Somebody tell David Boren and Harold Hamm to brew a new pot of coffee! There's a new state seismologist in town for them to coerce and intimidate.
Last Friday, the Oklahoma Geological Survey presented by Continental Resources announced it has hired Jacob Walter, a scientist from the University of Texas, to fill the open seismologist position that was made available when Austin Holland wisely got the hell out of Oklahoma in August of 2015. Yes, that's right. We finally got someone from Texas to move to Oklahoma for a job. Way to go, Chamber of Commerce!
Here are the details via NewsOK.com:
University of Texas geologist Jacob Walter has been named lead seismologist at the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the survey said Friday.
Walter is a research associate at the Institute for Geophysics at the University of Texas at Austin. He will take over his new role in November.
“We are pleased to add Dr. Walter to the Seismology team at the Oklahoma Geological Survey,” OGS Director Jeremy Boak said in a statement. “He brings valuable research capabilities, and we look forward to working with him.”
The role of lead seismologist has become much more high-profile as Oklahoma has in recent years become the most seismically active state in the nation. Experts have linked the surge in earthquakes to wastewater disposal activity of the state's oil and gas industry.
Holy shit. Did you see that? The Oklahoman admitted the recent surge in earthquakes are linked to the oil and gas industry. What the hell is going on inside the offices of the Oklahoman? First they investigate Scott Pruitt's campaign spending, and now they're admitting that the energy industry causes earthquakes. Did Devon Energy cut some of its advertising spending? Is there a small revolt going on over there? We need answers please!