on fracking check out this link to Wikipedia.)

There are a number of countries in which hydrofracking takes place, some of them being Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, Canada, and the US.  Currently, fracking is banned in France and South Africa.   Whether or not you believe in global warming, the effects of our interference with nature have taken a new turn with the earthquakes that are now being reported in relation to hydrofracking.  Earthquakes, however, are just the latest negative consequence to come out of this process.  While earthquakes in and of themselves can be deadly, the more potent disaster can be felt in the contamination of water in the areas surrounding these hydrofracking wells.  In the process of hydrofracking, 98% of the fluid used is water, innocuous and harmless if left alone.  However, the other 2% is what makes the process deadly.  Out of the 750 compounds that make up the 2% of the hydrofracking mix, 650 are known or possible human carcinogens, meaning they have adverse effects (often disastrous ones) on our health.  Critics may claim that 2% is nothing in the overall scheme of things.  Yet, what critics will fail to mention is that over the life of the well, that 2% could add up to 100,000 gallons of additives.  What complicates the process even more is that there is no surefire way to recoup every bit of fluid that enters the well.  There are supposed to be safeguards in place to protect the public from these deadly additives, but often times, they are not adequate.  So why do we persist in this process that is so deleterious to our health and our environment?  Profits and a lack of foresight.

Humans in general have a lack of foresight.  We often times fail to consider the consequences of our actions or the ramifications should something go wrong.  What we seem to be most concerned about is our present actions and what we can gain from them.  It isn't until we travel down a road some ways and look back that we often times see our failings, our mis-calculations, or our negative effect.  Hindsight is always 20/20.  We can always look back and see what went wrong and what should have been done differently.  With all this information coming in about the effects of our meddling with the environment through hydrofracking, you would think things would come more concretely to a halt so we can re-evaluate the process.  However, as humans are driven by the dollar signs in front of their eyes more than the consequences occurring around them, this process will most likely continue unhindered until something truly catastrophic happens.  Even then, the corporations involved in the extraction of the fossil fuel will pay extra money to silence people or to compensate them for their grievances.  One has only to look at the coal industry in West Virginia to see evidence of this.  I am glad that France and South Africa have halted the hydrofracking process in their respective countries, however, there needs to be a wider push, worldwide, to put a stop to this process before we go to far and can't contain the problems we created through it.  It is an uphill battle, but it is one that needs to be fought if we are to preserve the health of people and the environment around these wells.  Is it really worth it to destroy nature and life in the main goal of energy independence or cheaper energy?  Some would say yes, I and many others would say no.  Earthquakes should be a sign that we have gone too far.  However, I feel that it won't end anytime soon.