AIBU or is the risk of earthquakes from fracking just too high?

[IABURQO]

I've always felt slightly concerned, but just seen about the earthquake. Fair play that even tiny earthquakes are being picked up so this can be both monitored and controlled. Overall though, if just 11 days can lead to an earthquake then surely this proves that fracking just isn't safe in our densely populated country and shouldn't be allowed?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-45976219

YANBU. Why can't people listen when the earth is clearly telling them something?

I wonder if this fracking would've been permitted if the site was in the south east rather than the north west?

Another one today.....
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-46003462

It’s not only the pollution and earthquakes though. It’s also the fact that decisions taken at local level were overturned because the government thinks it’s ok to industrialise semi rural parts of the north as it doesn’t matter to the Tories anyway. They seem to have more interest in lining their own pockets than preserving communities and listening to constituents. I live in the north west, not near the current fracking site, but very close to a proposed site. I live in a lovely semi rural affluent area. Me and many other families where I live have had to pay through the nose to live in such an area but chose to do so because of the surrounding areas and good schools. We are now all trapped as our house prices are predicted to tumble, meaning that we will all be paying massive mortgages every month to live near a noisy, polluting dirty industry. No one here supports it, just as people in Little Plumpton didn’t. The Tories don’t care though, as they’d never get votes from this safe labour seat anyway 😡

This is the largest this week.
That had am earthquake/tee.or within a few hours of starting Fracking on their first day resuming it earlier this week.
There have been several all week long and increasing in size it would seem.
Yes I know these are tiny tremors we would not even feel up top of the Fracking but come on, a week or so in and even the keenest Fracker cant deny there is an increasing pattern occurring. At what point will they abandon ship ?

An idiot can see where this is heading, no one knows the timescale that's all. Could be weeks or years but no one can deny there is very obviously damage being done.

Perhaps.sink holes may become a common occurqmce too in these areas in the future?? Who knows?

What @NotAnActualSheep said - when you actually look into the research, and calibrate this against things like normal seismic activity, and weigh up the fact that not fracking doesn't mean a reduction in our use of fossil fuels (merely their importation - which can also be environmentally harmful - from other places, many of which have significantly lower environmental and working standards, and of course the fact that energy security is pretty crucial for an island nation anyway) - it's one of the least worst solutions out there, frankly.

As pp have said, fracking in the US has meant that AOPEC can no longer use the oil weapon (if they wished to, of course) and the US can be more robust in its dealings, if it wishes to. This balance of power is pretty crucial, and when you tie that with a) the science and b) our low limit wrt tremors, I am afraid, though it's not the Guardian-approved narrative, that UK fracking is the lesser of the evils involved in using fossil fuels, on nearly every level.

We need to be moving away from fossil fuels, fairly urgently. Money pumped into fracking could have been re-routed to other areas.

I live two miles away from the fracking site in Lancashire and have felt, heard and seen NOTHING. (Apart from the massive mess, disruption, inconvenience and cost the fracking protestors make, who aren't concerned locals at all, but professional troublemakers from far and wide)
These 'quakes' are literally tiny tremors miles under ground where the ground is literally being fractured apart. Of course there are tiny tremors.

Meh, mining and filling reservoirs cause earthquakes too.

So long as fracking isn't causing "big ones", I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.

I completely appreciate the concern of people living near sites about their uncertainty of how things will pan out..Plus there is now a well pad there that will generate traffic/ some noise etc that was a field before, which is never going to go down well. I also appreciate the frustration of it seeming that Lancashire is being "sacrificed" even though the council refused it...though a similar project in North Yorkshire was approved by the council there without it being appealed to the government, and there are similar protests, so not sure how much that is a valid argument.

However I do think some of the natural local concern has been fanned by those with an anti- fossil fuel agenda (the cause is noble but the victimisation of an industry that has lowered US carbon emissions is misguided in my opinion) and an anti- government agenda (even though the first licences for shale exploration were granted in 2008/9 under a labour government). It is these groups that I think are responsible for making people fear their house prices will tumble, their water and air be poisoned and their dogs will be run over by a rampaging HGV.

I also dislike the renewable vs fracking argument as it obviously isn't one or the other but a mix of all available energy ( ideally apart from coal ). Trying to ensure energy security, reduce energy poverty/ cost and minimise carbon emissions. It's not an easy balance, but in my opinion we definitely can't discount fracking until we have more information on it in a UK context. (If we believe some, there won't be lots of gas anyway, or it can't be extracted safely - in which case fracking will be a non starter and the industry will go away).

I think most people realise that a 0.8M earthquake isn't going to knock their chimney off, but it is something concrete that people are worried about that can be latched on to. I think this fear is being used irresponsibly in a "look, we said this will happen, so everything else we have said will happen will too..." way ( even though the frackers also said it could happen, so put in means to control it). Personally, I think it will quickly get a bit "boy who cried wolf" and people will see as things progress that it is nothing to worry about. But I do feel sorry for people like insomnibrat who are having to live with the disruption daily.

YABVU

There may be good reasons for not fracking but the earthquakes currently being experienced in Lancashire are not a good reason. It’s a total
non-issue and shows a lack of understanding of earthquakes.

There are over 1 million earthquakes of magnitude 2 and above each year - hardly any of which are even felt, and the mag 0.5 threshold that requires Quadrilla to cease work is over 100 times less energetic that a mag 2 earthquake!

a few international upsets and we could have no gas at all , a few minor tremors wouldn't matter at all then

I live two miles away from the fracking site in Lancashire and have felt, heard and seen NOTHING.

An earthquake normally needs to be mag 3.0 to be felt... that’s over 1,000 times stronger than the 0.8 quake that “hit” Lancashire!

a few international upsets and we could have no gas at all , a few minor tremors wouldn't matter at all then

Indeed. Of course we need to invest massively in renewable energy.... but even with colossal extra investment, we won’t get rid of gas completely in the near future! I’d rather we can produce it than rely on Russia and the Gulf States, supporting their corrupt regimes in doing so.

Google the list of earthquakes in the last 100 days in the UK.
Fascinating chart, very mixed, all over the place.

I'll try and post an image of the latest. Pretty much all in the fracking zone.

according ofgem, 39% of electric power stations use natural gas for production so it would be a tough time if things go wrong

The problem with even minor earthquakes is they compromise the integrity of the wells and if the wells fail underground water reservoirs may (will) become polluted.

Google the list of earthquakes in the last 100 days in the UK. Fascinating chart, very mixed, all over the place. I'll try and post an image of the latest. Pretty much all in the fracking zone.

But the ones in the “fracking zone” are truly microscopic!.... The reason they are being picked up is very likely due to the highly sensitive equipment they have in the area due to fracking.

NBU - I hate the whole idea and think it's a disaster waiting to happen.

Lancashire County Council knew full well that their decision would be overturned by the Government, refusing the permission was just posturing to deflect criticism.

They refused permission for fracking on the one hand whilst waving through permission for new developments to house the fracking staff and infrastructure. They knew what was going to happen.

I don't have a problem with fracking, I do think that it's shortsighted though in terms of seeking alternative sustainable energy sources.

It'll never happen but it should 100% be banned.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/227827

Sign if you want it stop. I just signed.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/227827

This should work

that'll work they always take notice of petitions

An earthquake is the fracture of rocks. Fracking is rock fracture. Why is anyone surprised?

Thanks @NotAnActualSheep in particular for the explanations, it's very helpful. It doesn't entirely reassure me, but I'm ready to watch and see. I'd like it if more effort were made with green energy (and investment in the science behind green energy initiatives), but that's not really related to fracking concerns.