[niftich]

Moreover, what's driving low natgas prices in the US is the use of hydraulic fracturing -- 'fracking' -- which injects some fluid, often water, horizontally along an entire layer of shale to free the trapped gas. This technique enabled formations like the Marcellus Shale [1] in WV, PA, OH, NY to be economically viable to extract, and this formation grew to be the largest producer of natgas in the US.

There are many unanswered questions about the long-term impact of hydraulic fracturing on seismic stability and on groundwater, and the technique is under scrutiny in many parts of the world. Predictably favored by energy-lobbyists and opposed by environmentalists, fracking remains a contentious issue whose future in the US could depend on a "simple" party change -- hardly a sure bet.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcellus_Formation

[Animats]

Oklahoma is getting some answers. Try their interactive earthquake map. Look at earthquakes in 2016 vs 2010 vs the 1980s. They show disposal wells on the same map. The big problem is not the fracking injection itself, but disposal wells for all the waste fluid involved.

[1] https://earthquakes.ok.gov/what-we-know/earthquake-map/