Disaster Warning: The Area Under The Keystone XL Pipeline Is Likely To Experience Earthquakes

[babylonsister]

Disaster Warning: The Area Under The Keystone XL Pipeline Is Likely To Experience Earthquakes
By: Rmuse
Saturday, May, 10th, 2014, 6:28 pm

snip//

Last week the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) issued an advisory warning of an increased likelihood of “damaging earthquakes” as a result of the increased number of small and moderate shocks in central and north-central Oklahoma. Both the USGS and OGS reported that there have been a stunning 183 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 and greater in the Sooner state between October 2013 and April 2014. The two agencies issued the warning advisory because the increase in the rate of earthquakes above 3.0 on the Richter Scale since last October increases the possibility of a “damaging” quake of 5.0 magnitude or higher in central Oklahoma as a result of injecting chemical-laden water used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of tight rock formations to “fracture” rock deep underground to extract oil and gas.

To get an idea of the inordinate increase is seismic activity in Oklahoma due to fracking, the long-term average between 1978 and 2008 was about two 3.0 magnitude earthquakes per year. In the past 24 hours there were 5 significant (2.5 magnitude or greater) quakes that accounted for 13% of the quakes worldwide. Oklahoma experienced more earthquakes in 2014 than tremor-prone California that is also well over twice the size of Oklahoma. In the jointly-issued warning advisory, geologists identified the culprit as oil industry wastewater injected into deep geologic rock formations that increases underground pressure, lubricates faults, and causes earthquakes in a process geologists refer to as “injection-induced seismicity.” That is right; geologists have named the cause of the earthquakes that are the result of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

Geologists have noted that the recent Oklahoma earthquake rate changes are unrelated to typical random fluctuations in natural seismicity rates. The area geologists warned is likely to experience damaging earthquakes is situated under the proposed path of the KeystoneXL pipeline set to carry bitumen-laden tar sand renowned for ruptures without earthquakes, but that is something Republicans beholden to the oil export industry are unlikely to ever admit. In fact, the oil industry will not admit fracking has any relationship to increased earthquake activity in any region much less Oklahoma.

The oil industry claims, like BP after pouring 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and along America’s Gulf Coast, it is unfair to blame the uncharacteristically large number of earthquakes on anything the industry is doing. According to the vice president of regulatory affairs for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, Brian Woodward, “Granted, we’ve not seen this level of seismic activity in Oklahoma in the last 60 to 80 years and before that we don’t have a record. It causes us all concern, but the rush to correlate this activity with our industry is something we don’t believe is necessarily fair.” All that remains is for some oil industry-funded Republican to issue a heartfelt apology to the oil industry on the floor of the House or Senate for geologists and geophysicists blaming the uncharacteristically high number of earthquakes in Oklahoma on fracking. After the Republicans apologize, there will be a Koch Industry-funded campaign to discredit geologists and geophysicists as perpetrating a United Nations hoax to destroy the American fracking industry.

Researchers have long known that high-pressure fluid-injection operations (fracking) can trigger earthquakes, and in central Oklahoma a cluster of four high-volume wastewater injection wells triggered quakes up to 30 miles away, according to Katie Keranen a geophysicist at Cornell University in New York. Keranen said, “These are some of the biggest wells in the state, and the pressure is high enough from the injected fluids to trigger earthquakes that have since spread farther outward, as fluids migrate farther from the massive injection wells.” Fracking has already been linked to Oklahoma’s strongest recorded quake in 2011, as well as a spate of more than 180 smaller tremors in Texas between Oct. 30, 2008, and May 31, 2009.

more...

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/10/disaster-warning-area-keystone-xl-pipeline-experience-earthquakes.html

[cantbeserious]

1. Big Business - The Same Old Story - Deny, Deny, Deny - All The While Lining The Politicians Pockets

eom

[truedelphi]

2. And with the nuke industry still chugging along,

I'd say that "The Future Is So Bright" we have to wear shades:

And with significant earthquakes occurring more often, we won't even have to use our own power to "twerk."

[Munificence]

3. News Flash!

I am not for the pipeline, however I can say:

"Disaster Warning, those in New Orleans are likely to experience a major Hurricane at some point"

"Disaster Warning, those in California are likely to lose everything at some point to an Earthquake"


Gotta chose our arguments wisely and quit grasping at straws as it waters down the entire argument.

[babylonsister]

4. Did you even read it? The article specifically

states this won't be a natural phenomena but the result of fracking: reading is fundamental.



...increases the possibility of a “damaging” quake of 5.0 magnitude or higher in central Oklahoma as a result of injecting chemical-laden water used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of tight rock formations to “fracture” rock deep underground to extract oil and gas.

Geologists have noted that the recent Oklahoma earthquake rate changes are unrelated to typical random fluctuations in natural seismicity rates.

[FarCenter]

6. Oklahoma is already covered with pipelines

How do you think the oil and gas is collected from all of those wells in Oklahoma? How do you think it is shipped out of state?

Keystone would be a relatively minor addition to the pipeline capacity within Oklahoma.

[Munificence]

5. You are missing my point

My point is that there is an argument being made and it may not be the correct argument to run with.

And the point also is that areas of California are a hot bed for Earthquakes yet we build crap all over the place, mother nature will claim it back at some point and we will have a natural disaster. Same with New Orleans, Florida, etc.

This is a piece designed to argue against the pipeline, if this is our best argument then we are screwed. And by using the arguments we water down the entire argument.

Fracking is about a shitty as it gets, I can see using this data to argue fracking, however it being used as an argument against the pipeline is a stretch. As the answer will be "We'll simply design it to withstand a 5.0 earthquake" while crossing over those areas in Oklahoma that may be more earthquake prone.

I'd also like to note the agenda here and who can take it serious, why add this statement in:


"The oil industry claims, like BP after pouring 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and along America’s Gulf Coast, it is unfair to blame the uncharacteristically large number of earthquakes on anything the industry is doing."

Why put that into the argument? It then becomes a hit piece and is not related to the "science" what-so-ever of the argument, it waters down the argument as anyone can see it is now a hit piece. When one does this then no matter what your feelings are on either side of the isle you should recognize it as a hit piece. Why not instead stick to the subject, the math, the science, and the data to prove a point unless of course there are straws being grasped at?