Blowout

Maddow returns to Oklahoma, where the seismologist Austin Holland tried to ensure that the real cause of the Oklahoma earthquakes was uncovered. As Maddow puts it, Holland “remained determined to study induced seismicity the right way. Using all the new raw data. To make a real contribution to the scientific literature” (292). At the time Holland was racing against the clock to make the kind of scientific breakthrough that would give Oklahomans a definitive answer, Harold Hamm was fighting to ensure Big Oil and Gas didn’t get mixed up in this earthquake business. Apparently, “folks just didn’t understand what a dire threat all this earthquake talk posed” (293). And as Austin Holland published peer-reviewed papers that linked fracking to the induced earthquakes that occurred 10 to 12 times a week, Big Oil took notice across the state.

The story in Oklahoma continues, as Harold Hamm’s life began to unravel. After an ugly and public divorce from his wife Sue Ann, Hamm’s wealth was reduced by half. His commitment to oil profits, already the primary motivation in his life, kicked into the highest gear possible.