Deadly New Virus Spreads Through Human Contact

coronavirus

A previously unknown virus, nicknamed the 'Novel Coronavirus' has been blamed for the deaths of eight people and is capable of being transmitted directly through person to person contact.

The new virus, known as  HCoV-EMC, is from a family of coronaviruses which are responsible for the common cold and the SARS virus which killed more than 800 people worldwide during an outbreak in 2002 and 2003. It is genetically related to a type found in bats and the unusual virus seems to have mutated to a form which is capable of not only infecting humans, but alarmingly, can be spread from human contact alone.

The international medical community has been aware of the new illness since last year when it broke out in the middle east. At that time, eleven cases were reported including five deaths. Until now, it was unclear if the outbreak clusters were due to personal transmission or if they were all exposed to the same non-human source.

Now, the death of a man in Britain has ended all doubt. The BBC has reported the first cases of transmission of the Novel Coronavirus through close contact with an infected person. An ill man returning from Pakistan infected two of his sons. One later died, possibly complicated by a previous medical condition.

Officials in the UK have located all fellow passengers on the man's flight from Pakistan and are checking to see if any of those may have also been infected.

Currently there are only 14 known cases worldwide, with limited and clustered outbreaks reported in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and the United Kingdom. Eight of those victims have died.

Most of those sickened experienced severe lower respiratory symptoms with one instance of a mild infection where the victim recovered without medical treatment.

There are no travel restrictions currently in place, but the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is asking health professionals to report cases of acute respiratory infection in persons who have travelled to the Arabian Peninsula within the previous 10 days, or anyone who may have had close contact with persons who have recently returned from the Arabian Peninsula or neighbouring countries. More information can be found in this FAQ from the CDC.

Image: coronaviruses 004 lores.jpg: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coronaviruses_004_lores.jpg 

Webcam Auto-Exposure Problems Under Linux - Solved

Too much light on bright days

I have struggled to find a webcam program which could grab decent still images from a webcam running under Linux. I have tried the common suggestions found online, used gvucview, cheese, webcam and webcamd.

All of these programs worked for snapping still images but the auto-exposure never worked properly and the images were poor. Most of the day the picture was either dark or obliterated with glare.

It seems the problem is that most webcam software is designed for streaming video. They all do a decent job of this, but even those programs that build in a delay never worked consistently for single jpg images. Searching the web, it is obvious I am not the only one with this problem and I could find no real solution.

Too dark in low light

After fighting this problem for days, it occurred to
me that perhaps I was using the wrong tool for the
job. I was trying to force a round peg into a square
hole. I needed to look for a program which was designed specifically to snap still images from a webcam, not capture streaming video.

After some searching, I found a program called uvccapture which does just that. It is a simple, light program  that accepts arguments for resolution, timing, save location, even brightness, saturation, contrast and other basic settings. It is available in the Ubuntu repositories or you can grab it from here: https://github.com/csete/uvccapture

Happily, the auto-exposure is now working and my webcam is finally producing clear and properly exposed images. Here's how I managed it:

Auto-Exposure working properly

After installing uvccapture, I created a folder called 'webcam' in my home directory to store image.jpg and scripts. I set up the program to load on the boot using the Startup Applications tool by entering this into the command field:

uvccapture -m -t600 -q75 -x640 -y480 -o/home/user/webcam/image.jpg

This string of commands loads the program and instructs it to refresh the image every 10 minutes (600 seconds), to use compression on the JPG file at 75% quality. It states the webcam resolution, which must be supported by your device. The last argument includes the location to save the image file.

More info and commands for uvccapture are located here: http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/natty/man1/uvccapture.1.html

The next problem was finding a new program to send the files via ftp to a remote server. Most of the programs I had used included the ftp service with the image grabber. I wanted something light and stable which could run in the background.

