????近十年來(lái)，拜得克薩斯州沃思堡西北部的巴涅特頁(yè)巖層(Barnett Shale)掀起的“水力壓裂法”熱潮所賜，美國(guó)更加接近能源獨(dú)立的目標(biāo)。但意想不到的是，一場(chǎng)因天然氣鉆探引發(fā)的暴動(dòng)正在此地的一小片區(qū)域蓄勢(shì)待發(fā)。

????向來(lái)支持能源業(yè)的得克薩斯州眼下正在應(yīng)對(duì)地震難題。

????自11月1日以來(lái)，阿斯萊周圍的農(nóng)村地區(qū)（約1.1萬(wàn)人口）遭受了30多場(chǎng)小型地震的襲擊。許多居民抱怨稱，地震頻發(fā)的罪魁禍?zhǔn)资堑叵绿幹镁@探公司用它們來(lái)處理壓裂和生產(chǎn)過(guò)程產(chǎn)生的廢水。鉆孔機(jī)向這些一兩英里深的處置井注入含鹽廢水。

????這些地震已經(jīng)引發(fā)了一場(chǎng)喧囂的市政廳會(huì)議，監(jiān)管當(dāng)局已經(jīng)決定聘請(qǐng)得克薩斯州有史以來(lái)首位州級(jí)地震學(xué)家，同時(shí)還承諾研究這個(gè)問(wèn)題。但是，因?yàn)閷?duì)這個(gè)答復(fù)不滿，一批居民上周二乘坐巴士來(lái)到奧斯汀，涌入得克薩斯鐵路委員會(huì)(Texas Railroad Commission，向來(lái)支持能源業(yè)的得克薩斯州石油和天然氣監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu))的會(huì)議現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，強(qiáng)烈要求立即關(guān)閉處置井。據(jù)《沃斯堡明星電訊報(bào)》(Fort Worth Star-Telegram)一位記者報(bào)道，一位抗議者當(dāng)場(chǎng)拿出一把吉他，唱起了貓王的代表作《地動(dòng)山搖》(All Shook Up)。

????最大的問(wèn)題是：處置井到底是不是正在引發(fā)地震？

????阿斯萊的兼職市長(zhǎng)，保險(xiǎn)代理人艾倫?布倫德里特對(duì)此確定不疑。布倫德里特回憶起了11月份一次市議會(huì)會(huì)議期間他首次經(jīng)歷地震的情景?！澳欠N感覺(jué)就像是有人踢了一下你的椅子后背，非常奇怪?！?2月份一天剛過(guò)半夜的時(shí)候，他又感受到了另一次地震。他當(dāng)時(shí)正躺在自己三居室家中一個(gè)躺椅上看一部驚悚片?！奥?tīng)起來(lái)就像是有什么東西在外面爆炸了一樣，”布倫德里特說(shuō)?！罢麄€(gè)房子都在晃動(dòng)，窗戶哐哐作響。我嗖地一下從椅子上跳了起來(lái)，大約跳了兩英尺遠(yuǎn)?！?/p>

????此地向北幾英里的里諾市（這座小城附近幾個(gè)活躍的處置井被懷疑是地震中心），市議會(huì)廳的墻壁和地板上出現(xiàn)了不少裂痕。當(dāng)?shù)匾恍┚用裰肛?zé)稱，地震導(dǎo)致他們的房產(chǎn)下沉，卡住了家中的門(mén)窗。布倫德里特說(shuō)，“我認(rèn)識(shí)的所有人都給他們的手機(jī)下載了一款地震應(yīng)用程序。”（QuakeFeed是最受歡迎的一款應(yīng)用）

????據(jù)美國(guó)地質(zhì)調(diào)查局(U.S. Geological Survey)地球物理學(xué)家威廉?埃爾斯沃思博士介紹，這些地震的級(jí)別介于里氏2.0級(jí)至3.6級(jí)之間，其中9次為3.0級(jí)以上。雖然成千上萬(wàn)居民都感受到了沖擊，而且因此驚恐萬(wàn)分，但迄今為止，這些地震還沒(méi)有造成人身傷害，也沒(méi)有導(dǎo)致重大損失。

