Cal Thompson, 1st Period: Oklahoma Earthquakes Related to Oil Drilling?

This article, published on September 4, 2016, presents the theory that Oklahoma's recent surge in earthquakes is the fault of oil drilling. Until recent years, Oklahoma averaged two somewhat large earthquakes per year. This number increased last year to over a hundred, and this year has culminated to over two hundred so far. One factor that scientists suspect is a major cause for this is the process of pumping waste water from oil drilling back into the earth. This factor is thought to be working with environmental changes to receive such a drastic increase in earthquakes. The disposal of water from oil drilling is rather controversial, but companies complain that recycling the water is too great an expense. After a large earthquake on saturday, many wells in Oklahoma were shut down for the following ten days. The water that has already been pumped will, according to scientists, continue to cause an issue even if more is not added. Oklahoma is behind other states in recycling water from oil drilling, and has declared a state of emergency due to the large earthquake on saturday.
I find it rather ridiculous that large companies are essentially allowed to wreck havoc on the environment. This earthquake was allegedly felt in seven different states, including part of Texas, and I remember waking up somewhat early on saturday morning to the slightly unpleasant feeling of being continually rocked back and forth. Oil drilling alone often has repercussions, and adding to these by disposing contaminated water in a way that contributes to earthquakes seems devoid of any type of logic not solely pertaining to expense. To me, this relates to choices made in the structure of popular television shows that are only intended to garner viewers, and therefore profits. Instead of actually trying to make any type of social impact by dealing with societal issues or providing queer/PoC representation, most popular shows simply play out overused plots and spend money on guest appearances. Ad campaigns do the same thing, and most large companies choose cheap over ethical (this is especially prevalent in the common use of animal testing by the beauty industry, dubious ingredients in most affordable foods, and poor treatment of animals in the meat industry). People often accept this, although they will try to act as if they care about what they consume, condemning people for eating dogs while they themselves munch on a piece of ground up, mistreated chicken, or complaining about fur coats while applying NYC makeup, which tests on animals. Companies only usually care about having a positive impact if it means increased profit, and many people only care about ethical concerns when it affects them personally, or as a way to appear better in the eyes of others. This is why entire species go extinct by human influence, and why entire groups of people are denied basic rights (from people of colour to women, and from the LGBTQ+ community to religious minorities).

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/04/news/economy/oklahoma-earthquake-oil-gas-explainer/index.html