Here is a fact: earthquakes are caused by fractures in rock along fault lines which cause shifts that can sooner or later lead to earthquakes. There is potential environmental impact of a controversial technique called hydraulic fracturing which extracts shale gas deep within the ground and is growing rapidly around the country. Shale gas is a natural gas which was previously difficult to access and has now transformed U.S. energy potential considerably; natural gas reserves have increased dramatically over the past four years.

At the same time, there are rising concerns over earthquakes in the rush for tapping into shale gas, especially in geographic areas which are seismically placed, but also surprisingly in regions which have been seemingly immune to them. Take Youngstown, Ohio, a Rust-Belt city where on March 17, 2011, two minor earthquakes struck. Eight months later there were seven more, too weak to cause damage but nonetheless of great concern. The seventh quake was strong enough to shake the nerves of the town.

According to Henry Fountain of the New York Times, a local company had been disposing of millions of gallons of waste from hydrolic fracturing causing locals to suspect that the disposal wells were responsible for their freakish earthquakes. “When wastewater is injected under pressure into rock formations, it may seep deeper into the stone unclamping ancient formations and causing them to slip.”

Of course, there is controversy surrounding the relationship of earthquakes, ground water pollution and other issues associated with hydrofracking. Some accuse treehuggers of being overly cautious as industrialists in the energy field expand the market for natural gas as a replacement for petroleum, a common electrical energy source. Hydofracking cuts production expense considerably.

It is true that pollution remains a major national and global problem, but environmentalists know we must not rob Peter to pay Paul. It would not be in our interests to denigrate the shale gas industry but we know there is more research to be done… lives, livelihoods and property loss as a result would not be worth the effort and that is of concern. We have only to look at recent and freak quakes in southern Virginia and Washington D.C this past year to know there is a foul odor associated with these events.

So, can human actions cause earthquakes? Leonardo Seeker of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory says unequivocally "Yes!" He says that human engineering has been triggering earthquakes for 50 years. Some have indeed been disastrous. “Some agents have refused to admit responsibility and make it difficult to obtain data that could prove it.” He continues to say that even a small stress increase can cause a fault to fail. In hydofracking, the process "uses high volumes of water, sand and chemicals to release natural gas from dense rock under extreme pressure but it requires disposing of fluid in deep wells which are just as likely to cause quakes.”

The case is so strong that Appalachia residents are opposed, not only to coal mining forms which remove entire mountain tops to secure coal, then dumping the toxic remains into valleys and streams, but also recognize any threats to the safety and health of their prided communities with regards to drilling. Mountain top removal, rocky topping, has proved disastrous to many Appalachian communities and has caused world-wide outrage.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has vowed that hydrofracking will not “come at the expense of human health or adverse environmental impacts” in the state. He advocates caution in drilling deep into shale formations along with detailed regulations on drilling though admitting that natural gas is an important energy source.

It is true that the industry has created new jobs in designated areas of our country along with the trickle-down economics associated with any new industry but never should one suffer from the other.

In our region, including areas of Tennessee and Georgia, there have been rumblings of earthquake activity which have occurred over time. We are situated on or very close to fault lines which leave us vulnerable. One wonders if certain industrial activity could produce destructive tremors or earthquakes if proper education and precaution is not taken seriously. There is a disquieting notion that could be the case. What amount of pressure on a fault line is too much to produce a catastrophic event? Certainly monitoring and limiting such pressure is a precaution worth taking.

Seismologists admit there are plenty of fault lines in areas of the U.S. and that one should assume that no matter where you drill, the basement is going to have faults that could rupture. With regards to oil and natural gas drilling, seismic surveys are costly and states do not require them for those wells. Has the U.S. become too fast on drilling? That question remains to be answered. Keeping up with industrial activity and environmental policy are worthwhile community efforts; in the meantime, there is no harm investing in a good earthquake protection insurance policy.

Melinda C. Whiteman