I looked at several programs and scripts and finally decided on this simple script which runs every 10 minutes via cron. Copy and paste the following into a text editor. Edit lines 4, 5 & 6 in the top section and line 5 in the bottom section:

# vi ftp-run.sh
#! /bin/sh
#run this file with ./ftp-run.sh
REMOTE='your-remote-server.com'
USER='username'
PASSWORD='password'
FTPLOG='/tmp/ftplog'
date >> $FTPLOG

ftp -n $REMOTE <<_FTP>>$FTPLOG
quote USER $USER
quote PASS $PASSWORD
bin
/home/user/webcam
mput image.jpg
quit
_FTP

Save the file as ftp-run.sh in the webcam folder. Right click on the icon and under Permissions, click to 'Run this file as a program'. I set up a cron job to run this script every 10 minutes with this command:

crontab -e
    arrow down to bottom

Paste:
*/10 * * * * cd webcam && ./ftp-run.sh

Ctrl + x to exit
Y to save
Enter

I rebooted to load the program and settings. I finally have a working webcam and my images are clear, bright and upload reliably to my server. I hope this how-to will help someone else who is struggling with this problem.

Shameless Plug:
More fun with your webcam: PortalView Live Desktop Wallpaper for Linux

Rented Computers Caught Spying on Customers

The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with DesignerWare Corporation and numerous computer rental companies for installing software on rented computers which secretly snapped explicit webcam pictures, captured emails and a variety of other personal information, including Social Security Numbers, medical and bank account information from thousands of users.

The companies installed a surveillance program called 'PC Rental Agent' which according to the FTC, "can also cause a computer’s webcam to surreptitiously photograph not only the computer user, but also anyone else within view of the camera. In numerous instances, ... webcam activations have taken pictures of children, individuals not fully clothed, and couples engaged in sexual activities."

The software, which is undetectable and uninstallable by the user, has been installed on nearly half a million computers and has been distributed by 1,617 computer rental companies in the US, Canada and Australia.

According to the complaint, "PC Rental Agent, when installed on a rented computer, offers rent-to-own store licensees the ability to direct DesignerWare’s servers to disable a computer remotely when a consumer is late making payments, has stopped communicating with the rent-to-own store, or has otherwise violated the rental contract."

The software also contains an option for the rental company to turn on "Detective Mode" which, again quoting from the complaint, "Once installed and activated, Detective Mode can log the keystrokes of the computer user, take screen shots of the computer user’s activities on the computer, and photograph anyone within view of the computer’s webcam." DesignerWare collects this information and transmits it, unencrypted, to the computer rental company.

PC Rental Agent also secretly tracked users by logging public wifi networks the computer used to access the internet, which "employees of the rent-to-own stores ...can monitor their physical locations and the patterns of their movements."

The FTC settlement requires rent-to-own companies to stop using monitoring software or tracking users' locations without knowledge or consent. The companies cannot used illicitly gained information to collect customer debts and the FTC will monitor them for 20 years.

The following companies are named in the complaint:
DesignerWare, LLC; its principals, Timothy Kelly and Ronald P. Koller, individually and as officers of DesignerWare, LLC.; Aspen Way Enterprises, Inc.; Watershed Development Corp.; Showplace, Inc., d/b/a Showplace Rent-to-Own; J.A.G. Rents, LLC, d/b/a ColorTyme; Red Zone, Inc., d/b/a ColorTyme; B. Stamper Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Premier Rental Purchase; and C.A.L.M. Ventures, Inc., d/b/a Premier Rental Purchase.

First published on Technorati as "Rented Computers Caught Spying on Customers"

Warning Signs from the Cascadia Subduction Zone?

CaliforniaEarthquake Map 01/20/2012

On January 17, 2012 a 4.3 magnitude earthquake occurred on the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of Northern California. This relatively small quake could signal movement on this dangerous fault which has historically been silent between large events.

Lurking offshore of Northern California and running north toward Vancouver, Canada, lies the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This fault has the potential to produce an earthquake and tsunami as devastating as the March 11, 2011 quake that struck off Honshu, Japan. 

While the San Andres fault system has produced a long and obvious scar on the landscape of California and the frequency of small to moderate, non-damaging earthquakes has drawn the attention of the media and scientists, Cascadia remains locked quietly offshore for centuries, building stress until it suddenly releases in massive quakes.

Geological evidence shows seven great quakes have occurred along Cascadia in the last 3500 years. Intervals range from 200 to 900 years with most occurring around 300 years apart.

Cascadia Subduction Zone

Cascadia last ruptured in January, 1700, producing an estimated 9.0 magnitude quake.  Recently researchers have shown the chances of a major quake occuring along Cascadia could be as high as 45 percent within the next 50 years.

