this year it s a new record of 109. oklahoma blew by the record in 14 weeks. three months later we re close to doubling it. oklahoma ha has 14 earthquakes in the last seven days. california has twelve. the state faces an elevated risk of an earthquake over 5.0. a warning never issued to any state east of the rockies. why is this happening? well, whether you know it or not, there is a fault line running through the sweouthwestn portion of the state. according to the state agree logical survey, the last slip on the fault was 1300 years ago. what is the big change in the last five years? one thing is scientists point to the number of fracking wells in the state. they using a drilling technique that pumps water into shale rock formations in order to break up the rock that releases oil and natural gas. it became in home more than a decade ago the number of wells soared in 2009.
let s look at the morning papers. mika, a key portion of the voting rights act is facing challenges from the supreme court after conservativative ju question changes in voting laws with the federal government. should the provisions be overturned there could be tighter i.d. standards for voting. it s fascinating discussion. the wall street journal new research indicates the united states will experience a significant increase in natural gas production over the next three decades. a study of a natural gas field in texas reveals that shale rock formations in the u.s. should provide natural gas at a competitive price through the year 2040. bismarck is proven correct again. the divine providence protects fools and the united states of america. we re stumbling into this energy nirvana over the next 50 to 75
fracturing or more common name fracking. in which oil and natural gas are extracted by shooting huge quantities of water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high speed to break up shale rock formations. in his state of the union address in january president obama haled the economic benefits warning of potential safety risks. we have a supply of natural gas that can last america nearly 100 years. [ applause ] and my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. although burning natural gas releases only half as much carbon emissions as coal or petroleum many remain concerned about fracking harmful effects on the water supply, air equality and live stock. the cause has found a number of prominent spokes people. people understand that fracking is not safe and no matter what the gas and oil industry tells them, they re not willing to leave a toxic legacy for their children. france has banned the practice outright the epa is to
patti ann: the u.s. imports more than half of its oil, but a government study shows the greatest fossil fuel reserves on the planet are right here in america. there s just one problem. most of it is locked up in shale rock formations. john roberts is live in atlanta to explain. hi john. reporter: hey patti ann. it s oil shale rock from the peonce basin in colorado. it s not much to look at true believers say this lowly piece of rock could go a long way towards securing america s energy independence. this is called a mahogany ledge where the richest oil shale is. st stretches from colorado to utah, just waiting to be tapped. how rich is this in oil? this is probably a richness that s about a barrel of oil in a ton of rock. but in 100 years of trying, no one has been able to crack the code to make oil shale pay off. oil shale, it s defeated a lot of ingenious engineers