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[CharlieDigital]

http://www.npr.org/2015/04/23/40162...rthquakes-than-californians-now-they-know-why

A magnitude-3.0 earthquake is small, but most people can feel it. Historically, Oklahoma got less than two of those a year, but in 2013 it became two a week.

It's only gotten more active since then — last year, the state had three times as many earthquakes as in the entire seismically active state of California.

This morning, the U.S. Geological Survey will issue its first comprehensive assessment of the hazard posed by earthquakes linked to oil and gas drilling. In the preliminary report, the survey details oil and gas-related quakes in eight states.

"We are attributing most of the earthquakes that we experience in Oklahoma to produced water that is disposed of into older formations," says Rick Andrews of the Oklahoma Geological Survey.​

Crazy and scary if you live in a state with fracking.

Also this gem:

"We don't know enough about what's really going on in the subsurface to know how to mitigate some of this risk," says Chad Warmington, president of the Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association.

Warmington is worried Oklahoma's new position might fuel well moratoriums, which one state lawmaker is already calling for.

"Just to say we're just going to blanketly shut 'em down, it doesn't make logical sense..."​

"We're the experts and we don't know what's going on or how to mitigate the risk...but stopping it isn't logical!"

 

[Africanus]

Those Okies of Oaklahoma had better stop fraccing before it's too late.

 

[lazygecko]

Fracking hell

 

[Syriel]

3.0? That's like a heavy truck driving down the street.

 

[Jpop]

Those Okies of Oaklahoma had better stop fraccing before it's too late.

Fracking hell

.

Fracking is one of the most short sighted and opportunistic energy grabs that exist. Fucking dumbasses.

 

[VARIA]

Ridiculous what you can get away with in the name of oil.

 

[theepicoftyler]

Worth noting before we get into a "fracking is the purest evil" discussion, the USGS and other Geological Surveys have generally attributed increased siesmicity to waste water wells, and extracting deep brine.

Clearly fracking is tangentially related to these activities, but the process of fracking most certainly isn't causing the earthquakes in question.

Directly related information for those interested:

http://www.geologypage.com/2015/04/race-to-unravel-oklahomas-artificial.html#ixzz3Y34lyytN

http://www.geologypage.com/2015/04/combination-of-gas-field-fluid.html

 

[Spiritreaver]

Yeeeah as someone who's spent almost his entire like here its crazy how things have changed the past few years. I swear I feel them every other day now, some are more intense than others, but they're always happening.

Quakenadoes on the way I'm sure.

 

[commedieu]

.

Fracking is one of the most short sighted and opportunistic energy grabs that exist. Fucking dumbasses.

Its amazing though, as people are able to see it poisoning their water, and disturbing the ground beneath them, they will still fall for it if its spun as something good for the "job creators." Yet, it always seems to be at the cost of the citizens quality of life.

Is that breaking point coming close? Fracking has fucked up every place its practiced. Will people sit and think about next time, how they should view things differently? Is there any hope here..? I'm at a loss over this issue and how it directly cripples the area. Yet, people still blindly support it. And even cheerlead gas prices.

Worth noting before we get into a "fracking is the purest evil" discussion, the USGS and other Geological Surveys have generally attributed increased siesmicity to waste water wells, and extracting deep brine.

Clearly fracking is tangentially related to these activities, but the process of fracking most certainly isn't causing the earthquakes in question.

Directly related information for those interested:

http://www.geologypage.com/2015/04/race-to-unravel-oklahomas-artificial.html#ixzz3Y34lyytN

http://www.geologypage.com/2015/04/combination-of-gas-field-fluid.html

Fracking is bad for the land, and water. Shouldn't be allowed currently. And it shouldn't be added to the top of waste water wells and extracting deep brine. It is very much a contributory suspect, as Oklahoma's been doing fine for thousands of years w/o earthquakes. No sense in trying to sugar coat it, or lessen the overall need to end fracking with something that the people fracking, are passing out to the population.

 

[kirblar]

Its amazing though, as people are able to see it poisoning their water, and disturbing the ground beneath them, they will still fall for it if its spun as something good for the "job creators." Yet, it always seems to be at the cost of the citizens quality of life.

Is that breaking point coming close? Fracking has fucked up every place its practiced. Will people sit and think about next time, how they should view things differently? Is there any hope here..? I'm at a loss over this issue and how it directly cripples the area. Yet, people still blindly support it. And even cheerlead gas prices.

