In recent years, nearly ever building at our Laurel Mission in Kentucky was severely damaged by coal-mining underneath the mission property.

Lately, I’ve been reading about the numerous small earthquakes occurring in Texas and Oklahoma as a result of fracking. The huge amounts of waste water being pumped back into the ground are upsetting the geological balance. Between 2013 and 2014, the number of magnitude 3+ earthquakes in Oklahoma increased from 109 to 585. The state even put up a website about it.

Nothing terrible has happened yet, though I’m sure owning property with regular tremors doesn’t help property values. And no corporation will locate a new factory there. It’s only going to get worse, until the oil companies figure out (and they eventually will) a different way to handle waste water. Until then..well, hey.

Last week I read about much worse developments in the Netherlands, which is pumping enormous amounts of natural gas out of the earth. It has caused hundreds of minor earthquakes, with considerable damage. Walls are cracking, fireplaces crumbling, buildings tipping, pipes bursting, doorways snapping, roofs buckling. Over 200,000 homes have been damaged, with 90,000 homes now considered uninhabitable.

The Dutch government offered an apology. Like that’ll help.

That, Texas and Oklahoma, is probably your future. Mess with God’s earth, and God’s earth messes with you.

Of course, oil companies just argue, “The science isn’t conclusive. We can’t say for CERTAIN that fracking is causing this.” The same argument tobacco companies used against charges that smoking causes cancer. And that oil companies use against evidence that carbon emissions are causing climate change. And that food processors used against claims that sugary foods cause obesity and diabetes. “It hasn’t been proven conclusively.

Both Texas and, most recently–on June 1–Oklahoma have passed laws which prohibit localities (cities, counties, etc.) from banning fracking. So if you want to protect your property values by keeping oil companies away…tough luck. They can come and frack all they want. We The People have no recourse.

If I were you, I wouldn’t buy property in Texas or Oklahoma.