In recent years, several cases of earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma. One of the largest occurred in November 2011 near the city of Prague and its magnitude was recorded at 5.7 on the Richter (Eaton) scale. This particular earthquake caused damage to over 200 buildings (State Impact). Other earthquakes have also occurred in Oklahoma in the past two years, many of them in 2013. Scientists who have studied this recent spate of earthquakes have speculated that the reason for the earthquakes may be due to wastewater being put into the ground from manufacturing of natural gas and oil. This has contributed to creating a lot of concern among people regarding such production methods, as they can be considered to have these harmful effects on the region. One of the things to note is that although scientists believe that oil and gas production can cause earthquakes, they are not entirely sure of the connection. According to research, it has been discovered that disposal wells, which are wells used to dispose of waste from oil and drilling operations, such as hydraulic fracturing – also known as “fracking” – may be responsible for the recent earthquakes in Oklahoma, Holland ). It was noted that as of January 2013, more than ten thousand underground injection wells were active in Oklahoma, of which six thousand were the type of wells used for enhanced oil recovery. The rest of the more than four thousand wells are used to store the waste that comes out of the drilling. These wells are built quite deep underground and can be as much as ten or twenty thousand feet underground. Scientists believe that these wells may have some… paper halves… that such activities may be blocked, resulting in loss of revenue. However, this research highlights a very strong link between fracking, wastewater disposal wells and the recent increase in earthquakes. In this regard, it is important for drillers to ensure that they do not locate disposal wells near geological fault lines. Oklahoma should take a cue from states like Ohio and Arkansas and ban drillers from drilling deep injection wells near fault lines. Furthermore, it is also important for companies to look for new and better ways to dispose of wastewater. Some suggestions include disposing of wastewater in different types of wells or even transporting the water to fluid treatment plants. While this could increase costs for drilling companies, it would ensure the area remains safe from earthquakes.