Between these major quakes, Cascadia sits virtually silent. In fact, scientists were aware of its presence in the Pacific northwest, but it was not considered a threat as it appeared to never experience quakes.

Brian Atwater's 2005 study of drowned coastal forests lead to the discovery of Cascadia's hidden threat. It appears to remain virtually locked and silent for centuries, pressure and stress building until it is released in a giant quake.

According to Iris, Incorporated Research Institution for Seismology:

"...Just a quarter century ago, hardly anyone suspected that a giant underwater earthquake – or the fast-arriving tsunami that such an earthquake would spawn – could ever occur in the Pacific Northwest. The region’s written history, which begins a few decades before the arrival of Lewis and Clark, is devoid of such catastrophes. Yet today the Northwest has a widely acknowledged history, thousands of years long, of earthquakes as large as magnitude 9 and of associated tsunamis. "

Oregon Earthquakes1841 - 2002

Movement on the Cascadia has been virtually non-existent for more than a century. This map shows seismological history of Oregon for the time period from 1841 through 2002. Note the red line running north/south off the Pacific coast. This represents the Cascadia fault. Note the earthquakes occur near, but not on the fault itself.

Now look at this USGS map showing the Cascadia fault registering a 4.3 magnitude earthquake on January 17, 2011. This is a highly unusual place for movement to occur. The map also shows several small quakes in the days before the larger one.

Foreshocks, Aftershocks or Anomaly?

Large Earthquakes are often preceded by 'foreshocks' which can occur from minutes to even years before the main shock. They occur in about forty percent of moderate to large quakes and perhaps seventy percent of quakes greater than magnitude 7.0.

Studies show foreshocks may increase in intensity over time leading to the main quake:

    "The observation of foreshocks associated with many earthquakes suggests that they are part of a preparation process prior to nucleation. In one model of earthquake rupture, the process forms as a cascade, starting with a very small event that triggers a larger one, continuing until the main shock rupture is triggered. "

4.3 Cascadia quake 01/17/2012

Unfortunately it is not possible to know if a particular quake is part of a foreshock pattern until after a main event occurs.

Aftershocks are smaller quakes which occur as plates readjust following a larger event. They decrease in frequency as time passes.

Perhaps the small quakes in the preceding days were foreshocks to a main 4.3 quake on the 17th? This is certainly possible, however if the 4.3 was the culmination of this series, it should have been followed by decreasing aftershocks as the huge plates settled back into a locked position. There have been no such aftershocks.

Earthquake prediction is notoriously unreliable. Tantalizing hints of patterns give hope that someday we may be able to recognize the precursors to great quakes and evacuate populations before they strike.

The question arises: Is Cascadia stirring? The recent anomalous quake on the fault is noteworthy if only for its rarity.

There are great concerns that this area is not prepared for a quake of historical size. Cities from Eureka, California to Vancouver, Washington are potential targets.

Tsunami Evacuation Route, Oregon

According to Peter Yanev, an engineer and earthquake building consultant in this article:

    "... ...Pacific Northwest cities are full of buildings with slender structural frames and fewer and smaller shear walls. In a mega-quake, many of the region's iconic tall buildings would probably collapse. "

The Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup has prepared a hypothetical scenario of the effects of a rupture of Cascadia. Predictions include:

"...• Depending on location, strong shaking might be felt for several minutes.
• Injuries and fatalities could number in the thousands, and
hundreds of buildings could be destroyed.
• A destructive tsunami will quickly hit the Cascadia coast
and travel across the Pacific Ocean.
• Aftershocks up to M7 are common, creating the potential
for additional damage."

Without a doubt, the Cascadia Subduction Zone will someday unleash a great quake in the Pacific Northwest. The odds may be as high as 45% that it will strike during the lifetime of todays residents. Whether the quake that occurred on January 17 was a foreshock, aftershock or simply an anomaly, Cascadia will rupture someday. Perhaps it will happen tomorrow or a decade from now. Please prepare now. The clock is ticking.

Plan Ahead:
Disaster Preparedness Kits from Amazon
DIY Disaster Preparedness Kits


images: Oregon quake history: http://www.oregongeology.com/sub/earthquakes/eqepicentermap.htm
Cascadia Subduction Zone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone
tsunami evac: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cornelii/2066817391/sizes/m/in/photostream/
Cascadia_subduction_zone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone

Skype Delivers Free Holiday Wifi to Fifty US Airports

The folks over at Skype are providing a welcome gift to weary travelers this holiday season. Unwrap an hour of free wifi access in more than fifty airports across the US. 

