Earth Blog

Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant,  whom you might remember from such 90’s hits as “Wonder” and “Jealousy,” is the latest celebrity to speak out against hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Last year a group of actors including Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldana appeared in a video called “I Love My New York Water” which was made by Clean Water Not Dirty Drilling.

Merchant has chosen to work with The Finger Lakes CleanWaters Initiatives, another non-profit that is also concerned with eradicating fracking.  She will headline with her band in a benefit concert to support a ban in her home state of New York. 

“Hydrofracking poses the greatest threat to clean drinking water in New York and Pennsylvania right now. Our opposition to this threat is imperative. I hope people can come to the concert to show their concern," says Merchant.

A month ago we asked, “Are we to blame for shakes, rattles, and rolls?” The answer was a resounding, “Yes, human activity can cause earthquakes.” The post highlighted a 7.6 earthquake in China caused by 320 million tons of water in a dam exerting pressure on a fault line. In Switzerland a smaller but still dangerous earthquake caused by hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”— a procedure that injects pressurized water, chemicals, and sand into rock formations to extract natural gas and oil, forced the country to shut down a geothermal plant.

A man-made earthquake occurred on December 31st at 3:05 p.m. just outside of Youngstown, Ohio.  The 4.0 quake is the largest of what is believed to be a set of eleven man-made quakes that have shaken up the area over the last year and are linked to a lone injection well.