The GREENLight

GREENPower to the People

Hello Greenlighters, My wife called me excitedly one night about a month ago. I was at work at the fire station and was awake at one oclock in the morning. Did you feel it? her agitation evident in her voice. Did I feel what? I said. THE EARTHQUAKE! The whole house shook. It woke Henry and me up. It shook the bed Then Henry, our youngest son got on the phone. Dad, it was cool. Everything rattled in my room. We hung up after a few more minutes of their relating the details. I didnt feel a thing on that January 6th night. Fracking is the injection of high pressure fluids into gas or oil bearing rock to break the rock and release the oil or gas for collection to feed out ever growing need for energy. It is a recent development that came about when new fracturing techniques, advances in horizontal drilling and increasing energy prices came together in the early 2000s to make the process financially profitable. Ive written about fracking on this page before and, as most of you know, fracking has been positively linked to ground water contamination. Last July I reported that the link between fracking and earthquakes had not been established. Since then a report has come out that links earthquakes in Ohio to fracking or, more specifically, the disposal of fracking waste water by injecting it into the ground. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/02/ohio-earthquakes-caused-bywastewater-well-drilling_n_1180094.html Is the entire scientific community in agreement with this assessment? No. Is there mounting evidence to link fracking and earthquakes? Yes. Glen Sovian Should this be investigated especially since the fracking of the Barnett Contributing is only Shale in the DFW areaWriter going to grow as our energy needs demand more and more energy and energy sources? Absolutely. Earthquakes are exciting and scary and are becoming much more frequent in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. According to Homefacts for Dallas County http:// www.homefacts.com/earthquakes/Texas/Dallas-County/Dallas.html between 1975 and 2002 the DFW area had 5 earthquakes over 2.0 on the Richter scale. You probably, like me in January, didnt feel a thing. The curious thing is since 2002, when fracking became the new big thing in energy development, the DFW area has had 15 minor earthquakes with them becoming much more frequent in the last few years. Seven of the fifteen occurred in 2011. Why? I dont know but Id rather not lose my home to a major earthquake that weve brought on ourselves. In a can do country like the United States, would we really rather destroy our environment and possibly our very planet instead of spend the time and effort it would take to move to renewable energy and conservation? I know where I stand on this question. Where do you stand? Think locally and act globally and Ill see you next month Greenlighters.

SUBURBANLIFEStyle / PAGE 7 Style

by C.J. Mikkelsen

TOWN CREEK
972.471.0003
190 N. MOORE RD. COPPELL, TX 75019

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