The big issue with the electorate of red states is that the smart, successful people simply move out of them.

 

[BobLoblaw]

.

Fracking is one of the most short sighted and opportunistic energy grabs that exist. Fucking dumbasses.

So true. Saw that movie "Gasland" a few years ago and I figured as much.

 

[Escape Goat]

God is punshing Oklahoma for electing Mary Fallin.

 

[theepicoftyler]

So true. Saw that movie "Gasland" a few years ago and I figured as much.

Gasland is an incredibly disingenuous and misleading film.

 

[Fenderputty]

I'm gonna wager most of the structures built in Oklahoma weren't done up to California building codes either.

Gasland is an incredibly disingenuous and misleading film.

Are you trying to say fracking isn't shortsighted?

 

[Hari Seldon]

Its amazing though, as people are able to see it poisoning their water, and disturbing the ground beneath them, they will still fall for it if its spun as something good for the "job creators." Yet, it always seems to be at the cost of the citizens quality of life.

Is that breaking point coming close? Fracking has fucked up every place its practiced. Will people sit and think about next time, how they should view things differently? Is there any hope here..? I'm at a loss over this issue and how it directly cripples the area. Yet, people still blindly support it. And even cheerlead gas prices.

I, for one, am rooting for OPEC to fucking crush it lol.

 

[Wilsongt]

I always love when the commercial comes on talking about how the US is the top natural gas exporter and goes on to say that "hydrologic mining technologies are safe with no consequences>'

Well, here are your consequences.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Nothing will change in OK even after some large quake kills a bunch of people. To much gas and oil money in the local government.

I mean geez, a tornado killed a bunch of children in a school and the state gov said if the schools want shelters then they need to find donations.

And lets not even get started on the whole execution stuff.

 

[theepicoftyler]

I'm gonna wager most of the structures built in Oklahoma weren't done up to California building codes either.



Are you trying to say fracking isn't shortsighted?

I'm saying that a lot of the information presented in Gasland is misleading at best and outright false at worst.

 

[StylesClash]

Oak? Really?

 

[commedieu]

I, for one, am rooting for OPEC to fucking crush it lol.

They didn't even flinch. They know they have reserves, and they know its a temporary gain. Its embarrassing that we are killing the ground we live on, for some short gains for people that don't even pass it down to the rest of the nation.

Are you trying to say fracking isn't shortsighted?

Very good q.

As They have 2 posts, trying to downplay fracking.

I guess this person answers my own question about why people continue to fuck themselves over. Because they can find any insignificant hole in an issue, and latch onto that, while ignoring all the damage fracking is causing.

I'm sure DDT & Lead Paint had its share of misinformation too.

-_-

 

[Clydefrog]

The earthquakes aren't bugs, they're features.

 

[quesalupa]

.

 

[KingGondo]

At least the Oklahoma Geological Survey is admitting it's a man-made problem now. There's also a website set up by the state to track seismic activity, so hopefully changes will start to happen. It's quite strange that earthquakes are a common occurrence now, even if most are rather small.

Other states have shown that simply moving problematic wastewater disposal sites can result in a drastic reduction in seismic activity, and most of the problems are being caused by only a few of the thousands of disposal wells.

And I'd like to note that not all Okies are in favor of unregulated drilling and fracking. Several municipalities have floated drilling bans. A couple of months ago a potential well site near Lake Hefner in OKC was canceled because of protest from the public.

Oak? Really?

Yeah, this too.

 

[Fenderputty]

I'm saying that a lot of the information presented in Gasland is misleading at best and outright false at worst.

He brought the film up in the context of fracking being shortsighted. so if you're not disputing the actual context you're just .....

 

[theepicoftyler]

They didn't even flinch. They know they have reserves, and they know its a temporary gain. Its embarrassing that we are killing the ground we live on, for some short gains for people that don't even pass it down to the rest of the nation.



Very good q.

As They have 2 posts, trying to downplay fracking.

I guess this person answers my own question about why people continue to fuck themselves over. Because they can find any insignificant hole in an issue, and latch onto that, while ignoring all the damage fracking is causing.

I'm sure DDT & Lead Paint had its share of misinformation too.

-_-

I'm a geologist, and I take an interest into the general public misunderstanding and spreading misinformation about my area of expertise.

