The fraccing process is apparently too complicated for most folks to understand. The wells that seem to be causing seismic activity that I've heard about are the "fracing fluid disposal wells" not the actual frac-ed wells.

To frac a well they drill a hole, usually bending over to horizontal drilling at some depth. Then they case it with pipe to "seal" the hole. Then they perforate the pipe at the deepest/farthest point and hook up the high pressure injection gear and pump fluid + proppant (sand/ceramic.. something to "prop" open the cracks that are formed by the high pressure injection) into the well to shatter the rock in the perforated area. Then they pump out all fluid and install a plug upstream of that first frac point and repeat the perforate/frac cycle. Repeat all that for a number of cycles. The last step is to put a drill bit back in the pipe and drill out all of the plugs and clear out ALL fluid to allow the oil/gas to flow up the pipe.

At the end of this you have a large amount of waste fluid from the entire process. This has to go some place right? They are called "waste-water injection wells". The LAST thing you'd want to do is inject this into your producing formation so instead it is pumped into dry wells and kinda "wherever".

You know what I find interesting? That this story about fracking in Canada news receives humorous and somewhat thoughtful comments. A similar story about fracking in the States gets lambasted with negative feedback with "liberal media" "treehugging agenda" "junk science" and (somehow) "Obama sucks" - or something like that. I love you Canadians.

Here in Alberta, those mother-frackers don't produce "waste water". They euphemistically refer to it as "processed water". Doesn't that sound much healthier, less threatening?

http://www.ernstversusencana.ca/

The solution is waterless fracturing, it is Canadian technology, it uses LPG instead of water, it doesn't produce waste water and thus doesn't require injection wells, which are apparently the cause of the quakes.

Sickening,... and yet Harper wants to make it easier for these pigs to destroy our world.

Saw this a few weeks back. Very informative. I've seen news reports of Albertans lighting their water on fire as it comes out of the tap. This asnd all the other evidence I've seen tells me things are a lot worse than our right-wing/big business/small-minded gov'ts.

Gasland Trailer http://goo.gl/c1e8

Fracking is a very bad way to get gas out of the ground. It creates many problems. This is only 1 of them. But of course we will be forced by our governments to accept it.

You will see a concerted attack on these and any other studies that seek to prove this kind of thing. The oil and gas industry realizes that the relatively easy to get at sources of oil and gas are finite and are determined find ways an means to maintain profits and above all increase stock prices.