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

????向來支持能源業(yè)的得克薩斯州眼下正在應對地震難題。

????自11月1日以來,，阿斯萊周圍的農(nóng)村地區(qū)（約1.1萬人口）遭受了30多場小型地震的襲擊,。許多居民抱怨稱,，地震頻發(fā)的罪魁禍首是地下處置井——鉆探公司用它們來處理壓裂和生產(chǎn)過程產(chǎn)生的廢水,。鉆孔機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)了一場喧囂的市政廳會議，監(jiān)管當局已經(jīng)決定聘請得克薩斯州有史以來首位州級地震學家,，同時還承諾研究這個問題,。但是，因為對這個答復不滿,，一批居民上周二乘坐巴士來到奧斯汀,，涌入得克薩斯鐵路委員會(Texas Railroad Commission，向來支持能源業(yè)的得克薩斯州石油和天然氣監(jiān)管機構)的會議現(xiàn)場,，強烈要求立即關閉處置井,。據(jù)《沃斯堡明星電訊報》(Fort Worth Star-Telegram)一位記者報道，一位抗議者當場拿出一把吉他,，唱起了貓王的代表作《地動山搖》(All Shook Up),。

????最大的問題是：處置井到底是不是正在引發(fā)地震？

????阿斯萊的兼職市長,，保險代理人艾倫?布倫德里特對此確定不疑,。布倫德里特回憶起了11月份一次市議會會議期間他首次經(jīng)歷地震的情景?！澳欠N感覺就像是有人踢了一下你的椅子后背,，非常奇怪?！?2月份一天剛過半夜的時候,，他又感受到了另一次地震。他當時正躺在自己三居室家中一個躺椅上看一部驚悚片,?！奥犉饋砭拖袷怯惺裁礀|西在外面爆炸了一樣，”布倫德里特說,?！罢麄€房子都在晃動，窗戶哐哐作響,。我嗖地一下從椅子上跳了起來,，大約跳了兩英尺遠?！?/p>

????此地向北幾英里的里諾市（這座小城附近幾個活躍的處置井被懷疑是地震中心）,，市議會廳的墻壁和地板上出現(xiàn)了不少裂痕。當?shù)匾恍┚用裰肛煼Q,，地震導致他們的房產(chǎn)下沉,，卡住了家中的門窗,。布倫德里特說，“我認識的所有人都給他們的手機下載了一款地震應用程序,?！保≦uakeFeed是最受歡迎的一款應用）

????據(jù)美國地質(zhì)調(diào)查局(U.S. Geological Survey)地球物理學家威廉?埃爾斯沃思博士介紹，這些地震的級別介于里氏2.0級至3.6級之間,，其中9次為3.0級以上,。雖然成千上萬居民都感受到了沖擊，而且因此驚恐萬分,，但迄今為止,，這些地震還沒有造成人身傷害，也沒有導致重大損失,。

????以打破頁巖提取石油和天然氣為特征的水力壓裂技術一直被視為各種弊?。òㄋ廴荆┑脑搭^。但地質(zhì)學家認為,，構成更大地震風險的不是水力壓裂法,，而是為地下注入數(shù)百萬加侖污水的處置井。

????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,，其中包括在這個地區(qū)安裝地震儀,。他說，注水井造成地震的情形非常罕見,，但有強有力的證據(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),。我們不知道在這個時點是否存在某種聯(lián)系。兩者確實存在相關性,，但相關性不是因果關系,，人們需要記住這一點?！?/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."