There are genuine concerns to have regarding fracking, but most of the people who argue against it aren't using facts. They're using misinformation built upon a fundamental lack of understanding of the mechanics involved.

 

[commedieu]

Somebody needs to take an environmental studies class and see if it's still worth it.

Seems pretty straight forward, as it keeps ruining quality of life for citizens in a myriad of ways. Do we even need to make it official that telling people they can't drink their water is a bad precedent..?

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zaxCy5lyf7w8.ktszQQ3C0jUQ

example;

January, 2012: Two homes in Granger County have been deemed a public health threat by a federal health agency because of potentially explosive levels of natural gas in their drinking water. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry stated that the problems with the wells originated from the nearby drilling of two gas wells. Levels of “explosivity” are considered hazardous when they exceed 10%: the wells of the two homes were at 34.7% and 47.4%. The high gas levels inside and nearby the house led Columbia Gas to shut off services for a period of time because of the likelihood of an explosion. The federal level of explosivity is 1%, and inside one of the houses measured an alarming 20%.

Source: “Three years after drilling, feds say natural gas in Medina County well water is potentially explosive.” Bob Downing. Beacon Journal. January 17, 2012.

Do we need studies, when we have "potentially explosive" water..? Isn't that just delaying action..? Verifying that the disasters linked directly to fracking, are disasters linked directly to fracking..?

I'm a geologist, and I take an interest into the general public misunderstanding and spreading misinformation about my area of expertise.

There are genuine concerns to have regarding fracking, but most of the people who argue against it aren't using facts. They're using misinformation built upon a fundamental lack of understanding of the mechanics involved.

That fundamental lack of understanding is about a disastrous situation which fracking brings to communities. You, as a geologist, wouldn't want it being done near any of your water supplies. Sure, people may get insignificant details wrong, but fracking is being linked to earthquakes around the nation. http://www.bssaonline.org/content/early/2015/01/01/0120140168.abstract

A geologist making sure people have the facts right about fracking before arguing against it, is something interesting to me, as its perfectly clear its a terrible practice on the environment full stop. Isn't that like, your zeal for life? Geology? A healthy environment..?hehe.

Why would a geologist be concerned about misinformation about Fracking? What damage does that do to your work or world experience? Unless you are doing geology for an Oil company, it makes sense that most laymen will understand that poisoning the water you drink and making it flammable is a bad thing. edit **OR seismic activity**

What is the usual scenario that you have to deal with? Where blinding ignorance gets in the way of discourse?

What are the 2 sides of the Fracking argument, that you're making?

 

[theepicoftyler]

He brought the film up in the context of fracking being shortsighted. so if you're not disputing the actual context you're just .....

I'm disputing the conclusions drawn from a source of information that is less than trustworthy.

 

[phaonaut]

I'm a geologist, and I take an interest into the general public misunderstanding and spreading misinformation about my area of expertise.

There are genuine concerns to have regarding fracking, but most of the people who argue against it aren't using facts. They're using misinformation built upon a fundamental lack of understanding of the mechanics involved.

Tell us Your top 5 pieces of misinformation about fracking then? I'd like to hear it.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Worth noting before we get into a "fracking is the purest evil" discussion, the USGS and other Geological Surveys have generally attributed increased siesmicity to waste water wells, and extracting deep brine.

Clearly fracking is tangentially related to these activities, but the process of fracking most certainly isn't causing the earthquakes in question.

Worth noting before we get into a "nuclear weapons are the purest evil" discussion, the US military and other atomic agencies have generally attributed deaths to radiation exposure.

Clearly, the huge nuclear explosion is tangentially related to these activities, but the process of detonating a nuclear bomb isn't causing the radiation in question.

 

[knicks]

Everyone is spelling Oklahoma wrong.

 

[ReAxion]

they will still fall for it if its spun as something good for the "job creators." Yet, it always seems to be at the cost of the citizens quality of life.

"Well, yeah I have a job, but I live in the valley next to the Oblongs."

 

[OnPoint]

How long before they crack off and float into the ocean?

 

[KingGondo]

Worth noting before we get into a "nuclear weapons are the purest evil" discussion, the US military and other atomic agencies have generally attributed deaths to radiation exposure.

Clearly, the huge nuclear explosion is tangentially related to these activities, but the process of detonating a nuclear bomb isn't causing the radiation in question.

