I’ve never sat and watched an entire episode of 60 Minutes. It’s never been a show that’s caught my attention, but I hear good things. I just happen to turn elsewhere for news and information.
Because of an NFL game running late this past Sunday though, 60 Minutes was delayed 18 minutes, which means it was still on when my wife and I tuned to CBS for another scheduled show. As a result, it was dumb luck that I happened to learn about the issue that 60 Minutes was profiling – earthquakes.
Specifically, the show was covering earthquakes in the continental U.S. state most prone to experience them. Any guesses which state that is? Go right ahead and take a stab at it. It probably would have been my 10th guess at best.
Not California or any other state west of the Rockies. It’s Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, and apparently that plain shakes a lot.
Here’s a link to the show I saw, but I’ll give you my own highlights.
I’ll start with the jaw-dropping statistics. In the years leading up to 2009, Oklahoma averaged two earthquakes per year with a Richter scale magnitude of 3.0 or greater. 2012 saw 36 such earthquakes. Then there were 109 in 2013, followed by 585 in 2014. 2015 continued the trend, with 907 earthquakes of that magnitude.
Admittedly, a 3.0 earthquake is a small one. People might feel shaking and objects might rattle, but damage is very unlikely. The problem is when earthquakes get stronger. Like the 5.8 quake that shook Pawnee, Oklahoma on September 3 of this year, damaging a couple of older buildings.
So what’s causing this? By most indications, human activity is to blame, specifically the oil and gas industry. When oil is extracted in Oklahoma, it has to be separated from salt water that is extracted in the process. This wastewater is then forced back into the earth via disposal wells. The latest scientific evidence suggests that the wastewater is filling into fault lines in the Arbuckle rock layer, increasing pressure and pushing those fault lines apart. This slippage of fault lines triggers an earthquake.
Oklahoma’s government is beginning to take action, requiring the closure of a number of disposal wells. Not surprisingly though, there is push back from the oil and gas industry, which is a significant one for Oklahoma’s economy. As often occurs, the government is in a tug-of-war between economic and public safety/environmental interests. If the frequency and intensity of earthquakes continues to increase, I’m pretty sure the public safety and environmental side will win. Let’s just hope no lives are lost before then.
Here’s my takeaway. We are such a technologically advanced species that we are able to change our climate and now, apparently, cause earthquakes. Congratulations to us for that demonstration of power. Now let’s stop being Mother Nature’s problem child and move past the use of such environmentally destructive technologies.
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