According to this announcement:

"From December 21st thru December 27th, travelers passing through or delayed in over 50 airports across the country will be able to access third-party hotspots using Skype WiFi and connect with loved ones via a Skype video or voice call for free."

To take advantage of this offer, you need to have the most recent version of the Skype client installed on your PC or Mac. After you sign into your Skype account, just check your wireless connection to verify you are in a supported location.

Grab your copy of Skype for Windows here, for Mac here and for Linux here.

Skype will brighten the holidays for travelers in major airports in New York, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Burbank and San Francisico, among many others.

Skype Wifi customers can also take advantage of this special holiday gift. Skype Wifi is a service which offers paid access to over a million wifi hotspots worldwide. 

After your trip, you can share your free holiday wifi experience at #freeskypewifi on Twitter. 

Article first published as Skype Delivers Free Holiday Wifi to 50 US Airports on Technorati.

Mars Science Lab 'Curiosity' Will Search for Signs of Life

'Curiosity' Rover will Search for Signs of Life

NASA is preparing to launch another rover mission to Mars on November 25, 2011. The goal of this mission will be to search for signs of past life on the Red Planet.

According to NASA's website,

"...Curiosity has 10 science instruments to search for evidence about whether Mars had environments favorable for microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life."

Dubbed 'Curiosity', this seven foot tall rover is twice as big as previous mars' rovers and weighs over a ton. It carries more than ten times the mass of scientific equipment than the Spirit and Opportunity rovers launched in 2004.

Spectacular Mars sunset

Propelled by an Atlas V rocket, the ambitious mission will last two years and focus on the Gale crater. Also known as the Mars Science Laboratory, this rover will carry more scientific equipment than has ever been sent to another planet.

Curiosity will attempt a first ever, multi-stage precision landing. It will use a combination of a supersonic parachute deployed at approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) to slow decent of the spacecraft, eight directional rocket thrusters which will allow controllers to adapt to the environment and steer the craft towards the landing area. Finally, a 'sky crane' will gently lower the rover to the planet surface.

Mars Gale Crater

Gale crater is believed to be about three and a half billion years old and 154 km (more than 95 miles) in diameter. This location was chosen for the rich combination of morphologic and mineralogical evidence of water in Mars' past. It contains minerals that are conducive to fossil preservation and the crater provides a surface that Curiosity can navigate safely. The choice was designed to "...identify a particular geologic environment, or set of environments, that would support microbial life."

This mission comes on the heels of an attempt by Russian scientists to land a probe on one of Mars' moons, Phobos, and return samples to Earth. The spacecraft is currently trapped in low Earth orbit and scientists are struggling to restart booster engines before it falls back to Earth containing tons of unspent rocket fuel.

Watch the launch live plus other special events, documentaries, news conferences and much more at NASA TV.

images: NASA / JPL-Caltech
rover: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html
gale crater: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gale_crater.jpg
Martian sunset: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/MarsSunset.jpg/998px-MarsSunset.jpg

First published as Mars Science Lab 'Curiosity' Will Search for Signs of Life

Google Defies RIAA Over Download App

Google defies RIAA

A battle of behemoths is brewing as Google goes toe to toe with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) over the availability of the app "MP3 Music Download Pro" in the Android Market which could be used to download copyrighted music.

Google contends that the app can also be used to download legal files and has so far refused to remove it from the Android Market.

The RIAA sent a takedown notice to Google in August over the app, which the RIAA said, "...is clearly being used for illegal purposes, and Google responded that they were declining to remove it from the Android Market."

Downloader App Screenshot

Google has removed apps from the market in the past that could be used for obtaining copyrighted music but an RIAA spokesperson complained that often the same or similar apps re-appear a few days later and, "...too many apps created to harvest links to unauthorized files remain available and popular on the Android marketplace, resulting in widespread infringement of copyrighted works."

In May, 2011, Google's Chairman Eric Schmidt called a proposed law, the  'Protect IP Act', "A disastrous precedent for Free Speech". This legislation, designed to combat offshore servers and endorsed by the RIAA, requires Search Engines and DNS servers to remove links and make targeted websites 'disappear' from the Internet.