That's a poor analogy. Radiation is a direct result of the detonation of a nuclear weapon, while earthquakes are caused by wastewater disposal, not hydraulic fracturing itself.

There's was an article in the New Yorker last week about this very topic, and they found in Ohio that simply moving problematic wastewater disposal sites resulted in a huge drop in seismic activity.

 

[lazygecko]

How long before they crack off and float into the ocean?

How long before Oklahoma bans officials from using the terms "fracking" and "earthquake"?

 

[Damaniel]

.

Fracking is one of the most short sighted and opportunistic energy grabs that exist. Fucking dumbasses.

Exactly. It's also a wonderful example of the conservative philosophy that 'I'm going to be dead before the shit hits the fan anyway, so let the next generation deal with it'. Selling out the environment, refusing to do anything whatsoever about climate change, outsourcing all of our labor elsewhere; if it doesn't hurt them *right now* but can benefit them greatly, then they'll gladly say 'fuck all the rest of you' and do whatever they want, long term consequences be damned.

Sadly, many people buy into this philosophy when they're so far down the totem pole that the benefits will never really reach them anyway - 'temporarily embarrassed millionaires' and all that.

 

[Velcro Fly]

So I'm guessing that commercial that tells me that fracking is safe and easy is lying to me

 

[timetokill]

I remember talking to a person who had moved from Ohklahomer to California for college and had said that earthquakes were more terrifying than tornadoes.

Wonder how she feels about it now.

 

[theepicoftyler]

Tell us the top 5 pieces of misinformation about fracking then?

Quick, because I'm at work.

- The process of hydraulic fracture impacts groundwater.
Fracking is performed on impermeable strata of rock that is very deep, often thousands of feet deeper than local aquifers. Gas cannot escape the impermeable layer. The interior of that layer is fractured to allow gas to be extract. The overwhelming consensus as of now is that groundwater impact occurs in the case of faulty well installation (incomplete or poorly installed casings) and pollution from the surface (not properly disposing of the chemical laden drilling fluids). Two issues that can be mitigated by more oversight and regulation.

- Gasland's on fire faucets are common all over the US. Any area that has a shale play likely has other hydrocarbon bearing strata. If you don't properly case a groundwater well (which you should, but many aren't) and you drill through a coal seam or other hydrocarbon bearing strata to get to water, you will get methane in your water. If you don't have background measurements, you cannot say that fracking caused groundwater contamination, and as stated above, the literature to this point hasn't bore that out.

- Earthquakes: See my posts above. Earthquakes associated with fracking are very small. Waste water well injections are the culprit for larger induced earthquakes and again is an issue addressed by regulation.

Those are off the top of my head. If you dig backwards through my post history you can see some lengthier responses to these types of threads, but I don't have time to go into detail at the moment.

I just think people need to frame their arguments better. Stick to things bore out by the scientific literature. USGS and others have many resources on this.

Just to clarify, I don't work in the oil industry. I am an environmental consultant at a state geological survey who helped pass some of the most restrictive regulations against hydraulic fracture in the state. Just like GMOs, and other such divisive topics, I think that you hurt your overall argument when you continually point at things that aren't true. There is enough to work with without invoking things that aren't true.

 

[Volimar]

That's a poor analogy. Radiation is a direct result of the detonation of a nuclear weapon, while earthquakes are caused by wastewater disposal, not hydraulic fracturing itself.

There's was an article in the New Yorker last week about this very topic, and they found in Ohio that simply moving problematic wastewater disposal sites resulted in a huge drop in seismic activity.

Yay, fewer man-made earthquakes in Ohio.

 

[CrocMother]

Fracking is such a contentious issue, but I feel like the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the two extreme camps that have developed from it.

If done in the right location, fracking can be perfectly safe. If done in the wrong location, it can be perfectly disastrous.

 

[KingGondo]

Sadly, many people buy into this philosophy when they're so far down the totem pole that the benefits will never really reach them anyway - 'temporarily embarrassed millionaires' and all that.

It isn't quite that simple in Oklahoma.

The state legitimately depends on the revenues from fossil fuel production, and many many families' livelihoods are tied to the industry.

Sure, there are lots of poor people here but I'd argue that it's the state's fault that the tax revenues from oil and natural gas production aren't utilized properly to improve the lives of everyone.

Yay, fewer man-made earthquakes in Ohio.

