Earthquakes Rumbling Through Oil-Producing States Now Rumbling Through Politics

Guthrie, Okla. had three earthquakes on Monday, and residents are scared. "Scientists implicated the oil and gas industry — in particular, the deep wastewater disposal wells that have been linked to a dramatic increase in seismic activity across the central United States. But in a state founded on oil wealth, officials have been reluctant to crack down on an industry that accounts for a third of the economy and one in five jobs. With seismologists warning that the spreading earthquake swarms could trigger something far bigger and potentially deadly, pressure is building to follow the lead of other oil and gas-producing states and take more aggressive action." Lori Montgomery in The Washington Post