Should Fracking be banned in the UK?
source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/poll/2011/nov/03/should-fracking-be-banned
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- pdy
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/poll/2011/nov/03/should-fracking-be-bann...
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WNYmathGuy
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I'm more inclined to believe that fracking makes earthquakes come sooner and perhaps with less intensity that if they happened naturally. It just seems like adding a fluid to an area under stress already simply lubricates and triggers the slide that was already building up.
I also believe that the way frackers are fracking is criminal. We have insane things happening to our fresh water system, all for the benefit of fracking energy companies. I'd like to see the frackers in jail, but instead I see them suing small governments to death for opposing their endeavors.
- 7 months ago
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WNYmathGuy
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Buckeye_Bill
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WNYmathGuy:
Think...how does adding a miniscule amount of "dirty" chemical water and then extracting much larger amounts of oil or gas from the ground aid in the reduction of the intensity of an earthquake?
The amounts being discussed would be similar to thinking that dropping a basketball into the ocean would cause a tidal wave be less destructive.
Do you see how my "explanation" sounds just as preposterous as yours?
What is not ludicrous, however, is that "natural gasses" are being forced out from their "naturally occurred locations" into the water tables around an area the fracking industry is drilling and through pumping this "chemically mixed fluid" under very high pressure which, in turn, could disperse the gasses or liquid farther from where it has been resting for millions of years!
Now, that's what I call UNNATURAL.
}8^\
- 7 months ago
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Buckeye_Bill
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WNYmathGuy
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Buckeye_Bill:
I was thinking at a high level along the Newtonian forces line of thought. We have provably never been able to predict when or where the next earthquake will happen, but recent study has shown that we can accurately predict the intensity it will be when it happens.
We know the speed that the crust shifts, and we know that the crust unloaded it's tension at the last earthquake, so we can calculate the tension in a location based on the movement and time elapsed since the last one.
If fluid injection was to jiggle the earth around to cause an early seismic event, then the tension would be smaller at the time of the event than if we waited for it to happen naturally.However, if instead what we are experiencing is the accidental ignition of fossil fuels under the Earth's surface due to the fracking process, and that contained blast is causing the earthquake, then I would be wrong and it would be intensifying the damage above and below ground.
- 7 months ago
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WNYmathGuy
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Buckeye_Bill
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WNYmathGuy:
I'd say you're in the realm of the stratosphere there, WMG, with that "high level with Newton" thunkin'.
Here's a paragraph I copied from an article that really puts things into a concise and succinct understanding of what earthquakes are and how they do their "thing"! It's not full of a lot of mumbo-jumbo as most scientific articles can be to laymen.
Earthquake prediction and mitigation
"The physics of the earthquake process is reasonable well understood, but this nevertheless limits our ability to adequately predict earthquakes. The main reason for this limitation is the rate of geologic process. The increase in stored energy occurs at plate tectonic rates, which is measured in mm per year. Consequently, we can predict the likely location of earthquakes, along plate boundaries, but not their occurrence on societally-relevant time scales. Earthquake prediction offers probabilities that are increasingly uncertain as the time frame shortens. Whereas probabilities of 50% change in 50 years have become possible, estimates in months or days can not be reliable until earthquake precursors are recognized. Reliable precursors are not currently known."
Source: http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/evolving_earth/...Now, if you care to, we can delve into Seismology! I use a fascinating search engine for research called Wolfram|Alpha. http://www.wolframalpha.com/
ANYTHING pertaining to mathematical formulations and computational issues required for further study will be found at this website!
I use it's services often!
Ciao!
- 7 months ago
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Buckeye_Bill
