Imagine it. California and Oklahoma — for crying out loud — have something in common.
No, it’s not their politics. Nor the collective lifestyles of residents of both states.
It’s about earthquakes. It seems that Oklahoma has become prone to tremors at a level that is rivaling our neighbors way out west.
http://www.newschannel10.com/story/25886313/earthquake-concerns-on-rise-in-oklahoma
The Sooner State averaged 1.5 earthquakes daily for the past 30 years, according to seismologists. However, since Jan. 1, the daily rate of quakes with a 3.0 Richter Scale rating or greater has zoomed to much greater frequency, those scientists suggest.
The cause has them scratching their heads.
Some of us non-experts — such as yours truly — wonder whether it’s the extensive drilling for fossil fuel that is causing these seismic shifts.
I cannot pretend to be an expert on these matters, but consider this:
I’ll leave the issue of fracking out of this. The effect of hydraulic fracturing — pumping water to break loose shale oil — has been a topic of considerable debate.
They’ve been drilling for a lot of years for oil and natural gas in Oklahoma. Have the drillers made the planet less stable?
Well, have they?
Those of us that grew up on the New Madrid fault line have always known it is only a matter of time. Earthquakes have been active in the New Madrid region since prehistoric times.