No. Fracking. Way.
We already knew fracking - or Hydrolic Fracturing, the practice of injecting a chemical slurry into the ground with incredible force to break open pockets of natural gas - was a bad idea. It pollutes the water table, exposes homes and communities to dangerous natural gas and toxic chemicals, threatens farmland and open space and perpetuates our dependance on fossil fuels.
But I gotta say - I did not see this coming as a reason to oppose fracking:
"CLEVELAND — A northeast Ohio well used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling almost certainly caused a series of 11 minor quakes in the Youngstown area since last spring, a seismologist investigating the quakes said Monday."
- The Associated Press, January 2012
Or, as I like to say: They fracked so hard the earth moved.
A few point of clarification, the well in question was not actually fracking itself, it was disposing of fracking waste. Though the practice of injecting toxic-soup into the ground as a way to get it 'out of sight, out of mind' is not any better than the idea of injecting it into the ground so you can extract natural gas.
AND this is a rare case where the hydrolic injection seems to have happened on a particular fault line. Most fracking does NOT cause earth quakes - just gas leaks, overflowing lagoons of toxic waste and in some cases kitchen faucets that spew fire.
With those two caveats, however, I think this is a startling example of how DUMB an idea it is to count on this largely untested and incredibly volatile drilling practice to meet our energy needs. Especially when there are really good ideas - like solar, wind and geothermal power - that can create jobs, meet our energy needs and not destroy the planet. Oh - and they don't cause earthquakes either. Just saying.
