Published time: January 21, 2014 18:55 Edited time: January 23, 2014 13:33
Anti-fracking protesters gather outside of the auditorium before New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives his fourth State of the State address on January 8, 2014 in Albany, New York.(AFP Photo / Spencer Platt)
Dozens of residents from a rural Texas community traveled to the state capital on Tuesday to demand that regulators act immediately to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, amidst allegations that it is to blame for a spate of recent earthquakes.
The Azle, TX area, located north of Fort Worth, has experienced no fewer than 30 earthquakes since November, and residents say it’s a result of increased fracking activity.
Fracking, the process of injecting large quantities of a chemical cocktail into the earth to tap subterranean natural gas reserves, has long been associated with seismic activity, and researchers last year linked drill sites to a series of quakes in parts of Ohio. Some Azle-area residents now say there’s no doubt that recent tremors across town have been brought on by similar operations in the Lone Star State, and on Tuesday they assembled before the Texas Railroad Commission to demand action. For more of this story please click the link to RT: http://rt.com/usa/azle-texas-austin-fracking-979/