Rumors persist that Google is working on agreements with the major record labels and plans to offer music purchases through the Google Music Store, similar to the successful Apple iTunes Music Store.

Downloader Pro Barcode

Google is building anticipation for a November 16, 2011 event "These Go To Eleven", an homage to the old 'This Is Spinal Tap' flick. There is speculation the announcement will include music purchases through the new music store and sharing services through Google+.

The RIAA has declined to say if they plan on filing suit against Google for facilitating copyright infringement. If they choose to take Google to court, the RIAA may find Google to be a tougher opponent than the thousands of private citizens the RIAA has been suing for several years.

First published as Google Defies RIAA Over Download App

Crippled Russian Spacecraft Carries Toxic Payload

Russian spacecraft Phobos-Grunt

Russian scientists are struggling to restart engines in the Phobos-Ground Probe  which failed to leave orbit following launch on November 8, 2011. The ship, containing tons of dangerous rocket fuel, could drop out of orbit and fall to earth as soon as a few days from now or could linger in decaying orbit until around Christmas next month.

Tons of unspent rocket fuel and an uncontrolled re-entry could create a very dangerous combination depending on where the craft comes down and the state of the fuel.

If the fuel does not freeze, but remains liquid, it should burn up harmlessly before it reaches the ground. But if the toxic mixture freezes, it could survive re-entry and strike the Earth intact. According to James Oberg, formally with NASA and now a space consultant,

“About seven tons (6.4 tonnes) of nitrogen tetroxide and hydrazine, which could freeze before ultimately entering, will make it the most toxic falling satellite ever”

Signs of trouble began when Russian scientists lost contact with the probe and requested amateur astronomers worldwide to report any sightings. The craft was spotted by South American astronomers trapped in a low orbit, trailed by its' failed booster engines.

Software engineers have attempted upgrades, bug fixes and reboots of the system, but according to this report, they have so far been unable to communicate with the craft and hope is fading that a solution will be found before the batteries fail.

Mars Moon Phobos

 Engineers are hoping that if the spacecraft falls back to Earth, it will land in the ocean. Compared to the six ton UARS Satellite, which dropped out of orbit in September, 2011, this failed spacecraft and booster engines weighs over fourteen tons, most of which is unspent fuel.

The ship was headed for Mars moon Phobos on an ambitious mission  to return to Earth next year with about seven ounces of soil samples from the Martian moon. Instead, this is the just latest and most dangerous, in a very long string of failed missions to Mars by the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Article first published as Crippled Russian Spacecraft Carries Toxic Payload on Technorati.

images:
phobos ground probe: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cebit_2011-fobos-grunt_together_with_upper_stage.jpg
phobos: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phobos_PIA10369.jpg 

Adobe Quits Mobile Flash Development

Adobe will no longer support mobile Flash

Adobe has announced they are dropping development of the popular Flash plug-in for mobile browsers. They will continue to provide security updates and critical bug fixes for existing hardware and software configurations including Android and Blackberry Playbook.

Adobe is expected to axe 750 jobs as it shifts focus from mobile Flash development to aiding designers and developers of mobile Flash apps to migrate to open HTML5 using Adobe Air runtime which supports a wide variety of plug-ins and platforms.  Adobe stock dropped 10% by 9:30 am following the announcement.

Flash was developed over a decade ago and designed with the desktop PC in mind. The shift to smaller, mobile devices has highlighted some fundamental problems with Flash: Notoriously high cpu usage which drains batteries and causes problems with overheating. There are also problems with apps designed for a pointy-clicky mouse verses the modern touchscreen interface.

HTML5 provides audio, video and other feature rich browser components with lower cpu usage and supports the capacitive touch-sensitive screens used in these smaller, low power devices such as phones and tablets.

According to the Adobe Blog,

"We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook. We will of course continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations."

Flash is pervasive on the web, to both the delight and frustration of mobile phone and tablet users. The move to HTML5 is better suited for this new generation of small, low powered devices. With more than a third of the worlds top 100 websites already implementing HTML5, this paradigm shift has already begun.

