The Daily Gamecock

Column: Industry literally shaking America down

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The oil industry has been brought into the spotlight recently as scientists investigate a likely connection between "fracking" and earthquakes, specifically with regard to the recent elevation in Oklahoma’s seismological activity. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process of oil mining that involves injecting large amounts of high-pressure water into the Earth’s crust in an effort to widen pre-existing fissures. Many scientists and geographical survey groups believe this excavation process can precipitate earthquakes as large as the 5.6 magnitude one that shook Oklahoma last week and damaged at least 14 buildings.

For almost 40 years, the central and eastern U.S. have experienced an approximately steady 21 earthquakes per year of magnitude three or higher on the Richter scale (M3+). However, in 2009, this rate began to accelerate rapidly. It has continued to rise such that in 2014 alone, the central and eastern U.S. experienced 659 M3+ earthquakes. That’s over 31 times the previous average. Also in that year, Oklahoma experienced 150 times the yearly average for M4+ earthquakes than it had from 1882 to 2009.

After I learned of this gross increase in seismicity in Oklahoma and the Great Plains, I was not surprised to find that the state prides itself in its growing oil industry. Oklahoma actually harbors a higher concentration of oil and gas activity than any other state, save only for its neighbor, Texas. The Statehouse was proud to announce that it was the only state to experience a recent strong growth in oil and gas production. Since 2010, it has doubled its annual oil production (now 120 million barrels) and increased its annual gas production by 50 percent (now 2.2 trillion cubic feet).

The evidence is mounting against fracking. It’s hard to imagine the link between it and increased seismicity being falsified. But it doesn’t matter. Corporate giants and venture capitalists will continue to grind and juice the resources around them for any drop of profit they can produce. Whether the resource is oil, meat, pharmaceuticals, college students, taxpayers or prisoners, America will always have an avaricious corporation exploiting it for all it has and will always be paying corrupt politicians to tear down any remaining shreds of regulation that restrain it.

Fracking is a direct result of corporate greed. It is a fast and cheap way to extract oil from the ground, however it is extremely negligent with respect to the environment and to humanity. Not only does it disturb the Earth’s crust at a fundamental level, but it also causes obscene amounts of air and water pollution, the latter of which is known to have contaminated drinking supplies in many cities across the U.S., which can lead to major health concerns.

This is a common theme in American culture. News comes out about how terrible something is, the American people get outraged and finally the American people continue to vote politicians into office that perpetuate it. Look at the crumbling society around us. It’s time to stop blaming the Republicans and Democrats and time to start blaming the corporatists. We must stop lending them our silence. Vote in elections for candidates other than the presidential ones, or soon it will be too late.


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