Along with the many other environmental problems humans cause such as deforestation and global warming comes a brand new danger: human induced earthquakes. These new phenomenons are becoming more and more prominent in Oklahoma and Nebraska and are less severe but also felt in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arkansas. The cause is believed to be the result of oil and gas production; more specifically, the earthquakes are created by the method of toxic wastewater disposal. Oil and gas production companies have been pumping the toxic wastewater back thousands of feet below the ground where the water adds to the seismic pressure on the pre-existing faults causing more slips and tremors. Evidence of an increase in seismic activity can clearly be seen in Oklahoma where, in recorded history, Oklahoma has only had 3 earthquakes above magnitude 3, “But last year, Oklahoma recorded 907 quakes at magnitude 3 and above.” Now, experts believe that there is up to a 12% chance that an earthquake of magnitude 6 or higher may strike along the Oklahoma - Nebraska border which is powerful enough to be life-threatening. The pace appears to have slowed “after the state’s oil and gas regulator, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, effectively imposed steep reductions in underground waste disposal in February and March.” However, earthquake scientists continue to say that “the risk of a larger quake does not necessarily drop in lock step with a decline in smaller ones. The forces that have been loosed underground, they say, can take years to sort themselves out.”
This subject is just another example of the negative effect that unchecked human activity can have on the environment. Finding the source of the human caused earthquakes is potentially lifesaving for, if the unregulated pumping of toxic wastewater were to continue, the magnitude and frequency of these earthquakes may have continued to increase. However, a solution has not yet been reached. The toxic wastewater is being pumped back into the earth, more evenly but, the pressure is building up and problem still remains that we have no better place to put this waste. The issue of human caused earthquakes is another environmental epidemic which must be dealt with in the same fashion as global warming: through global cooperation and regulation.
Michael Wine’s article was incredibly well written, weaving in plenty of statistics from various sources. There are really no complaints that I have with this article. The writing was very elegant, all the information needed on the topic was there, and the author even included graphs and diagrams to explain where the danger lie and who was affected. There was so much information presented that I couldn’t fit all of it into my summary in great detail so I would suggest to any reader who found my review interesting to go back and read the article for themselves.
Citation:
Wines, Michael. "Drilling Is Making Oklahoma as Quake Prone as California."The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/us/earthquake-risk-in-oklahoma-and-kansas-comparable-to-california.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront>.
James,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with this article review. It was the title that drew me in because it is a topic I am interested with. But your summary was very well done and was clear and concise. You described the human-induced earthquakes in an easy-to-grasp way that showed their major importance and how they add to the seismic pressure. Next, you explained the change in earthquake activity in Oklahoma and the - life threatening - significance of this increase. By doing this, you again did a good job of keeping your information relevant, necessary, and easy to follow. I also liked your second paragraph in which you talked about the importance of the article and the new discovery. As I read your review, I did not come across anything that seemed overly superfluous and unnecessary.
However, there were still some things that I noticed that you could have improved on. For one, your quote integration could have been a little better. It was great that you cited the article, but you could have cited who said the quote: the author or someone else. Not a big deal. I honestly did not find any other grammatical errors or lack of information or analysis. Your writing was well paced, informative, and well written. Maybe you could have used less commas.
Still, I enjoyed reading your review and was interested in the fact that us humans may be affecting something as large as seismic activity. I agreed with your point that this is just another example of unchecked human activity that is hurting our planet-this time it’s the core. This is not so great. In fact, it’s terrible. Considering there was so much information in the article, I think you picked the right pieces to include in your review. Good Job!
Sam Connors
Wines, Michael. "Drilling Is Making Oklahoma as Quake Prone as California."The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. .