The earth has been shaking like a 5 year old kid with a brand new snow globe. Sadly, the snow just doesn’t float around and everything is okay. The Earth is being served like a James Bond Martini… “Shaken, not Stirred.”

Back in January the country of Haiti was shook to it’s core and its country destroyed, after being hit with a 7.0 earthquake. It was less then 10 miles from Port-au-Prince. The depth of the crater left at the epicenter was about 8 miles deep.

Then in February, Chile then was rocked by an earthquake measuring 8.8 in magnitude. This earthquake was 900 times more powerful than the one in Haiti a month earlier. It shook the world so hard it changed the world’s axis. The crater left at the epicenter of this quake is 27 miles. luckily it was 70 miles away from Chile’s second largest city, but the destruction was still immense.

Chile vs. Haiti

Now in March, Taiwan was hit with a 6.4 earthquake. Damage to buildings and bridges were present. Residents in Taipei say that they were able to feel the quake over 155 miles away.

So has the magnitude of the earthquakes increased due to global climate changes? Could the sudden changes in the “green” energy movement, be behind the dramatic increase in magnitude levels? We will leave the answers to the kids at M.I.T, when they’re done partying on Spring Break.

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Taiwan Quake

Haiti Quake

Chile Quake

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Welcome to Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation, where over the last 7 days they have felt over 100 small earthquakes. Scientists are puzzled by the “swarm” of earthquakes.

Since the 4th of January this area of Washington has deteced more than 700 miniquakes. Luckily, the quakes haven’t disturbed the radioactive waste that is stored on site.

Hanford plant processes plutonium for nuclear weapons during World War II and the Cold War. Also, contaminated liquid materials are also stored in underground tanks, that have a history of leaks. Which critics have warned and are leary that the leaks will lead to spills in the Columbia River

The concern is that as the “swarm” of eathquakes are starting to get stronger, but the earthquakes are getting stronger with each round of earthquakes. The storage tanks were built in the 50′s – 70′s when standards weren’t as defined as they are today.

Scientists believe the quakes are occurring in layers of Columbia River basalt. The area is under steady geologic compression north and south, which causes brittle edges of the basalt layer to break. One researcher called it a “snap, crackle, pop” effect that results in a flurry of small earthquakes.

“It’s of concern because sometimes in swarms the magnitude has gotten up to 4, or 4.5,” Alan Rohay said. “That’s getting to the size that things could get knocked off shelves or electrical systems can chatter.

“It would not do damage to a building or a (storage) tank, but it could cause some electrical equipment to fail or chemicals on a lab bench might spill.”

Toxic Earthquake revenge

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