Crossposted from The Stars Hollow Gazette
I don’t know about you but I’m plenty tired of horseshitrace politics for the moment.
Well, since you insist.
Paul did not do as well as I expected last night, but still about 150% better than last cycle. Twitter rumors reported by desperate and stupid MSNBC Teleprompter Readers that Johnson was dropping his Libertarian Party candidacy (leaving it available for a Paul Third Party run) were a HOAX!
Way to go “professionals”.
Santorum “won” by a whole 8 votes which means it’s time to start Google bombing again. Romney didn’t disqualify, picking up that all important “Crash” McCain endorsement.
Losers– Bachman, hard to see how she can stay with no money and no votes. Perry, outspent Romney by 3:1, now returning to Houston to “re-evaluate” despite strong polling in South Carolina. Gingrich, may stay in out of pure spite and meanness, but almost sure to lose his South Carolina standing.
Now, about entropy and the heat death of the Universe.
Ohio Earthquake Linked To Fracking Injection Wells
Think Progress Newsflash
1/4/12
On New Year’s Eve, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck northeastern Ohio, the second quake to strike the region in a week. Saturday’s earthquake, which occurred in an area not typically known for this type of natural disaster, is being traced back to fluid injection wells at a Youngstown fracking site. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, “the quake was the 11th over the last eight months in Mahoning County, all within two miles of the injection wells.” They also point out that injection wells have been linked to earthquakes in other states as well, including Arkansas, West Virginia, Colorado and Texas. Two of the Ohio injection wells in question are now being shut down.
Fracking Linked to Earthquakes in Ohio; Wells Indefinitely Shut Down
By: David Dayen, Firedog Lake
Monday January 2, 2012 9:00 am
This is not the first time that fracking has been linked to earthquakes. Earlier this year, unusual earthquakes in Oklahoma were seen by many as helped along by fracking. The scientific consensus on that incident was that fracking can cause small tremors, but nothing of the scale as seen in Oklahoma, which did follow a natural fault line.
But Ohio doesn’t have as much history with earthquakes, though there are faults in the region. The frequency of the quakes is definitely unusual; there have been 11 in the past eight months within two miles of the wells. And the correlation between increased oil and gas exploration and increased seismic activity is becoming more widespread. It’s not that fracking releases so much energy underground into the faults, it’s that they place just enough pressure to trigger stronger quakes than we would otherwise see. Plus, scientists and not just state officials in Ohio participated in the shutdown of the fracking wells, seeking more information.
Expert Believes Wastewater Fracking Wells Causing Earthquakes in Ohio
By: David Dayen, Firedog Lake
Tuesday January 3, 2012 9:35 am
(O)ne expert has narrowed down the cause of the earthquakes, and he points to a wastewater well.
…
Both are wells used in the fracking process. One gets used for drilling and the other for injecting wastewater, but they are at root fracking wells (they dispose of wastewater for oil wells as well, but fracking uses a much larger quantity of fluids). If there were no fracking, there would be no wastewater and thus no wastewater wells. And according to John Armbruster, no earthquakes.The earthquakes have been small and haven’t yet caused massive property damage. But according to Armbruster they will continue for at least a year. And causing pressure to a fault line gives the impression of needlessly stirring up a hornet’s nest. And of course, this is not nearly the only environmental problem associated with fracking. The quality of drinking water and air around well sites also draws much concern.
Ohio quakes could incite fracking policy shift
By JULIE CARR SMYTH, Associated Press
Tue Jan 3, 5:33 pm ET
(Ohio Governor John) Kasich told reporters over the weekend that he doesn’t believe the energy industry should be blamed for issues arising from disposal of their byproducts. That would be like blaming the auto industry for improper disposal of old tires, the first-term Republican said.
Scientists have known for decades that drilling or injecting water into areas where a fault exists can cause earthquakes, said Paul Hsieh, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif.
“That’s widely documented and accepted within the science community,” he said. “It’s seen all over the world.”
…
Oklahoma’s sharpest earthquake on record, of magnitude 5.8 on Nov. 5, was centered on a county that has 181 such wells, according to Matt Skinner, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which oversees oil and gas production in the state and intrastate transportation pipelines.
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together becoming “un-stuck” – that is at least in one kind of fault called a strike and slip fault where the two sides of the fault want to slide past each other but can’t because they’re too tightly held together. Thus the energy is already there, the earthquake itself is a release of stored energy.
That makes it easy to see why fracking can cause large earthquakes. What holds rock faces together is friction. Fracking fluids can certainly lubricate faults.