Prague, Okla Tremors from fracking: Scientists have linked Oklahoma’s largest earthquake—a 5.6 magnitude quake near the town of Prague, in 2011—to hydraulic fracturing, supporting claims that the process increases seismic activity. Fracking, as it is known, injects water and chemicals into petroleum deposits in order to extract trapped gas. This week, researchers at the University of Oklahoma, Columbia University, and […]
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Norway’s oil wealth has made us selfish and greedy, said Jan Kaerstad. Like other Scandinavians, we once embraced a third way between socialism and capitalism, believing that a more equitable society would result if we would take a bit from the rich and give it to the poor, and provide a decent level of services for all citizens. A few […]
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Geologists are warning that fracking may be leading to an increase in seismic activity. A recent advisory from the U.S. Geological Survey warns that activities related to hydraulic fracturing—or fracking, extracting oil and natural gas from subterranean rock formations—has likely contributed to the recent spike in earthquakes in Oklahoma, and experts warn that the chances for a major quake in […]
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Oklahomans are accustomed to scorching heat, driving thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes. But not earthquakes—until recently, the state never had more than 11 earthquakes a year that measured 2.0 or greater on the Richter scale. In 2013 there were 291. More than 250 earthquakes of at least that magnitude have struck in February 2014 alone. -It’s incredibly unusual ,” says Austin […]
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The temporary housing settlements of Williston, N.D., might seem like an unlikely haunt for archaeologists. Nonetheless, a team of “punk archaeologists” are there, finding the history in the present by peering into the lives of people at the heart of North Dakota’s oil industry. Thanks to the lucrative nature of the “Bakken boom” — the ongoing oil drilling in North […]
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The oil released during the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster may damage fish populations in the Gulf of Mexico for years to come. New research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that exposure to crude oil can cause heart defects in fish embryos—abnormalities that will likely kill many developing fish and shorten the lives of others. The study looked […]
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