Earthquakes That May Be Related To Fracking Close Ohio Oil Well 299
Frosty P writes "State leaders have ordered that four fluid-injection wells ('fracking') in eastern Ohio will be indefinitely prohibited from opening in the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area, an official said. A 4.0-magnitude quake struck Saturday afternoon near several wells that use 'fracking' to release oil deposits. It was the 11th in a series of minor earthquakes in the area."
why is it (Score:5, Insightful)
And ppl do not understand why I WANT us to continue drilling all over USA. I figure that once Americans start to get earthquakes, polluted waters esp. in our aquifiers, and see the repercussions of this 'clean' source of jobs, then MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, we will finally figure out that we need to change our policy. And I can not think of anything that would be better then to get the west off imported energy (other than to add that we quit importing bad goods and food from china).
Maybe so, if you never had to take physics. (Score:4, Insightful)
"Common sense" in your case, apparently means "hysteria over things I don't understand, but still don't like."
Re:This seems... (Score:4, Insightful)
How about stopping some of the idiotic spending that we're doing? God forbid we show a little fiscal responsibility instead of being fleeced fro more money...
Re:This seems... (Score:0, Insightful)
How about both? Cut spending and increase taxes.
Re:Fracking Probably Had Nothing to Do With It (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh, I should say that there is seismic activity everywhere in the US. The predictions for probable magnitudes shift slightly over time. They are contained in the NEHRP recommended provisions for seismic regulations for building design. The isolines just shifted a bit 6 years ago in southern Virginia, for example, putting several counties into a lower seismic hazard zone.
The question is not, "is fracking causing seismic events" but rather, "is fracking causing a statistically significant increase in frequency or magnitude of events relative to the current baseline." That may seem nuanced, but it is the correct way to approach the issue.
Re:This seems... (Score:4, Insightful)
I call bullshit. Long term cap gains taxes are 15%.
Re:This seems... (Score:4, Insightful)
the debt that was created to help irresponsible citizens and the made worse by saving irresponsible bankers. Who in turn gave that money to irresponsible politicians so that they can afford to be voted back in by irresponsible citizens.
Re:This seems... (Score:4, Insightful)
And umm. How are high taxes and high benefits working there in Europe?
Awesome actually:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/its-not-about-welfare-states/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/no-its-not-the-welfare-state/
The countries with some of the highest taxes and best benefits (Sweden, Finland, Denmark) have some of the best finances.
And how have the low taxes and austerity helped Ireland and the UK? Are they bouncing back economically? (Ireland has a ~15% unemployment rate.) How has austerity helped the US "recover"?
The problem is that US spending on "useless" things like wars. While it does help people and companies manufacturing bombs and bullets, the general population isn't helped. Building and repairing bridges, sewers, paving roads, etc., would all employee people domestically and provide infrastructure for economic future activity once the economy recovers.
So yes, the books must be balanced (which is what Keynesians were saying from 2002-2006), but right now you want spending to kickstart the economy. The last stimulus package was too small (as Krugman for one predicted), and so the 'recovery' only was partial. If there was (say) another 2-3 quarters of stimulus spending we'd probably be in a much more cheery place.
Re:Anti-fracking goal (Score:4, Insightful)
Fear mongering is never a positive behavior. Shame on you.
You're just as bad as the people who do it all the time. You think if you scare people to agree with you, it's ok. That is an awful way to be.
Re:This seems... (Score:3, Insightful)
The problem is that US spending on "useless" things like wars.
I wouldn't call them useless. The politicians and their corporate buddies turn a tidy profit.