Creative Commons images:
flash on droid: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/adobe-to-give-free-android-phones-to-its-staff-03-05-2010/
html5: http://www.w3.org/News/2011#entry-8992

Article first published as Adobe Quits Mobile Flash Development on Technorati.

Flurry of Earthquake 'Anomolies' Caused by Fracking?

Seismograph

Update: March 9, 2012:
A series of Ohio earthquakes were caused by fracking according to State officials. Tough new laws will regulate drilling and disposal of waste.*

The 5.6 earthquake which struck Oklahoma in late 2011 was the latest in a string of 'rare' earthquakes shaking the normally geologically quiet interior or North America.

These previously unusual events are raising fresh concerns that the use of fracking and the disposal of fracking fluids may be causing the quakes.

Fracking is the fracturing of layers of rock with high pressure fluids to release pockets of trapped gas and oil. Increases in energy prices and Bush era deregulation has led to a wide use of this technique with thousands of new wells brought on line in the past few years.

This proliferation in fracking has coincided with numerous earthquakes in unusual locations. Recent studies indicate that culprit may actually be the disposal wells. Fracking produces lots of waste fluid which is collected and injected at high pressures into disposal wells.

Earthquakes caused by this type of wells is not the paranoid imaginings of environmental zealots. In this recent report, the Oklahoma Geological Survey studied a swarm of earthquakes in Garvin County, OK in January of this year, which began within hours of a new and deep hydro-fracturing project nearby.
The Geological Survey stopped short of definitively blaming the earthquakes on the fracking operation, but noted

"...The strong correlation in time and space as well as a reasonable fit to a physical model suggest that there is a possibility these earthquakes were induced by hydraulic-fracturing."

Typically, the report concludes that it is impossible to say definitely if the quakes were caused by fracking, but other locations hit by anomalous quakes are satisfied they have enough proof.

In June of this year, Cuadrilla Resources was forced to suspend its' fracking operation after it admitted it caused a swarm of earthquakes in normally seismically peaceful northwest England.

February, 2011: Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission issued an emergency moratorium on new injection wells due to a 4.7 magnitude quake as part of a suspicious swarm of earthquakes in the area.

In August of 2009, Chesapeake, one of the largest oil and gas exploration companies in the area, was forced to shut down two wells in the Dallas/Fort Worth area after they were linked to a swarm of earthquakes.

In other events, fracking was suspected, but no action taken:

Drilling Rig

In October 2011, a rare 4.8 magnitude quake hit in near San Antonio, Texas. This occurred in an area which has been heavily drilled and fracked.

In August of 2011, a rare 5.8 quake hits Virginia and is felt all over the east coast. Speculation ensues that dramatically increased fracking in the area may have triggered this rare event.

The same day, a southern Colorado 5.3 earthquake occurred in the same area as a swarm of possible fracking induced quakes investigated in 2001 by the USGS. Three months before the August 2011 quake, the EPA announced plans to study the impacts of fracking on drinking water in that area.

No one knows the impact of the large-scale fracturing of the earth's crust or the ramifications of high pressure injection of waste fluids deep underground. The evidence is mounting of a direct connection between these practices and unusual earthquake activity, but it may be impossible to scientifically prove.

These strange quakes have caused quite a bit of damage but no deaths so far. Energy companies continue to deny any connection between earthquakes and fracking or disposal of fracking fluids. The evidence, however, continues to pile up.

How many 'rare' earthquakes does it take before we acknowledge a pattern? And what price are we willing to pay, in lives and property, for the promise of 'cheap' energy?

*Update: March 09, 2012:
A series of Ohio earthquakes were caused by fracking according to State officials. Tough new laws will regulate drilling and disposal of waste.

In this report, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said:

"After investigating all available geological formation and well activity data, ODNR regulators and geologists found a number of co-occurring circumstances strongly indicating the Youngstown area earthquakes were induced," state officials stated. "Specifically, evidence gathered by state officials suggests fluid from the Northstar 1 disposal well intersected an unmapped fault in a near-failure state of stress causing movement along that fault."

Article first published as Flurry of Earthquake 'Anomolies' Caused by Fracking? on Technorati.

images:
drill rig: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drilling_for_gas_and_oil_in_Dalby_Forest_February_2007_-_geograph.org.uk_-_343560.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki
seismograph: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kinemetrics_seismograph.jpg