Probably a year ago, if not longer, I and a few others addressed our concerns over the carbon sequestration project taking place on Decatur’s east side near ADM and Richland Community College. ADM received a nearly $100 million dollar federal grant from the energy department to experiment storing large amounts of liquefied carbon dioxide deep below the ground. Up to one million tons of carbon dioxide would be stored in underground wells annually. The project is meant to reduce carbon emissions released into to the atmosphere and if proven successful here, could be expanded elsewhere. http://www.adm.com/news/_layouts/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?ID=247
At the time, I questioned the safety of such an experiment beneath a populated area. My questions didn’t necessarily fall on deaf ears; rather they were quickly dismissed as silly.
About a week ago, I learned of a 5.6 earthquake occurring in Oklahoma of all places. It seemed an odd place to have an earthquake of such magnitude and indeed it is rare. In fact, it’s the largest earthquake registered in the state’s history. Until 2009, the state on average registered 50 earthquakes or tremors per year. In 2010, 1,047 tremors shook the state and some experts are pointing to a method of extracting natural gas from deep within the earth, called fracking, as the cause for such a huge jump in seismic activity. See link: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/11/08/did-fracking-help-cause-oklahoma-earthquakes/
Fracking isn’t a new process. It has been used for many years. The process involves injecting millions of gallons of water combined with chemicals and sand to produce fractures miles within the earth in order to reach trapped oil and natural gas deposits. Though it has been used for many years, only recently has it been used so frequently in various regions of the country and globe. The recent increase in seismic activity in Arkansas might be the result of fracking procedures. The government is admitted that fracking does indeed cause earthquakes. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?categoryID=1&faqID=1
Of course, there’s the troubling fact that toxic chemicals are being pumped within the earth, sometimes poisoning water supplies during the process. That alone should be enough to raise an eyebrow or two; throw in a devastating earthquake here and there, and if that doesn’t rattle some senses, I don’t know what will.
That brings us back to Decatur where fracking isn’t taking place, as far as I know, but carbon sequestration is. We’re reassured that pumping huge amounts of liquefied CO2 deep within the earth couldn’t possibly cause any problems but we don’t know that for sure. Common sense tells me that if we are pumping CO2 into huge reservoirs deep below the ground, the pressure is going to change. These changes could cause ancient fault lines to shift, maybe not enough to knock a house down, but enough to possibly damage a well, maybe?
And what happens if a well is damaged and its contents leak? Well, the carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere, nullifying the whole intention of keeping it out of the atmosphere in the first place. A worst case scenario could kill humans and animals exposed to large amounts of released carbon dioxide gas. Such a catastrophe has happened before naturally in the world. CO2 isn’t a harmless gas. If concentrated too high it impairs respiration. In other words, those affected would suffocate.
I’d encourage you to do some research of your own. There’s a wealth of information out there but be warned some of it is propaganda produced by oil companies and maybe even our government. That’s been my experience.