The Matthias Chronicles

Saturday, May 10, 2008, 3:02 PM

The Texas sinkhole

by Mar Matthias Darin

The rather large sinkhole in Daisetta, Texas has caused quite a bit of clamor over the last couple of days. The Texas Railroad commission continues to state the the cause of the sinkhole is still yet to be determined. However; some geologists are suggesting (accusing) a saltwater waste storage facility for violating their permits.

What is interesting is that I'm not hearing anything out of these same geologists regarding over drilling of oil. Driving down I-40 through Texas can be liken to driving through a forest. But trees are not in the beholder's view, instead there are large behemoth oil drilling platforms everywhere for as far as the eye can see. Millions upon millions of gallons of oil get pumped out every year from this region. Have you ever thought about what is left behind after all the oil is gone?

The answer is obvious --- nothing but an empty cavity left underground. Unlike the saltwater waste storage facility which fills these empty voids, the innumerable oil drilling platforms are simply packed up and moved after capping off the gaping hole they leave behind. Texas has been pumping oil from the ground far longer then I have been alive. It would seem obvious to test the ground for the presence of salt or oil. This would lead to the culprit responsible. Long before the saltwater waste storage facility, there could have been an oil drilling platform.

Yet if such tests came back with the presence of oil, American oil companies would have to admit that their $10 billion a year profit was damaging our ecology and we would be faced with a real reason why oil is not the best solution to our energy crisis. Furthermore, such a find would give credibility to the ecologists that have long fought drilling in Anwar.

Instead of a saltwater waste storage facility being next to the sinkhole, what if a baby diaper factory was there. Would geologists accuse them of making too many baby diapers? Most likely, yes. Any and every excuse is going to be found to avoid the simple fact that massive oil drilling has left countless empty cavities across Texas and other areas just waiting to cave under the pressure of modern society (roads, building, et al).

As Texas ponders the plight of their new sinkhole, we, as Americans, need to seriously think about the resources we use and discard. More importantly, we need to think about and implement managing our resources more responsibly.

Remember, Texas isn't the only place we've drilled for oil... Who knows, you could be sitting on a sinkhole just waiting for the right time to collapse.

Comments from ameo

you are right, the resources under the ground is so unpredictable and no one knows what lies beneath his feet.

Comments from frostygirl

I am so glad that I have found someone who agrees with me about what caused that sinkhole, it seems so obvous to me that if you remove something from below ground level it will create a cavity and can become a sinkhole.