FRACKING And Man-made Earthquakes

Image: The Equation

FRACKING

Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of fluids including toxic chemicals into oil or gas wells at very high pressure  Other forms of underground injection are regulated to protect drinking water, but in 2005 Congress created exemptions for hydraulic fracturing to benefit Halliburton and other oil and gas companies The Safe Drinking Water Act excludes Fracking See it in the ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005.  Go to Page 102, Section 322. HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.  SEC. 322. HYDRAULIC FRACTURING. Paragraph (1) of section 1421(d) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h(d)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(1) UNDERGROUND INJECTION.—The term ‘underground injection’— ‘‘(A) means the subsurface emplacement of fluids by well injection; and ‘‘(B) EXCLUDES— ‘‘(i) the underground injection of natural gas for purposes of storage; and ‘‘(ii) the underground injection of fluids or propping agents (other than diesel fuels) pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities.’’ The Clean Water Act changes the definition of pollutant The word “Pollutant.”  What it means.  And what it does NOT mean. (6) The term “pollutant” means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water. This TERM DOES NOT MEAN (A) “sewage from vessels” within the meaning of section 312 of this Act; or (B) water, gas, or other material which is injected into a well to facilitate production of oil or gas, or water derived in association with oil or gas production and disposed of in a well, if the well used either to facilitate production or for disposal purposes is approved by authority of the State in which the well is located, and if such State determines that such injection or disposal will not result in the degradation of ground or surface water resources.  See it in the Clean Water Act. SEC. 502 [33 U.S.C. 1362] General Definitions

Would it surprise you to know that the Bush Administration in 2005 facilitated a loophole in a clean water bill that would allow Halliburton new technology exclusive rights to Hydraulic Fracturing? Of course that doesn’t surprise you; you are a person who maintains a level of knowledge that insulates you from a paradigm that is engulfing millions. Millions of our fellow citizens have become unquestioning zombie-like (Do what you wish, we trust you or we do not care) enablers of all things big business, all things uber wealthy and all things plutocrat.

Since, you were not at all surprised that Bush/Cheney gave the nation “FRACKING”, you certainly know the Hydraulic Fracturing patent gave Cheney’s former employer a lucrative financial windfall.

Now, where else have we heard Halliburton “exclusives?” Think in terms of the War in Iraq (Hint: No Bid contracts).

And, of course, you know that as a former CEO Cheney couldn’t avoid personal financial windfall from both FRACKING and the Iraq War No Bid contracts. Do you think he would have expended any energy attempt to avoid such financial gains? 

If there is a person reading this piece who spent 1999 through 2009 on a mission in outer space, the person may not know Cheney was Bush’s Vice-President during the periods of FRACKING approval and Halliburton’s No Bid Iraq War contracts.

We do not hear President Obama often speak about US energy production (Oil and Natural Gas). Maybe, the good Democratic is a bit reticent in waving the world energy leader flag when the status is based on US FRACKING. And, yes, due to the South Dakota oil fields. 

SLATE October 2013

And let’s face it: No matter which side you’re on, if someone had told you when Obama took office that the United States would substantially ramp up its oil and gas production while substantially reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, you probably would have scoffed. But here we are, poised to produce more oil than Saudi Arabia while cutting carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020. Not bad, eh? Not bad.  Oil, gas production chart: United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia The United States has surged past Russia in recent years to lead the world in oil and gas production. (SLATE image would not embed properly) dailyreckoning.com Source: United States Energy Information Administration

“Facts are pesky things.” The quote for some is without question “point-on.” As is often the case such bountiful availability has a back-end that is far less desirable than the prevailing bounty.

Fracking is contributing to man-made earthquakes.

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The Raw Story

U.S. Geological Survey confirms: Human activity caused 5.7 quake in Oklahoma (via Raw Story )

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a press release yesterday indicating that the magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck Prague, Oklahoma in 2011 was unintentionally human-induced. The USGS claims that the magnitude 5.0 earthquake triggered…

Third World Health Care

The Daily Show strikes again. Third World Health care: Tennessee.

Rick “oops” Perry took his turn at CPAC and actually railed about the US government staying out of the health care business. You and I know the Obama Administration is not in the “medical care” care business, yet millions feel the ACA is about medical care.  

The real irony and tragedy, the majority of the people depicted in this video will go to voting places in 2014 and 2016 and vote for the GOP.

http://on.cc.com/1ig9SNx

The Daily Show
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February Job Numbers And Unemployment Rate

The February Unemployment report has been released. Unemployment ticked up by .1 percent from 6.6 to 6.7 percent. The Department of Labor (DOL) reported job creation hit 175,000; beyond expectation. The DOL also reported  the job numbers for January and February were adjusted, as is always the case. The February jobs number is a bit of a surprise, especially after all the talk about how the polar vortex (for us high information people) may have influenced 2014 employment figures. 

Let’s run through a quick set of visuals.

Steven Benen, The Rachel Maddow Blog

Benen Chart I

The following Benen chart has a notation added by The Pardu.

The open-minded must wonder how our jobs numbers and unemployment rates would look, if the GOP have given the Obama Team the full $1.2 Trillion requests in early 2009. Alas, a wonderment that is best left for the reality of GOP obstruction as never before in US History. Obstruction that places the nation’s economic health as secondary or tertiary consideration after political maneuvers and subservience to the whims of uber wealthy money-backers (e.g. the Koch brothers cabal, Adelsen and other less public plutocrats).

Benen Chart II

Yahoo Finance

YCharts

Key Economic Indicators (Individual Indicators linked, here.)

Gallup self-reported daily spending, here.

The economy continues to improve at a slow but steady past.

It is critical to remind you that we are seeing continuous improvement sine the 2009 Stimulus unabetted despite irrefutable GOP obstruction. If the six million people denied unemployment payments were granted life sustaining assistance, we would have millions more spending towards the US GDP; people who are forced to live off unemployment payments spend the money. There is no money for market investment, savings, and nor discretionary spending. They damned sure cannot send money to offshore accounts то  avoid US taxes.

Jon Stewart: Big Vladdy – Semi-Delusional Autocrats

Yes, Jon Stewart quips about a sad spectacle in conservative America:  Putin obsession.