Have you heard? We have earthquakes in Texas. The USGS thinks its because of oil drilling technique know as fracking. The oil and gas companies are silent about the earthquakes. This is a growing problem. It’ll will take several deaths and property damage before it goes to court.
Officially, the cause of the earthquakes is inconclusive, according to the USGS, but on Tuesday, a Southern Methodist University-led research team found that in Azle and Reno, towns northwest of Fort Worth, the oil and gas activities in the vicinity were “most likely” responsible for several earthquakes in late 2013 and 2014. Source: CNN.com
This was a really well-written article. I encourage you to read it. Fracking has been going on in Texas for several years now, and the amounts of earthquakes (tremors if you will) has dramatically increased: from a few every few years to 40+ in one year; most concentrated in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Here’s a fracking term to look up: flowback.