Are the dangers of alternative energy much greater than Global Warming?
There is no mention in the media that at the center of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Baja California and over 2000 aftershocks there is a geothermal power plant.
http://www.bssaonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/1A/93
http://sandiegogeologists.org/Geothermal2.html
Look at this map, do you see a problem here?
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/31.33.-116.-114.php
Thank you top contributor, the San Andreas Fault’s southern end is at Salton Sea, no where near the geothermal plant.
http://geology.com/articles/images/san-andreas-fault-map.jpg
There is a big difference between slightly increasing a trace gas to drilling into and pumping massive amounts off water into a plate boundary.
There is also large amounts of heat being release in a lake and into the atmosphere.
All the time.
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake that jolted northern Mexico and Southern California yesterday afternoon was the first big earthquake to occur on this particular fault system since 1892, scientists say.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/100405-mexico-california-baja-earthquake-aftershocks/
Once again the San Andreas fault does not go into Mexico, it ends at Salton Sea. The southern end is most famous for not being active for over 300 years.
http://geology.about.com/od/geology_ca/ig/safsouth/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_does_the_San_Andreas_Fault_begin_and_end
Call Cal State Los Angeles and tell them they are wrong.
The San Andreas Fault stretches 600 miles from the Mendocino Escarpment in northern California to the Salton Sea in southern California. It was discovered after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake when geologists found a rupture extending for 270 miles.
http://www.calstatela.edu/dept/geology/SanAndreasFault.htm
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6 comments
I expel CO2 everytime I breathe on May 3, 2010 at 2:13 pm
They have already shown that geothermal plants have been known to cause earthquakes, so those who are arguing against you really have no rationale for saying it can’t happen. Form what I understand though, in some location geothermal has caused no problems at all. Whatever the case may be, their is really no reason why we should not be moving to nuclear and wind power. Not out of fear of 0.4 degree temps rise, but because it is one of the cleanest and safest forms of energy we have.
Peter on May 3, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Holy crap you’re right! There weren’t *any* earthquakes along the San Andreas fault before somebody put a geothermal plant there!
…you seriously think the fault line just… ends in a lake? In California? An amusing troll, you are. I mean, the area was only chosen for a geothermal plant precisely because of the geological instability bringing more heat closer to the surface. And now that an inevitable earthquake has happened in the area you’re using it to ask a question designed to malign *all* alternative energy sources. You keep plugging away.
"The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that runs a length of roughly 1,300 kilometers (810 mi) through California in the United States, and through Baja California in Mexico."
The fact that it was the first in a while is irrelevant. It’s still an active fault line, and an earthquake was going to happen.
MTRstudent on May 3, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Must be due to natural cycles. Man can’t _possibly_ affect the planet.
Perhaps you’re right… but I don’t necessarily see a problem with that map. I don’t know enough to know whether that is within natural variability or not. I don’t have access to that journal so I can’t read the full paper, but it appears uncertain. If it is demonstrated to be likely, then it should be considered in the costs.
Ginga Ninja 08 on May 3, 2010 at 2:13 pm
depnds what u meen by is there more important things than global warming i think we shud try to b more efficient are the human race will suffer in the future but ofcourse when ppl die that is a big problem but shunt b related and argued about.
bravozulu on May 3, 2010 at 2:13 pm
The plates move the same distance. If the extra water made it slip a bit earlier, it would have been a less massive quake. The real problem comes when they build up stress for years. It wouldn’t add stress so it was probably a good thing though I think it is very unlikely that it contributed significantly. That was a very shallow quake if I recall correctly but it was still several miles down. That is much deeper than any wells.
There isn’t much danger from CO2 either. In fact both examples are probably more beneficial than harmful..
N - Lothringer Bur on May 3, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Its the other way around. Geothermal plants are there because of the cracks and seismic activity – and the associated abnormal high temperature for the depth.
You can’t assume that enough people buying umbrellas turns the climate to rainy