????以打破頁(yè)巖提取石油和天然氣為特征的水力壓裂技術(shù)一直被視為各種弊?。òㄋ廴荆┑脑搭^。但地質(zhì)學(xué)家認(rèn)為，構(gòu)成更大地震風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的不是水力壓裂法，而是為地下注入數(shù)百萬(wàn)加侖污水的處置井。

????埃爾斯沃思博士正在幫助協(xié)調(diào)確定地震模式的各種努力，其中包括在這個(gè)地區(qū)安裝地震儀。他說(shuō)，注水井造成地震的情形非常罕見(jiàn)，但有強(qiáng)有力的證據(jù)表明，少數(shù)注水井（或許靠近現(xiàn)有的地質(zhì)斷層）的確會(huì)引發(fā)地震。在得克薩斯州，“一切都發(fā)生在非常有限的區(qū)域內(nèi)。我們不知道在這個(gè)時(shí)點(diǎn)是否存在某種聯(lián)系。兩者確實(shí)存在相關(guān)性，但相關(guān)性不是因果關(guān)系，人們需要記住這一點(diǎn)?！?/p>

????In a small patch northwest of Fort Worth, Texas -- where the Barnett Shale set off the decade-long "fracking" boom that's moved the U.S. closer to energy independence -- there's a surprising uprising brewing over drilling for natural gas.

????Energy-friendly Texas is now dealing with earthquakes.

????Since Nov. 1, more than 30 small temblors have struck the rural area around Azle (pop. 11,000), and many residents are blaming the quakes on underground disposal wells, used to get rid of wastewater generated during the fracking and production process. Drillers inject the salty wastewater into wells a mile or two deep.

????The quakes have already triggered a raucous town hall meeting, a decision to hire Texas's first-ever state seismologist, and a pledge to study the problem. Unsatisfied with this response, a busload of residents, demanding that the disposal wells be shut down immediately, appeared on Tuesday in Austin at a meeting of the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's industry-friendly oil-and-gas regulator. According to an account by a Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter, one protester pulled out a guitar during the meeting and broke into a rendition of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up."

????The big question: Are the disposal wells causing the earthquakes?

????Alan Brundrett, an insurance agent who serves as Azle's part-time mayor, has no doubt. Brundrett recalls the first earthquake he experienced, during a city council meeting in November. "It felt like someone kicked the back of your chair. It was strange." He felt another shortly after midnight in December, as he was lying in a recliner in his three-bedroom home, watching a horror flick. "It sounded like something exploded outside," says Brundrett. "The whole house shook, and the windows rattled. I jumped about two feet out of my chair."

????In tiny Reno, a few miles to the north -- near the site of active disposal wells and the suspected epicenter of the shaking -- cracks have appeared in the walls and floor of the city council chamber. Some area residents blame the quakes for sinkholes on their property and stuck doors and windows in their homes. Now Brundrett says, "everybody I know has an earthquake app loaded on his cellphone." (QuakeFeed is a favorite.)

????The tremors have ranged from 2.0 to 3.6 on the Richter scale, with nine measuring 3.0 or higher, according to U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Dr. William Ellsworth. While frightening and felt by thousands of residents, none of the quakes so far has caused injuries or major damage.

????Hydraulic fracturing (which breaks apart shale rock to extract oil and gas) has been blamed for various ills, including contamination of water wells. Yet geologists say it's not the fracking, but rather disposal wells -- which inject millions of gallons of water deep underground -- that pose the greater risk of meaningful earthquakes.

????Ellsworth, who is helping coordinate efforts to zero in on the pattern (including the installation of seismographs in the region), says few injection wells cause earthquakes, but there is strong evidence that a handful of them -- perhaps located near an existing fault -- do. In Texas, says Ellsworth, "everything is happening in a very limited area. We don't know that there's a connection at this point. There's a correlation, but correlation is not causation. People need to keep that in mind."