It actually is a good thing. It shows that the problems that Oklahoma is having can be solved.

If the industry is going to continue to operate, we should make them operate in the least disruptive fashion possible.

 

[commedieu]

Quick, because I'm at work.

- The process of hydraulic fracture impacts groundwater.
Fracking is performed on impermeable strata of rock that is very deep, often thousands of feet deeper than local aquifers. Gas cannot escape the impermeable layer. The interior of that layer is fractured to allow gas to be extract. The overwhelming consensus as of now is that groundwater impact occurs in the case of faulty well installation (incomplete or poorly installed casings) and pollution from the surface (not properly disposing of the chemical laden drilling fluids). Two issues that can be mitigated by more oversight and regulation.

- Gasland's on fire faucets are common all over the US. Any area that has a shale play likely has other hydrocarbon bearing strata. If you don't properly case a groundwater well (which you should, but many aren't) and you drill through a coal seam or other hydrocarbon bearing strata to get to water, you will get methane in your water. If you don't have background measurements, you cannot say that fracking caused groundwater contamination, and as stated above, the literature to this point hasn't bore that out.

- Earthquakes: See my posts above. Earthquakes associated with fracking are very small. Waste water well injections are the culprit for larger induced earthquakes and again is an issue addressed by regulation.

Those are off the top of my head. If you dig backwards through my post history you can see some lengthier responses to these types of threads, but I don't have time to go into detail at the moment.

I just think people need to frame their arguments better. Stick to things bore out by the scientific literature. USGS and others have many resources on this.

Just to clarify, I don't work in the oil industry. I am an environmental consultant at a state geological survey who helped pass some of the most restrictive regulations against hydraulic fracture in the state. Just like GMOs, and other such divisive topics, I think that you hurt your overall argument when you continually point at things that aren't true. There is enough to work with without invoking things that aren't true.

Thank you for posting this. But its from the position of the way things should be done -- which Oil industries nation-wide, simply ignore. I agree though, if things were actually regulated the way they should be, perhaps fracking accidents, wouldn't be as problematic.

The problem though, again, is that it is problematic due to a lack of oversight and corruption. In that world, the one we are in today, fracking isn't a good option considering the amounts of continual accidents.

kind of?

I'm not willing to entertain the idea that Oil Companies are going to act responsibly with fracking, when they haven't. Its common sense, what you're explaining, however it is not happening because the lobbies get in the way of being responsible. Perhaps we just aren't mature enough as a nation to execute fracking, but I'd say the in-practice-fracking, with all of its myriad of accidents, is something everyone can agree on, no? Oil companies should be doing all of this by the principles you've outlined, but it doesn't seem to be effective in practice.

We can hold our breath for Oil being responsible for its industry, but that hasn't happened, and more than likely wont in a nation where $ controls politics and laws..?


edit:

Work, pfft, the world aint goin anywhere! heh. Thanks though for the information, i'm genuinely interested in your thoughts.

 

[theepicoftyler]

Thank you for posting this. But its from the position of the way things should be done -- which Oil industries nation-wide, simply ignore. I agree though, if things were actually regulated the way they should be, perhaps fracking accidents, wouldn't be as problematic.

The problem though, again, is that it is problematic due to a lack of oversight and corruption. In that world, the one we are in today, fracking isn't a good option considering the amounts of continual accidents.

kind of?

I advocate not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. USGS, and MOST of the state geological surveys are not beholden by the oil industry and they're providing great scientific information regarding all of this. It's a constantly evolving situation.

I am in the camp that believe that if you're going to burn a fossil fuel, you should burn the cleanest one you can. Natural gas and and increased nuclear production is better in the short term while we wait for some technological breakthroughs in my opinion.

EDIT: ... and yes, you're fighting a very uphill battle when lobbying against the oil industry, but you're not going to get anywhere with incorrect information. The oil industry is well staffed with thousands of brilliant geologist and scientists. You just can't approach it that way.

 

[CadetMahoney]

It's God's revenge for the marijuana laws where you can smoke it in public, grow your own and buy it in the the shops.

 

[Valnen]

Also this gem:

We don't know enough about what's really going on in the subsurface to know how to mitigate some of this risk," says Chad Warmington, president of the Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association.

Basically:

 

[NateDrake]

Quick, because I'm at work.

