Earthquakes

Future of Coal has an Unexpected New Threat: Induced Seismicity

By


The potential for underground injections to cause earthquakes was thought to be a problem for natural gas, but a new National Research Council study says the impacted sector will not be gas. It’s a problem for coal.

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), pulling carbon out of emissions from coal-burning and storing it deep underground, has been prominent in clean energy planning over the last decade as a way to keep taking advantage of coal resources to meet energy demand while tackling climate change. Keep reading →

Published June 21, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Is Drilling Causing Ohio Earthquakes?

By


In what may be the nation’s next boomtown, the ground is, literally, booming. Residents here in northeastern Ohio are receiving up to $5,000 an acre from energy companies that lease their land — plus monthly royalties. But they have also experienced at least 11 earthquakes since last March, state officials say. Scientists say the region’s quakes are likely tied to the burgeoning oil and gas industry. At 3:05 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, the people of Youngstown, Ohio, felt their homes shake. “I thought a jetliner crashed into the side of my house,” said resident Jim Bunosky. He was one of 300 to 400 local residents who attended a community meeting last week to discuss the quake’s origin, which some believe is linked to a local well used for wastewater disposal from oil and gas drilling.

Published January 17, 2012 at 2:55 PM