According to the agency, only 1 percent to 2 percent of the earthquakes are linked to hydraulic fracking itself. The United States Geological Survey, which maintains a myths and misconceptions page on its website, disputes that fracking is causing the rash of frequent “induced earthquakes” in places like Oklahoma. Between 20, the state had 2,409 quakes, according to the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment. It damaged several buildings and was felt as far away as Nebraska and Texas. But some are quite significant.Ī 5.8 magnitude earthquake near Pawnee, Oklahoma, in September 2016 was the largest ever recorded in the state. Today, it experiences thousands of tremors.įortunately, most of these quakes are typically around 3.0 or less on the Richter scale, which is below the magnitude people can typically feel. A decade ago, Oklahoma would experience only one or two earthquakes a year. In fact, because of wastewater disposal, Oklahoma now tops California as the most active region in the country for earthquake activity. While some small tremors may be related to the fracking process itself, many of the earthquakes are triggered by the injection of wastewater into deep underground wells. What Is Fracking?įracking-related activities have also been linked to increased earthquakes in Oklahoma, Texas and other areas where the practice is common. If you’ve already been harmed by fracking, you may need legal assistance. Grassroots activism is perhaps the only way to prevent fracking from coming to a neighborhood near you. Air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and threats to worker health are also causing alarm. The controversial process has been linked to water contamination and the disposal of wastewater from fracking has triggered earthquakes. And proponents of the extraction method celebrate the fact that is has driven down natural gas prices.īut as fracking has increased so have concerns about its health and environmental impacts. Between 20, United States oil production grew 75 percent and natural gas production grew 39 percent, according to the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Forms of fracking have been around since the 1940s, but improvements in technology have made it more feasible for energy companies to retrieve oil and gas that were once inaccessible.įracking has significantly increased domestic oil and natural gas production. At one State of the State address in Albany, we numbered in the thousands.Contrary to popular thought, fracking isn’t exactly a revolutionary new method of drilling. At Cuomo’s book launch event in Manhattan, anti-fracking protesters far outnumbered potential book-buyers. It reached a point where the governor expected us to show up by the dozens or hundreds at any of his public events, anywhere in the state. The grassroots pressure on Cuomo was relentless - and effective. But it still took serious work to get the governor to agree. New Yorkers should be thankful that our state was spared the array of obvious harms and hazards associated with fracking. And fracking creates an enormous amount of toxic, radioactive waste that must be dumped somewhere. A recent outbreak of rare, deadly cancers in heavily fracked areas of southwestern Pennsylvania has families demanding answers from state regulators and a governor who has championed the industry.
Studies are still uncovering health problems linked to drilling, including low birth weights and increased asthma rates near well pads. A large and growing body of science shows that fracking is even more dangerous than we knew at the time. Drilling in Pennsylvania had contaminated drinking water and created serious air pollution problems.
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