- The process of hydraulic fracture impacts groundwater.
Fracking is performed on impermeable strata of rock that is very deep, often thousands of feet deeper than local aquifers. Gas cannot escape the impermeable layer. The interior of that layer is fractured to allow gas to be extract. The overwhelming consensus as of now is that groundwater impact occurs in the case of faulty well installation (incomplete or poorly installed casings) and pollution from the surface (not properly disposing of the chemical laden drilling fluids). Two issues that can be mitigated by more oversight and regulation.

- Gasland's on fire faucets are common all over the US. Any area that has a shale play likely has other hydrocarbon bearing strata. If you don't properly case a groundwater well (which you should, but many aren't) and you drill through a coal seam or other hydrocarbon bearing strata to get to water, you will get methane in your water. If you don't have background measurements, you cannot say that fracking caused groundwater contamination, and as stated above, the literature to this point hasn't bore that out.

- Earthquakes: See my posts above. Earthquakes associated with fracking are very small. Waste water well injections are the culprit for larger induced earthquakes and again is an issue addressed by regulation.

Those are off the top of my head. If you dig backwards through my post history you can see some lengthier responses to these types of threads, but I don't have time to go into detail at the moment.

I just think people need to frame their arguments better. Stick to things bore out by the scientific literature. USGS and others have many resources on this.

Just to clarify, I don't work in the oil industry. I am an environmental consultant at a state geological survey who helped pass some of the most restrictive regulations against hydraulic fracture in the state. Just like GMOs, and other such divisive topics, I think that you hurt your overall argument when you continually point at things that aren't true. There is enough to work with without invoking things that aren't true.

The issue is that the companies aren't performing fracking correctly and that the casings are failing. The casings crack and the gas escapes as it works its way up the pipeline into the groundwater and water aquifers.

Didn't they recently link high levels of radon near fracking well sites and nearby homes/neighborhoods? Again, if done right with proper regulations, these problems may not arise, but if they are having an impact on the daily lives and well-being of people then something has to be done.

 

[commedieu]

I advocate not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. USGS, and MOST of the state geological surveys are not beholden by the oil industry and they're providing great scientific information regarding all of this. It's a constantly evolving situation.

I am in the camp that believe that if you're going to burn a fossil fuel, you should burn the cleanest one you can. Natural gas and and increased nuclear production is better in the short term while we wait for some technological breakthroughs in my opinion.

But shell isn't beholden to the USGS :\. i'd just like to be confident that without regulation, oil wouldn't fuck up. But it seems like a cat and mouse game of trying to keep people honest, as they try as hard as they can to avoid everything.

I like where you're coming from though.

And what about the USGS report about man made earthquakes....As of, today..?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/23/oil-gas-drilling-triggers-man-made-earthquakes-usgs

cue chart:

Can't find the original report as the link is to

http://c/Users/m.gallucci/Documents...USGS National Seismic Hazard Modeling Project someones C drive.. haha.

edit; ah here,

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4202#.VTley5OmG3H

Guess the takeaway Re:Fracking;;

USGS’s studies suggest that the actual hydraulic fracturing process is only occasionally the direct cause of felt earthquakes

 

[boingball]

Anyone suggesting that men could influence earthquakes must be delusional. That is on the same level as suggesting that men can influence the weather. Only God the almighty can do that. We are not god.

I question the correctness of the data. This must be a ploy of socialist seismologist to get more funding, taking note from climate scientists. We need some independent objective studies to disprove any notion that men are the cause of this. I am sure there will be some private capital to fund such studies soon. Then those seismologist will be uncovered as frauds similar to what has happened to climate scientists.

 

[Foffy]

...Man-made environment change? Uh oh, you know that's a non-starter to argue about in America!

 

[theepicoftyler]

But shell isn't beholden to the USGS :\. i'd just like to be confident that without regulation, oil wouldn't fuck up. But it seems like a cat and mouse game of trying to keep people honest, as they try as hard as they can to avoid everything.

I like where you're coming from though.

And what about the USGS report about oil/gas/drilling triggering man made earthquakes....

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/23/oil-gas-drilling-triggers-man-made-earthquakes-usgs

cue chart:

Your link re-iterates what I've already stated above. The earthquakes are linked waste-water well injection, which is not hydraulic fracture.

The waste-water was generated at oil and gas sites, but it wasn't that process that caused the earthquakes. There are other ways to get rid of that water, and many states are starting to pass laws to take care of that issue.